Deals + Steals - Forum Archive

Mar 11, 2014 at 03:58 PM

Ladies looking for a new bike?

2007 Specialized Dolce Comp Road Bike (48cm)

Shimano 105 10-speed

A bit too small for me (and the domestic situation should I bring another bike into my apartment... no good) but thought I'd pass it along.

http://www.getbiked.com/bikes/specialized-women-road-bike-in-great-condition-lots-of-accessories/

And I bet you could totally haggle this down below $800.

mattie davitt

Mar 13, 2014 at 07:03 PM

$300 for a nicely repainted (KISSENA ORANGE!?!) 52 CAAD9 with ENVE fork. http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/4372300802.html

Phil Maronilla

Mar 13, 2014 at 07:29 PM

That's a good deal. ^ ^

David Yang

Mar 13, 2014 at 07:48 PM

That is an outstanding deal. Someone pick that up RIGHT NOW.

Phil Maronilla

Mar 13, 2014 at 08:52 PM

Too good to be true? Stolen maybe? Why would he paint that frame?

JoshuaC

Mar 13, 2014 at 10:07 PM

I am on it. Happened to be looking for just this..

JoshuaC

Mar 13, 2014 at 10:12 PM

Ok - I emailed the CL poster. So I am am used bike \ Craigs List newbie, anyone have advice?

I am gonna sound naive here probably but...

Safety ? They said meet up at a bank branch. I guess I am on my own to hope I am not getting setup to be mugged.

Frame inspecting ? The frame is claimed to be ridden and the fork new. What am I looking for to make sure it is in decent condition before I buy it ? No obvious dents or cracks, anything else I should check ?

neilx

Mar 13, 2014 at 10:33 PM

@Joshua LI don't purport to be a CL expert at all, but that sounds a tad creepy to me Josh. Unless they're concerned about getting ripped off by you and want cameras on the scene for their own protection. Hmmm. See what the others have to say.

JoshuaC said:

Safety ? They said meet up at a bank branch. I guess I am on my own to hope I am not getting setup to be mugged.

mugwump

Mar 14, 2014 at 12:53 AM

Josh,

I think craigslist has tips on meetups. Coffee shops could be good as well.

As for inspections, there are a few things I'd do. First, with the fork, do a little recon on Enve's site, so you can suss out what would be identifiable attributes (crown shape, dropouts, steerer tube stuff). Make sure you know which ENVE fork it is. Second, with the frame and fork, inspect the paint under good light. Check tubing junctions see how the light reflects off the paint. You're looking for cracks, bubbles, or places where the welds might be compromised. Then, with either a finger nail or a coin, tap your way around the frame. you're trying to listen for taps that seem dulled or off in some way.

While this is going on, try to find out more about the frame and why they chose this color and how they got the Cannondale decals, etc. Why did they replace the fork?

ChiZhang

Mar 14, 2014 at 02:09 AM

I would make sure its a CAAD9 frame and not just some random alu frame with Cannondale stickers

Marc Bertucco

Mar 14, 2014 at 08:24 AM

Joshua. "If it sounds to be good to be true..." I'd trust your gut on this one. Something is setting off your Spidey-sense. I'd walk away. Ain't worth it.

There's no reason to request to meet up a bank branch. Except they might think you don't want to carry cash with you, rather your debit card.

I'd stick to buying through a reputable bike shop, friend of friend, etc. If our own RB frames are too much even with discount (doesn't have to be caad 10, not like you are going to get the exact geometry of your racing bike anyway) Mattie's shop for example does a lot of consigning and selling used gear for their customers.

jesselash

Mar 14, 2014 at 03:29 PM

Saw this frame and was really tempted as well... sounds a little too good to be true, but sometimes people need to get rid of things. I've sold a few components over the years for "too-good-to-be-true" prices because I was just tired of them taking up space in my tiny apartment.

With that said, in my experience a bank is a very safe place to meet. Cameras, security, and people if something were to go wrong. I've sold camera equipment for thousands of dollars, and always choose a bank to be able to deposit the cash quickly.

To echo what @mugwump said, the biggest thing I'd be concerned with is the paint and legitimacy of the fork. With the quantity of "chinarello" style fake carbon components floating around these days, the last thing you want is a fake ENVE fork.

Also, where's the original fork? He has a photo of it, but doesn't mention including it in the sale. Did it break in a crash, hence the repainting?

Jules

Mar 14, 2014 at 04:18 PM

This is a pretty lopsided comment-to-dollar ratio.

image.jpg

Jules

Mar 15, 2014 at 05:39 PM

Does anybody *like* carrot cake Cliff bars? I have a few and cannot stomach a single one more. They're free to whomever wants 'em

twoyacks

Mar 15, 2014 at 05:44 PM

Will they help with my vision ?

Marc Bertucco

Mar 15, 2014 at 07:25 PM

Oh, carrot cake cliff bars are terrible. baby vomit comes to mind. I can't remember if it was that flavor or another, but I used to like them then not at all. A clif person told me they had to change their formula because they weren't lasting long enough on the shelves.

Jules

Mar 15, 2014 at 07:33 PM

I agree; they used to taste like real carrot cake - basically a fistful of vanilla icing... But these (shudder) I... Just... Can't....

Brendan Rigby

Mar 16, 2014 at 01:06 AM

i will take your clif bars. after years of surviving on baby vomit...

Jules

Mar 16, 2014 at 01:18 AM

Done! May they serve you well.

Erika Tarte

Mar 16, 2014 at 02:17 PM

I can't express how happy this revelatory carrot cake discussion has made me after years spent staring at the Clif Bar shelf at the grocery store in anger and sadness, unable to enjoy my favorite cake flavor because of my walnut allergy. Fortunately, my least favorite cake flavor is baby vomit.

Marc Bertucco

Mar 16, 2014 at 08:07 PM

P.S. Related, if you are paying more than $.99 for a Clif Bar these days...stop it. Even "Whole Paycheck Foods" sells 'em at that price usually.

konrad

Mar 17, 2014 at 10:58 PM

I tried to ride earlier this year thinking I was just hungover. Turned out I had the superbug and I had to stop a few times to throw up. I had a carrot cake Clif Bar and it tasted exactly the same coming up as it did going down... Exactly. I remember my thought process was, "Wow that's tasty puke... no, wait, that's just disgusting food."

Completely ruined them for me. Kind of like the moment when you realize every Subway sandwich shop smells more like vomit than fresh bread.

Jules

Mar 17, 2014 at 11:03 PM

^God almighty I wish we could get Patrick Stewart to read then best-of posts of the year.

konrad

Mar 18, 2014 at 01:28 AM

Look what just popped in my inbox after that last post:

"You received 25 Likes. You're posting some good content. Great! +10 points."

Dan Reiners

Apr 05, 2014 at 08:43 PM

So, you all may or may not know that in order to keep myself in new tires, and clean kit, I work in the dark corners of the internet, helping publishers and advertisers to vacuum up consumer data and dropping cookies all along to track consumer behavior and predict purchase intent. Oh and earlier in my career I was in the dark arts of pricing airline seats. So I have a perverse interest in pricing, web tracking and the intersection of those two.

Now that I've set the stage...here is the real story.

After flatting this morning, I knew I needed a new tubular tire, and while out at lunch I was going online to Bike Tires Direct via my smartphone. I found a Vittoria CX tubular for $67, I of course would not buy it there, but I came home and looked at for the same tire on my home computer (the same site I've purchased from before, so my computer is fully cookied), and it was $100. I checked a few more products I needed and they were all 5-20% cheaper purchasing via my phone which does not support cookies than from my computer.

The moral of the story is: Online retailers are looking to convert new customers so offering introductory prices to unknown buyers, and then jacking that price up on uses they've seen before. Of course this is straight out of the airline playbook (charging different prices for the same thing), but it takes on a new dimension online because they have an idea who you are based on information collected via your header data (IP Address, geo location device type, browser). Sometimes it is better to try multiple devices or browsers before trying to buy something online.

Jules

Apr 05, 2014 at 08:47 PM

Dan,
Or just removing cookies between shopping trips?

PatrickGrehan

Apr 05, 2014 at 09:04 PM

Dan

Great point. I have noticed similar issues with Amazon (ordering from different user accounts).

Unrelated to the main gist of your post a great place to buy tires is world class cycles. They are a small outfit in Long Island. Keith turned me on to this site years ago. It looks like it was designed in Abobe PageMill circa 1995 so they are definitely not tracking cookies. The prices are always competitive and their cheapest shipping gets me my tires in 1-2 days given they are relatively local.

Vittorias (and other tubulars) can be found here: http://www.worldclasscycles.com/tubulars.htm

twoyacks

Apr 05, 2014 at 11:04 PM

agreed on world class cycles.....Dan that cookies tracking just blew my wig off...I'm opening my eyes to what big data is all about by reading some books (Who Owns the Future etc.)...we are trading out anonymity for convenience and low price..but in the end big business wins...it always does

David Yang

Apr 06, 2014 at 04:23 AM

WTB: Used Garmin Edge 500 that is collecting dust on your bike stuff shelf. I don't need anything else but just the head unit.

Jules

Apr 06, 2014 at 12:42 PM

David Yang said:

WTB: Used Garmin Edge 500 that is collecting dust on your bike stuff shelf. I don't need anything else but just the head unit.

Might be time for a new mount too... just sayin'

:P