When a good deal is not a good deal...

[fa63]

I saw a pair of HED Belgium+ rims laced to Chris King R45 hubs on local Craigslist (with turquoise hubs to boot). The wheels even came with an expensive SRAM Red XG1090 11-26 cassette. I met the seller in a neutral location, checked the wheels as best as I could on the spot, paid up and drove back home. All good so far.



Once I got back home, first order of business was to remove the cassette and replace it with a 11-28 Shimano cluster. What do you know, this fancy cassette has an inner sleeve thing which is now stuck on the freehub. I am going to figure out a way tomorrow to get that thing off, but I am now wondering if I can even reuse the cassette (my plan was to sell it).



Then, I realized that there was no 10-spd spacer behind the cassette. Odd, I thought, because in my head all R45 hubs are 11-speed compatible. Turns out I am wrong, and the conversion kit ain't cheap... Not a deal breaker as I plan to use these wheels on a 10-spd build but it will make future resale more challenging.

Last but not least, I found a tiny dent in the front rim. It is very small and has no effect on the integrity of the wheel, but I was already in a foul mood from the previous so this just made it worse. And the bearings feel a bit tight (though this might just be a preload adjustment issue).

Complete first world problems, but just wanted to vent. Do better research than me before buying, folks!

[madsciencenow]

I’ve had the same thing happen to a 11 speed SRAM cassette. Sucks real bad!!

Sorry about the purchase and I hope you get some miles out of the wheels.


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[charliedid]

On the bright side you git an $1100 set of wheels for $400

[ToonaBP]

I'm selling a mint condition set of Shimano C-35 's that have less than 750 miles on them. $600 firm price with wheel bags and Pro 4 tires.... drove 16 miles to meet the buyer ... he pulls $540 out of his pocket... I said good luck with your wheel search and drove home. ... Another buyer supposed to meet today... arranged meet point a few days ago. Emailed for meet time yesterday...no response and none today.... must be the virus, but he could have at least responded....

[Louis]

I suppose one moral of the OP's story is to not buy a rear wheel with the cassette already installed. Having the original owner loosen things is probably a good idea too. You never know how tight it may be, and it's also good to know what the splines look like.

Nevertheless, it looks like the OP did get a good deal (assuming the sleeve can be removed without too much trouble).

[gemship]

Originally Posted by ToonaBP

I'm selling a mint condition set of Shimano C-35 's that have less than 750 miles on them. $600 firm price with wheel bags and Pro 4 tires.... drove 16 miles to meet the buyer ... he pulls $540 out of his pocket... I said good luck with your wheel search and drove home. ... Another buyer supposed to meet today... arranged meet point a few days ago. Emailed for meet time yesterday...no response and none today.... must be the virus, but he could have at least responded....

Do you have regrets about not just taking the 540 bucks? With the second potential buyer not responding I know I would.

Honestly I think wheels are a super dooper crap shoot no matter how much money can be saved buying used. I probably should've stated that in a separate post.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by gemship

Do you have regrets about not just taking the 540 bucks? With the second potential buyer not responding I know I would.

Honestly I think wheels are a super dooper crap shoot no matter how much money can be saved buying used. I probably should've stated that in a separate post.

I really dislike it when a buyer agrees to a price and when I show up tries pulling this SH*T. I wouldn't have any regrets.

[Louis]

A few years ago I was buying a motorcycle off Craigslist from a relatively young kid who still lived at home. His parents weren't around, but his uncle was there to help with the deal. I don't remember the exact numbers, but the asking price was something like "$3700 OBO." I assumed that "OBO" meant that he was willing to move a bit on the price, so I brought "only" $3500 in cash. I decided to buy the motorcycle, and we went back in forth a bit on price. He refused to go down much at all, saying "someone else is coming to look at it in 30 minutes" even though I reminded him that the next person was not a sure thing. I was about to walk away, since I didn't have enough, when the uncle finally talked some sense into him. I borrowed around $50 from my buddy and bought the motorcycle.

[mhespenheide]

Friend of mine in Riverside was looking for a commuter bike and I was shopping on his behalf. I look around near him and suggest a few bikes, then browse locally and spot a LeMond Poprad that would fit him at a pretty nice price. He and I talk back and forth and we agree to go for it; I'd look at it and make the call. Unusually, it has Campy 10-speed on it (Mirage), but y'all seem to like Campy 10-speed, so we figure that it could work just fine.

I go out, take a look at the bike, ride it around a little. It's a size too small for me, but it seems okay and I buy it.

Bring it home, try to start working on it, get the brakes fairly well set up, but the shifting never quite works as well as I want it to. I start pulling things apart and find that the previous owner was using a Shimano 10-speed hub and cassette with Campagnolo 10-speed shifters and derailleurs. Never figured that was something I needed to double-check!

So, since I've promised my friend a good commuting bike, I pulled off the Campy bits and put on some 9-speed shimano derailleurs I had in parts bins and (luckily!) found some 9-speed 105 shifters at our local co-op for $40. Then after another couple hours swapping everything over and tuning it again. So I'm out $40, some parts, and ~4 hours of my time. But my friend's got a nice bike that he appreciates, so it all comes out fine in the end.

And I've got a Mirage mini-group in the parts bins if anyone's interested...

[Pegoready]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

I start pulling things apart and find that the previous owner was using a Shimano 10-speed hub and cassette with Campagnolo 10-speed shifters and derailleurs. Never figured that was something I needed to double-check!

In a crazy world, this is a very minor thing. I remember reading Above Category used to run Campy 10 drivetrains with Shimano 10 wheels to aid in neutral support, plus numerous mid 2000's forum postings across the net saying it runs like a champ. I'd run it if that's all I had, without worries. Jtek Shiftmate would have solved the issue 100% for the same $40, less the 4 hours and headaches.

I have purchased 2 bikes that seemed like great deals only to find seized seatposts, corroding bearings in the head tube, seized BBs. A huge mess and probably part of the fun of a gamble on a decent deal. One of them even came from a forum member! Now I check seatposts always, but BB's I cannot. Just gotta look at it and go with my gut.

[quickfeet]

One of my most annoying CL experiences happened last year. There was a sweet Gaulzetti posted on the Boston CL (sort of local to me) the the seller and I went back and forth on for a bit and we finally agreed on what I thought was a fair price for it and maybe a little on the low side for what he thought he should get. We agreed on a pick up time and I even had his cell number so we could text the pick-up address.

While we were bartering he put the frame on eBay and didn’t take it down even after we agreed on a sale. I had been watching the frame there too and knew he had done this. Day of agreed purchase he got a bid on eBay and decided that he didn’t want to honor his agreement with me, he wanted to see if he could do better on eBay.

The most satisfying part is that after all that no one else bid on his listing and after eBay fees he made $75ish less than if he had sold it to me, and had to go find a big frame box to ship it! CL has some good deals a lot of the time but for sure has the highest rate of crazies.

[paredown]

I can't see the construction of the wheel very well, but can you use a gear puller, with the center on the center of the axle and the arms hooked behind the last cog?

I shouldn't think it will take much pressure to break it free...

(I picked up a cheap puller from Harbor Freight for doing Ultratorque bearings for ~$10 or ~$12.)

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by Tony

I really dislike it when a buyer agrees to a price and when I show up tries pulling this SH*T. I wouldn't have any regrets.

100% with you. If I got there and he was like here $590 I would still walk away. Unless it was a mistake, I would not be cool with people pulling that kinda crap (which apparently happens a bunch on craigs list, and why I don't use it))



to OP - That sucks but you will be able to get that sleeve out. As far as 10 speed, you can use a shimano 11-34 cassette at least and use it with a 11 speed system.

[tbike4]

Originally Posted by quickfeet

CL has some good deals a lot of the time but for sure has the highest rate of crazies.

Uh huh. Average IQ= 100. Low IQ= 70. CL buyer IQ for what I am selling= at the level required to operate an automobile but not capable of using a map, much less a smart phone with GPS.

Countless threads on this subject but always good to rant about CL, again.

[fa63]

To be clear, I am not blaming the seller here. The blame falls on me for making several unverified assumptions. I was also in bit of a hurry to get back home so I didn't ask too many questions. Live and learn.