If Its Too Good To Be True

[bikeboy1tr]

I have a friend looking to buy a C64 and he found this one on PB and was asking me what I thought. Its a 22 with DA mech, rim brake, AB chain ring and a set of Zipps claiming to be ridden only a few times priced at $3000 US. I told him that I would be careful cause that is really cheap for that bike. Wondering what everyone here thinks.
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3792678/

[AZR3]

I'd be cautious, I've read PB has an issue with scammers

[caballero]

Seems about right -

Rim brake
Mechanical 11 speed all work against it.

It's an awesome bike but the market for such is non existent.

[bikeboy1tr]

Good to know as I hadnt heard that before. He was going to request a pic of the serial number which means very little. I told him if you do it use PayPal only and that is one of the rules on PB or they wont back you up @AZR3

[mag]

I have a rim brake C64 (not that one) and I've also seen few counterfeit ones. The one you refer to looks really legit (or it's the best fake I've ever seen).

After you get the serial number check it with Colnago (https://www.colnago.com/support/contact/). They should be able to tell you the color scheme, size and whether it's really a rim brake one.

[bikeboy1tr]

Thats a good ideal mag. Its just a matter of how long Colnago will respond because if that bike is real at that price it wont last long. The other Colnagos on PB are not that good of a deal and that bike is pretty clean and fresh looking.

[glepore]

That's not an unrealistic price given what rim brake bikes go for, but pinkbike is the ultimate snakepit. Ask for a facetime or something...

[bikeboy1tr]

I would have thought FB Marketplace to be a bigger snakepit. I have made several purchases off of PB with no issues but I always insisted on using PayPal even when I was selling items.

[micky]

Few time ago I tried to understand if there was any easy spot to notice fake vs real C64; one of the first things I noticed was that the C64 logo on the fork was smaller on the foke compared to the original.
Check serial number, check the BB, and of course if he wants to buy, ask to use paypal.

[EtoDemerzel]

photos of serial # and bottom bracket. Many knockoffs will not use T45 and have a PF30 or something more standard.

[BikeTyson]

I would have thought FB Marketplace to be a bigger snakepit. I have made several purchases off of PB with no issues but I always insisted on using PayPal even when I was selling items.

Same. I've sold probably 20+ things including full bikes and frames. I've also bought a ful bike from PinkBike. Never had issues. It's my first choice for listing bike stuff.

For the original question, I don't think it's too good to be true. At least for me. 11sp mechanical rim brake in 2024? I personally wouldn't even spend that much. I'm sure it's a nice bike (and I love Colnagos), but I personally wou;dn't spend that much on a rim brake bike these days.

And a quick reverse image search doesn't show the photos are stolen from anywhere else. But with that much money on the line, I'd talk with the seller more and obviously use something with buyer protection.

[AJS914]

Many knockoffs will not use T45 and have a PF30 or something more standard.

This. Does any knockoff use the Colnago pressfit cups?

Personally, I'd never send $3k to a stranger for a bike with zero known history. End of story.

If I were really interested, I might talk the person and then have them deliver it to a bike shop that I paid to pack it up properly and send it to me. (Assuming you could find a bike shop to broker the deal for you.) You could also probably do a Facetime visual inspection with the seller/bike shop. Ideally, you find a local Colnago shop that could tell you if it was legit.

[bikeboy1tr]

Thanks everyone so far these are all good tips to know. My friend is waithing for a pic of the serial number so he can run the numbers with Colnago. Another odd thing that was noticed in the pics was that the recepticle on the wall behind the bike was that of what is used in the UK. So Idk if the seller lives in the US or the UK or and travels back and forth maybe for work. PayPal is something that we talked about for transaction.

[AJS914]

Good eye - the UK plug for a bike that is supposed to be in Henderson, Nevada sounds like a big red flag. At best, the pics are old. At worst, it's a scam.

[calv1n]

Missing battery cover on down tube?