Elev12k":3q12mmsp said:
You got it?!
Photo footage please!
picked it up saturday! as you suspected, the seller was not the owner or really even interested in bikes. he operates a store and ebays whatever people bring to him. he had done some research on the web about grove innovations and found out what he could before listing.
yes, with the wording and all the keywords, brands and odd photos, the ebay listing did appear somewhat sketchy. and of course the weight was not 12.5 pounds. he just stood the bike on a scale and that's what registered. turned out to be quite a nice guy though and once i found the place there was no trouble at all. i don't know if the listing turned some people off or if their was some uncertainty with others about the sale, but the whole time i felt i was taking a chance on this.
even when i got there and saw the bike the feeling was there. i'm not quite sure how to describe it, but when quickly looking over the bike i saw that it had new hubs and wheels and was kind of dissapointed they werent original. saw some bike shop sticker on the rim and figured they were just bought cheap to put on the bike before sale. then i saw the cassette was new too. looked to be titanium though so that sort of evened things out. also noticed the bike had been cleaned up pretty well before sale and figured if the owner was conscientious enough to do that, it was probably in ok shape mechanically and i wouldnt have to worry too much.
well, when i took a closer look at the wheels, i saw they where mavic 231s with hugi compact hubs. hmmm. not much chance of getting those things new from the lbs. as i began looking over the rest of the bike, it dawned on me that the wheels and cassette probably were not new. in fact, probably nothing on the bike was new. and it likely hadn't been cleaned up before sale either. because i was now seeing a thin layer of dust on everything. i was just confused because most of the parts were showing so little wear.
it's not quite fresh off the floor of a 1994 bike shop, but i'm definitely glad i took the chance with this. i had some pics last night and then decided they really didnt do justice. that thin layer of dust was still there. i'm going to clean it and then post pics!!
as for the ride and feel, that comes next.
