My friend has been bike shopping all over town and noticed some particularly good prices on used bikes at The Bike Exchange on Division. She had her eye on a glittery gold Trek road bike for $250. She called for my opinion. Not that I am at all a bike expert, but she’s convinced I am an expert because I know how to look at a tire to read what size it is. I came to check out this bike and noticed that it was composed of entirely used parts, even the tires. I thought this was pretty odd because most shops that sell used bikes replace all the easily worn parts, like tires. But that in itself shouldn’t be enough to prejudice me against the bike.
A man who worked at the Bike Exchange breezed by a couple times. First time he asked if we needed help. I told him I was there to determine if the bike didn’t suck. He promised us it didn’t suck but didn’t offer us anything helpful except to say that the bike had “really good parts.” Maybe it had adequate parts, but I really didn’t think it had good ones. My friend and I stood around for a while longer. I was uncertain whether to recommend the bike or not. As long as she didn’t have to replace more than $100 of parts, it could potentially be a good deal. She thought it was the perfect size for her and such an easy ride. I have certainly been won over by bikes of a perfect fit. When the man came by the second time I asked him to “tell us about this bike.” I was probably going to tell her to get it but I wanted to be convinced. He just walked away from us.
Then I noticed a certain man riding up to the bike shop and was overcome with anger.
I had foolishly bought a bike from this man at his house almost exactly a year ago.
I responded to an ad on craigslist saying that he was selling a road bike that “rides good” for $170. I was an inexperienced rider looking for the first bike I would ever purchase. I didn’t know what I should be looking for. When I tried out the bike by riding it around the block, I was very happy to see that it was the right fit for me. I had never experienced such a good fit for me. I bought the bike in cash.
About a week later the bike stopped working. I was afraid to ride it. The brakes failed and the gears wouldn’t shift. I was unemployed and couldn’t afford to take the bike to a bike shop. But I have a friend who is a professional mechanic for a local bike store. He said he would fix it for me if I paid for parts. It turned out that almost nothing on the bike worked. My friend told me that he bike was worthless, even the frame, unfortunately he had gone ahead and replaced almost everything.
I called the man who sold me the bike. After a very stressful and unpleasant conversation, he angrily agreed to refund my money if I returned the bike.
Unfortunately, my mechanic friend did not have time to strip the bike. I could have just cut my losses, and returned the bike with all the additional parts. But then he’d just turn around and sell the broken bike to some other inexperienced idiot like me. And with the new parts, you would have needed to look really closely to realize that the bike was broken and worthless. I didn’t wish that trickery on anyone else.
At the Bike Exchange this same man saw my friend and me looking at the bike and encouraged us to buy it. I stared at the ground with fury. “I’m not sure this bike is worth $250,” I said.
He said “It’s worth $250. The frame itself is worth $250.”
“That is totally not true. There is no way that Trek frame is worth $250.”
He said, “Maybe it’s only worth $50. I don’t know. Maybe you know more about bikes than I do.”
“Did you work on this bike?” I demanded.
“Yes. I did all the work on it. Well, maybe only a little.”
How sketchy can you get?
“Well, I’ve made my decision,” I said to my friend and we left. I was livid for the rest of the day knowing he was still out there successfully selling people terrible bikes. This time he has a shop to give him a furiously false legitimacy. From the incomplete webpage for the Bike Exchange, I see he’s even still using the same cell phone.
DO NOT GO TO:
The Bike Exchange
4937 SE Division
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