Craig's List

On Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at 1:29:50 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at 9:40:17 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, May 20, 2019 at 10:27:01 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Monday, May 20, 2019 at 12:49:43 PM UTC-5, Tom Kunich wrote:
I have had three really good bikes for sale on Craig's list for over two years now and I got a bite on one of them yesterday. It was the Redline cross bike that is in nearly new condition with a flat bar and hydraulic disks.

At the time I built it up hydraulic disk drop bar levers were just coming onto the market and were impossibly expensive.

It has Avid brakes and Deore or better everything else. The drive train is absolutely silent. It has Campy wheels on it and 32 mm knobbies. It is probably the best gravel bike I could think of.

It turned out to be nothing more than a looky-Lou and the bike is back on the ceiling hangers.

But I am very surprised that three GOOD bikes with good equipment in almost new condition can go absolutely untouched for so long now. Why would you pay $1600 for a fair frame from Specialized with bottom of the heap parts new instead of $1100 for a Redline that is SOOOO nice?

The only new bikes I've ever bought was the Time Elite frame and fork and the Colnago CLX frame and fork and both of these were shop models that had laid around too long.

My 62 cm Pinarello Stelvio is perhaps one of the finest road bikes you could have. While the frame and fork are a lb and a half heavier than most carbon fiber bikes if you were a weight weenie you could get it below the 20 lb. mark on the road. More importantly you can descent anything without a thought that the frame or aluminum wheelset might break. I always wonder about my superlight bikes now.

When you can get a Pinarello with a totally rebuilt 10 speed lever set and perfect shifting why would you get anything with the level below Tiagra which only shifts well for a couple of months?

Perhaps the marketplace will improve their act but I think that it will take too long.


Concerning why used bikes do not sell for much. Bicycle technology, parts changes pretty quickly. Recently anyway. Think about old cars. Unless you are COLLECTING them, you never buy or even drive old cars. Compared to anything new, all old cars are junk for performance and comfort and handling. A new 2018-19 Civic, Accord, Camry will out sprint and corner a 1960s or 1970s Mustang or Camaro.

Unless you are buying the old bikes or cars for utilitarian purposes. And then you just want cheap.

The Redline has hydraulic disks and rolls soundlessly plus it pedals soundlessly as well. The XT components are all new and it has Campy wheels and barely worn 32 mm knobbies that work well in soft dirt or hard gravel.

What is this "new technology" that you think is necessary? Or a bike that only a collector would want?


The bottom line is that you take a huge hit on Craigslist, and anyone who swiftly agrees to pay full price is a scammer. The problem is compounded with big bikes. My brother has sold some high-end bikes for pretty good prices on Facebook market or whatever the Facebook product is. These were nice DH and Cross Country MTBs. He is downsizing his fleet an avoids Craigslist.

-- Jay Beattie.

I have sold a LOT of bikes on Craigslist SF bay area and I have never had a single scammer nor unusual pricing demands until the last three years.

On Ebay it is even better though with Ebay you have to ship and lately there have been a whole lot of Chinese retailers on there.

On Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at 6:11:03 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 21 May 2019 09:35:56 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Monday, May 20, 2019 at 12:29:19 PM UTC-7, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Monday, May 20, 2019 at 1:49:43 PM UTC-4, Tom Kunich wrote:
I have had three really good bikes for sale on Craig's list for over two years now and I got a bite on one of them yesterday. It was the Redline cross bike that is in nearly new condition with a flat bar and hydraulic disks.

At the time I built it up hydraulic disk drop bar levers were just coming onto the market and were impossibly expensive.

It has Avid brakes and Deore or better everything else. The drive train is absolutely silent. It has Campy wheels on it and 32 mm knobbies. It is probably the best gravel bike I could think of.

It turned out to be nothing more than a looky-Lou and the bike is back on the ceiling hangers.

But I am very surprised that three GOOD bikes with good equipment in almost new condition can go absolutely untouched for so long now. Why would you pay $1600 for a fair frame from Specialized with bottom of the heap parts new instead of $1100 for a Redline that is SOOOO nice?

The only new bikes I've ever bought was the Time Elite frame and fork and the Colnago CLX frame and fork and both of these were shop models that had laid around too long.

My 62 cm Pinarello Stelvio is perhaps one of the finest road bikes you could have. While the frame and fork are a lb and a half heavier than most carbon fiber bikes if you were a weight weenie you could get it below the 20 lb. mark on the road. More importantly you can descent anything without a thought that the frame or aluminum wheelset might break. I always wonder about my superlight bikes now.

When you can get a Pinarello with a totally rebuilt 10 speed lever set and perfect shifting why would you get anything with the level below Tiagra which only shifts well for a couple of months?

Perhaps the marketplace will improve their act but I think that it will take too long.

For sale for over two years with only one bite on three bikes means either there's no interest in the type of bike you're selling or your prices are too high.

Cheers

If someone isn't willing to pay $1,100 for a top end cross bike with absolutely new XT components on it set up perfectly and would rather buy a low end Specialized with the Shimano below Tiagra for $1,600 it isn't me who has prices set too high.

A completely rebuilt, repainted and perfectly set up Pinarello Stelvio with totally rebuilt Record components for the same price vs. a CF low end bike with Tiagra components? And only one lb difference in weight? If you were a weight weenie you could get the Pinarello to weigh the same as most of the competition.

The Ridley rides so well off-road that you can't fault it at all. As a cross bike I've taken it on routes that MTB's hesitate. A hundred bucks cheaper than the others and the only thing close to it costs over two grand.

Now maybe you're one of those people that think that buying from Craig's list means getting bottom dollar but I'm not. I'll keep them in the garage until I die before I throw thousands of dollars away because idiots don't know good from so-so.

Tom, there are basically two reasons why people don't buy things (1)
they don't want it and (2) the price is too high.

And, in real terms an item is only as valuable as what someone will
give you for it. Think a pound of gold on a desert island...
--
cheers,

John B.

Perhaps then you can explain why high end bikes are not selling at all? Even when the prices are so good that I'm tempted to buy it despite trying to clean my own garage out. The problem is probably that no one in California has any money. Bicycle shops are going out of business left and right. Even Trek is having large sales to try and clear one year old inventory. They are trying to sell Trek Madone's with lower end components dirt cheap.

On Monday, May 20, 2019 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
I have had three really good bikes for sale on Craig's list for over two years now and I got a bite on one of them yesterday. It was the Redline cross bike that is in nearly new condition with a flat bar and hydraulic disks..

At the time I built it up hydraulic disk drop bar levers were just coming onto the market and were impossibly expensive.

It has Avid brakes and Deore or better everything else. The drive train is absolutely silent. It has Campy wheels on it and 32 mm knobbies. It is probably the best gravel bike I could think of.

It turned out to be nothing more than a looky-Lou and the bike is back on the ceiling hangers.

But I am very surprised that three GOOD bikes with good equipment in almost new condition can go absolutely untouched for so long now. Why would you pay $1600 for a fair frame from Specialized with bottom of the heap parts new instead of $1100 for a Redline that is SOOOO nice?

The only new bikes I've ever bought was the Time Elite frame and fork and the Colnago CLX frame and fork and both of these were shop models that had laid around too long.

My 62 cm Pinarello Stelvio is perhaps one of the finest road bikes you could have. While the frame and fork are a lb and a half heavier than most carbon fiber bikes if you were a weight weenie you could get it below the 20 lb. mark on the road. More importantly you can descent anything without a thought that the frame or aluminum wheelset might break. I always wonder about my superlight bikes now.

When you can get a Pinarello with a totally rebuilt 10 speed lever set and perfect shifting why would you get anything with the level below Tiagra which only shifts well for a couple of months?

Perhaps the marketplace will improve their act but I think that it will take too long.

I found a 3 year old Look in my size (unusual) with DuraAce parts on it selling for $1,200. I had to grit my teeth to not buy it but it ran for several weeks before simply timing off the end of its posting.