Hey, just bought this bike on FB Marketplace. Everything looked fine until when I just arrived home and found out these cracks on the headset part on the frame. ( on the picture, the bike is upside down, hanging from the front wheel, you see the cracks on the bottom part of the front of the headset part of the frame) It is a Jake the Snake 2012 Kona bike. Alu frame with carbon fork. Is this only cracks in the paint or it is a frame crack ?? I am so sad, the bike cost me 800$ CAD and the guy was very fine and honest. I am pretty sure the bike was well treated all its life… The guy says the bike wasn't ridden for more than 2000 kilos si ce 2013 (bought new). Maybe he did not even know about it ? What should I do ? Return the bike would be akward since it's Marketplace… I honestly dont really care if it's a very minor crack and there is no problem about it. I will
mostly ride road even if its a CX bike…
by e_lanctot
5 Comments
Id say they are way to wide to be a paint crack…
“the bottom part of the front of the headset part of the frame” –> I meant the headtube…
Just pull the fork out and see if it’s through.
Almost def cracks. Sorry.
Yeesh. I took an alloy Specialized Allez of the road recently for cracks that looked just like this. I think this is cracked.
If I were you, I’d take this to a bike shop and have them take a look. They will be able to give you a better answer. If these are cracks, which is my hunch, this is a big fat ‘do not ride’ ‘stop riding immediately’. When that happens, get it in writing from the shop, and you should contact the seller. Now, yes, it will be awkward, but not as awkward as selling someone a clearly damaged frame. Personally, I would be mortified if I did this.
Sure, the onus is on you to properly inspect the bike, but come on now, we are relying on our seller to be honest here. If this was a mistake, which it sounds like it was, they’ll likely take the bike back.
Lastly, you need to contact the seller immediately. Each day you go without telling the seller about this, the more likely that seller is to think that *you* damaged the bike.
For instance, I sold a dude a bike recently. He had the bike for like three weeks, then hit me up saying the brake pads were contaminated. He sent me a video, and sure enough, they were contaminated. When I sold him the bike, I told him everything was good, and I believed that to be true. But at this point, the likelihood that the buyer contaminated those pads, not me, is really high. And, I blew him off. Had he contacted me the next morning, that would be a different story.
So, you need to send this picture to the seller like right now. Immediately. Then, feel things out and explain the course of actions. The longer you wait, the more likely the seller is to think you damaged the bike, not him. You need to act quickly.