lol complicated 🙂 at least a discount off the sale price for the cut steerer. Also there is a scam where people are swapping fork parts then returning as faulty.

Nightmare :-/

At least I have about 20 pics of the forks before they went.

Tell him to do one. He cut them they are his.

Sold how? If it's Ebay you'll end up refunding him.

Private sale, a_a's answer is the one I'd favour.

Surely he could of fitted them with a few spacers first so he didn't have to cut the steered to test them.

Tell him to do one. He cut them they are his.

Tell him to do one. He cut them they are his.

Reckon that would be my advice too. He's "accepted the goods" if he's cut lumps out of it (and if he's cut the steerer, what else has he done?).

I am wary if a scam not least when they are now a different length
IMHO the point at which they cut them they are theirs

Will ebay really side with them even though they have now cut the forks? 😯

As above, once he's cut the steerer that says to me he's ok with them.

How did he pay for them?

If he had any concerns he shouldn't have cut the steerer. Not exactly a challenge to run them with spacers.
Tell him to get bent. They are not being returned as sold

They were sold privately. I'm fuming like.

Would you take up the legs on a £120 pair of jeans then take them back to the shop because you didn't like the fit.

Will ebay really side with them even though they have now cut the forks?

I'd have little faith in their ability to understand the difference between 'fitting' them and wrecking them...so OP would def have a fight on his hands.

EDIT: Thankfully irrelevant in this case!

Private sale outside eBay. He paid cash

Furgettaboutit..

Tell him to send them off to be looked at and [b]IF[/b] they find something wrong then refund him the cost of putting them right, subject to seeing the invoice, of course.

If he refuses that then tell him to do one.

I had the EXACT same scenario with a pair of Lyriks I sold on eBay a few years ago (allegedly creaky CSU, "badly scored stanchions" despite sending numerous hi-res pics of every part of the fork, steerer cut before he'd noticed the alleged creaking).

Gave him a full refund (actually offered 3 times before he accepted), got the forks back, luckily still fitted other half's bike despite the cut steerer, 4 years on she's still using them and I've still to hear the CSU creak 🙄

Took me a few years to come back around to using eBay after that, only thing I've chanced selling since was brand new still in original packaging. Got loads of decent quality kit sitting around but can't be bothered with the potential hassle now.

4 years on she's still using them and I've still to hear the CSU creak

I bet it's the buyer's saddle rails anyway!

Tell him to send them off to be looked at and IF they find something wrong then refund him the cost of putting them right, subject to seeing the invoice, of course.

I'd expect it could be more than the value of the fork.

I'd dread to think how much a new CSU would be.

It's the situations like this that knocks you off selling stuff

Is there a serial number on the CSU & do you have it recorded?
Are the forks out of warranty?

Luckily Mike I photographed the serial number. The forks are well out of warranty. 2009-2010 !

Ask for pics of the CSU in place, tell him you will take a refund but only if he replaces the steerer he cut 😉

I would tell him to get bent. If he hadn't cut the sreerer my opinion would be different.

Serial number tallies up, just had a picture sent through. Obviously the steerer length doesn't.

Shouldn't matter if the numbers tally. He has modified the forks so unless he is going to make them back to as sold its his tough luck

I would tell him to get bent. If he hadn't cut the sreerer my opinion would be different.

Well that's it really. If they are genuinely creaking then I would refund him no questions asked if they came back as they were sold

Offer him a refund if he can return the forks to you in the condition as sold. However, given that will require a new CSU he'll solve his own problem...

Was it someone on here that bought them ?

I reckon he's cut the steerer down too much.

Just tell him to return them, in the same condition he received them. And you will happily refund his money including postage.

He can't do that obviously, but that's his fault, not yours.

Your refund offer/terms will be perfectly reasonable, and there is nothing he can argue with.

No, no one on here Renton.

Yossarian +1

No I don't think so. Have just clarified the overall steerer length is now down to 205mm

Unless you're Ray Winston, the "do one" approach probably won't help.

Any chance you can see the forks on the bike, if he collected the forks in person?

That would allow a gentlemanly discussion around the bike and if he refuses, coupled with his reasons why he refuses, would help you judge whether you're being diddled (and may address Yossarin's suspicion, which does [i]sound[/i] a bit plausible, if it is a diddle 🙂 )

yip, sounds like he's on to plumbs after cutting the steerer. I reckon he's cut it too short and is chancing his arm.

205mm is not massively short TBH.

I'd just give him a refund minus 10 to 20% for the shortened steerer.

I spoke to him for quite a while prior to the actual sale and I'm confident that he is a biker. Either that or he's invested a great deal of energy researching bike trails.

Yeah, he's overcut either yours or another one that he's trying to swap back to you - is there really a serial number on the CSU ?

... and he can **** off IMO

It is a toughie, I'd be tempted to tell him that since he's cut the steerer, all bets are off.
However, probably the middle ground is for him to get them checked/repaired and if there is a problem with them, you'll have to stump up.

Fair?

205mm is not massively short TBH.
I'd just give him a refund minus 10 to 20% for the shortened steerer.

I'd have to agree with that statement.

stu1972 - Member
Luckily Mike I photographed the serial number. The forks are well out of warranty. 2009-2010 !

Yeah, he's overcut either yours or another one that he's trying to swap back to you - is there really a serial number on the CSU ?

205mm is not massively short TBH.

Yes the forks were £120

I'm confident that was a fair price for a very clean set of F-100RL's

09/10 forks? If the OP didn't notice any kind of creak and is happy about that then sorry, if there was a serious issue they would probably have died by now. A polite was fine for me, they are 5-6 years old and I assume the price reflected that

Sums it up really.

If you are sure the forks were fine before you sold them, ask him to try adjusting the tension of the headset.

It may be the creak is actually coming from an incorrectly adjusted headset.

It may be the creak is actually coming from

I've already been through all that with him.

He suggested pouring loctite into the press-fit area which I told him to not to do.

I was going to propose the following:

Refund 80% of the price providing I'm satisfied that:

1. They are my forks
2. There are no further marks that when they left
3. The fault can be replicated on one of my hardtails ( rule out full Suss noise)

If non of them conditions are met then it's no dice.....

Sounds Fair ?

To be honest cutting it by a cm makes it worse as everyone I know has a cm spacer lying about.

Hahaha aye. Should have tapped a curtain ring off his wife

I wouldn't even be that generous.

by about 10x
Private sale so in reality no come back for the buyer. Also no previous creak.

Wouldn't propose anything.
He had the forks. Cut them to fit and now wants to send them back. No refunds just tough.

Obviously you're under absolutely no obligation to refund at all, fair play to you for considering the moral issue. The guy has made a mistake by cutting the steerer, if you take them back they'll be worth less then they were. If he's agreeable and I don't see he as any other option, I'd take them back and have them checked yourself. If there's a problem have it sorted and return them assuming that's cheaper than a refund. If there's no problem then he can have them back.

Sounds Fair ?

IF they worked then it really is their problem.

Well I've went against the grain here and took the hard line approach. Obviously communication has broken down because of this.
I have explained the situation and the guy isn't happy. He thinks my refusal of return because of a cut steerer is a cheap cop-out and that the goods are not sold as seen.

In the meantime I've spoken to the previous owner, who I trust, and he is also unaware that the CSU is creaking.
They were only sold by him as he was changing bikes and by me as I preferred Rockshox and was unimpressed with the RL's lack of tweakability.

I'm half expecting a house visit. It could get messy.

That's the last I need after a 12 hour shift from hell !

It was a mistake to entertain the notion of a refund for a creak anyway, given they didn't creak when you had them.

End of the day this is £120. no big deal for either him if he keeps the forks or you if you receive and refund.

Yeah.

I've come to the conclusion that it's not worth selling stuff anymore.

Keep it, enjoy it and give it away when your finished. Job done

Point him at this thread.

That had crossed my mind Renton.

Second hand forks, £120, onus is on him to check forks before he handed over cash, or at the max check forks before altering them. He handed over cash then cut steerer therefore they are 100% his. You are not a shop or manufacturer, and the forks are not new.

if you’re buying from an individual – which constitutes a private sale – the rules are slightly different. For example, the so-called ‘implied terms’ of the Sales of Goods Act only apply to title and description, not to quality. This means the goods must simply correspond with the description, and be legally owned by the seller.

“That means a dress can’t be a size 12 if it was described as a size 18,” says Stephen McGlade, a solicitor at consumer group Which?.

However, if an item is advertised as “a three-year-old bike”, for example, it doesn’t mean it has to work, just that it has to be three years old. In this case, especially when the item has been well-used, the transaction remains a case of caveat emptor, or ‘buyer beware’. “

http://www.moneywise.co.uk/cut-your-costs/shop-smart/your-rights-when-buying-second-hand-goods

Tell him that if he returns them to you, you'll offer him a full refund, minus the cost of fitting a replacement steerer.

then once you've got them back, keep the money and send him a bill for about eighty quid!

Thanks for that Nikk. Clarifies my position somewhat.

ninfan - Member
Tell him that if he returns them to you, you'll offer him a full refund, minus the cost of fitting a replacement steerer.
then once you've got them back, send him a bill for about eighty quid!

And a full service of course !

If they only cost £120 then yes, I'd tell him to suck it up. Unfortunately, that is the risk you take when you buy secondhand.

I'm gonna side with the buyer. If they are faulty it's not his fault regardless of him cutting down the steerer.

I'm gonna side with the buyer. If they are faulty it's not his fault regardless of him cutting down the steerer.

Bought secondhand, sold as seen, it's the buyer's choice to pay in cash - to to get buyer's insurance through something like Paypal Goods for a 3.4% fee.

If I buy anything that could possibly go wrong, then I'll Goods it.

Generally, it sounds like buyer's remorse - as tracking down a creaking steerer is pretty hard to do, as you'd have to replace your headset cups, bearings, caps and starnut/bung to be absolutely certain - unless you wanged them in a vice and really hung off them.

Well I've went against the grain here and took the hard line approach

Aaargh. Why?!

Just imagine for a minute something is genuinely creaking, he might be reet pissed off, but it's something that could be puzzled over a brew, together, stroking of chins 'n' everything. if you simply invited him to bring the bike over with the forks fitted?

Might turn out to be the forks, might be his wrists, might be a total scam which would reveal itself somewhat if he wouldn't come over.

What was to be lost?

Written word is rubbish in situations like this.

EDIT: ^ Whilst legally you may be fine, it just seems the right thing to do in the situation described and would weed out any potential dishonesty.

Morally I've done the right thing.

I've invited him over for hobnobs with the bike attached to the forks.

We'll take it from there.

I'll keep you informed

Stu

I think that's the best approach, much easier to come to an amicable agreement when meeting in person.
Assuming the forks aren't trashed and the only change is the cut down but still very useable steerer I'd probably suck it up, refund him and move on with my life. You are going to have a hard tome selling them on here after this thread though..

ou are going to have a hard tome selling them on here after this thread though..

only because they are Fox.... 😀

A couple of things - how long has he had them? Did you buy and sell without fitting and trying yourself?

I know cutting down the steerer was wrong to do (in retrospect). But maybe he was eager to get his bike built and took your word on good faith.

I think your doing the right thing by trying to replicate it.

*waits for the update "well would you believe it there [i]was[/i] a squeak"*

Or, he lowered your hobnobs by 10ml.

I've invited him over for hobnobs with the bike attached to the forks.

That's what I would have done first, TBH. 🙂
First thing I'm suspicious of is the crown race fit on the forks....

Seems like a good solution even if a bit time consuming for you.

And the final outcome is the following...

After further riding he's come to the conclusion that the performance of the forks outweigh the the small noise he can hear. He says you do really have to listen for it though.

I never got to hear it in person, shame really because I would have fitted them to a couple of other bikes just to rule it out. At least we have wrapped this up on good terms, I'm sure he'll get many hours of use out of them.

At least he's happy.

Stu

At least we have wrapped this up on good terms

Exactamondo! Good work (in the end 🙂 )

Sounds like a chancer still I'm afraid.
Good that it has worked out though

Everyone loves a happy ending, nice one.

Lets hope he isnt worried by the squeek on those really quiet off road trails....

Glad you got it sorted. FWIW my Float RLCs have creaked a bit from new, in 2008. They still work just fine. They can creak a bit sometimes.

I sold a car once that was VGC, V low mileage and there was a full length crease where the previous owner had caught a wooden post. The paint wasnt broken anywhere, it was just a crease.
Buyer came to see it one evening (it was dark), didnt see it, paid for the car and drove it away happy.
He saw the mark the next day. Apologised to him, but its not my fault he didnt see it. Tough titties. He got a car in great nick for a good price. Private sales = buyer beware.