Just bought my very first (second hand) bike and… I was sacammed. Need some advice!

[n18]

@mstone 84961 wrote:

I have never gotten a yellow piece of paper with a bike.

It’s probably optional for bike shops. I have gotten 3 yellow pieces of paper from 3 different stores within the last year, and all of them seem identical, except for the store name; which is stamped on it. I have gotten these from Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and one other store. Seems to be the same generic bike registration form. I know that Performance Bike also provide the same yellow paper. If a seller doesn’t have it, a receipt would suffice, but they generally don’t show the serial number, so buy at your own risk…

[mstone]

@n18 84992 wrote:

It’s probably optional for bike shops. I have gotten 3 yellow pieces of paper from 3 different stores within the last year, and all of them seem identical, except for the store name; which is stamped on it. I have gotten these from Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Hudson Trail Outfitters. Seems to be the same generic bike registration form. I know that Performance Bike also provide the same yellow paper. If a seller doesn’t have it, a receipt would suffice, but they generally don’t show the serial number, so buy at your own risk…

Hmm. Every bike receipt I’ve gotten does have a serial number on it (actual bike stores). The bottom line is that I would not generalize what sort of paperwork someone should have with their bike.

[jhr]

@Subby 84974 wrote:

If I knew I was going to get scammed just once in my life, I would pray that this was the scam.

I have to agree with this. From the thread title I was expecting the story to be more along the lines of the bike being confiscated by the police, rather than the bike still being pretty decent for $400 despite the misleading description from the seller.

[krazygl00]

@ThatGuy 84889 wrote:

So I was just wondering how badly was I scammed. How much was the bike worth with the parts below?

Current Set up:

-Shimano 600 Groupset
-Shimano WH-RS10 Wheelset
-Truvativ Elita GPX Crank Set
-Hutchingson Top Slick 2 Protect Air Tires 700×32
-Tektro RL340 Ergo Brake Lever Set
-Speacialized Bodgeometry Drop Handle bars
-Selle Italia Saddle

Original Specifications:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2011/archive/trek/xo1/#/us/en/archive-model/details?url=us/en/bikes/2011/archive/trek/xo1

It sucks that he misrepresented the bike and said the components were all original. But if the frame is solid and the components are not too worn then you didn’t do that badly. There is nothing inherently wrong with the components other than some of them may be approaching end-of-life. When they wear out you may be hard pressed to find compatible replacements, and once you veer from that there go the floodgates and you have to start replacing others to preserve compatibility. To avoid that scenario and replace components with exact matches you’ll have to start rummaging through bins at bike co-ops and yard sales. You’ll have to grow a beard. Get some SPD sandals. And maybe a clip-on eyeglass mirror.

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