[Tristan Hagel]

I bought this titus racerx off a real sketchy dude and I just recently cleaned it up some, only to find it absolutely nowhere online. I'm looking to fix and sell it for a profit, but I have no idea what the model is. Someone please help!

 

[Pisgah]

Unfortunately, it’s probably worth more than it should be.

 

[milehi]

2006 Racer X. Seat stays were aluminum the year before.

 

[BicyclesOnMain]

$300-$500 to someone who doesn't know anything about bikes.

 

[Harold]

so quite possibly stolen...and you're still trying to profit from it without doing due diligence?

AND, you bought a bike without knowing what it was you bought? and you want to try to make a profit from it? doesn't really work that way. you gotta know what you've got BEFORE you put money up for it, so you have a better idea if it's even possible to make money on it. I'm gonna bet you paid too much for it, and you're going to lose money if you sell it.

That is, unless you bought from a tweaker who only wanted enough money for his next fix. In which case, there's a name for it. "In possession of stolen property"

 

[rideit]

Give it to a neighborhood kid for raking leaves or something?

 

[Jayem]

It most certainly needs a shock rebuild and service, probably around $300-500 for both ends of the bike depending on how sketchy the suspension shop...

 

[kapusta]

I think the front rotor might be on backwards.

 

[brex17]

Just take it back to the house you stole it from.

 

[Tristan Hagel]

$300-$500 to someone who doesn't know anything about bikes.

That's it? Why so low?

 

[Flyer]

It is a 2006 outdated frame with possibly a lot of metal fatigue. The suspension and geometry is way outdated too. If it were a 29er in good shape, you may have been able to do better but nobody hardly wants 26ers anymore. I know I don't. It is hard to find tires for those. Put it back.

 

[mtnbkrmike]

That bike is worth a lot more to the victim from whom it was stolen, than to anyone else.

 

[Tristan Hagel]

Okay so now I'm I a weird position. I'm 15 and I was trying make some money for a car. I failed to consider what the consequences would be of the bike were stolen. The guy gave me two btw, the other one is also a racer x, just a bit older. I'm not certain they were stolen, but it's definitely possible. So what should I do now? Should I try to give the bikes to the police? Thing is I spent $650 for the 2 and that put me back quite a bit.

 

[holdendaniels]

You being honest about it, that is a good start. I would contact your local police department, see if they are reported stolen. Put an ad on Craigslist under the bike section. See if you can find the owner and hopefully come out with a good compromise. $650 is a lot of money to you now but it won't be some day. You can look back at this moment and know you did the right thing. Try to avoid these situations in the future, it will make your life a lot easier.

 

[Tristan Hagel]

You being honest about it, that is a good start. I would contact your local police department, see if they are reported stolen. Put an ad on Craigslist under the bike section. See if you can find the owner and hopefully come out with a good compromise. $650 is a lot of money to you now but it won't be some day. You can look back at this moment and know you did the right thing. Try to avoid these situations in the future, it will make your life a lot easier.

Thanks a lot man, I'll do that.

 

[Redlands R&C]

Okay so now I'm I a weird position. I'm 15 and I was trying make some money for a car. I failed to consider what the consequences would be of the bike were stolen. The guy gave me two btw, the other one is also a racer x, just a bit older. I'm not certain they were stolen, but it's definitely possible. So what should I do now? Should I try to give the bikes to the police? Thing is I spent $650 for the 2 and that put me back quite a bit.

You can check things like bikeindex.com to see if they are registered as stolen too. If you are active on social media/facebook there are lots of groups for "Stolen bike "insert city here"" that you could join. There is a group that I follow even though I don't live in the city any more, and there are dozens of bikes posted daily as stolen.

 

[Tristan Hagel]

You can check things like bikeindex.com to see if they are registered as stolen too. If you are active on social media/facebook there are lots of groups for "Stolen bike "insert city here"" that you could join. There is a group that I follow even though I don't live in the city any more, and there are dozens of bikes posted daily as stolen.

Alright, thanks.

 

[Muggsly]

About tree fiddy!

 

[Flyer]

Next time, you should do some research on the bikes you're buying. Trust me- I have done impulsive stuff too. It never turns out well but good lesson learned. You can try to sell them for what you have in them. I am not sure they are stolen since they are so old but ya never know.

 

[Harold]

Thing is I spent $650 for the 2 and that put me back quite a bit.

Even if the bikes are not stolen, it's simply not possible to make a profit here. If you went for the quick flip option, you'd probably just break even. If you tried to fix them up, you'd definitely lose money.

This is why it's important to do your research before you meet the seller. You've got to know what something like this can sell for. What's the desirability? What will it cost to get what you need to fix it up?

Making money flipping bikes requires a few things.
First, you've gotta be able to do that research quickly and have at least a loose idea of the market.
You need to be able to do most of the wrenching on your own to fix them up. If you're paying someone else for the labor, you're going to start losing money fast.
You probably ought to specialize is some smaller niche. I knew a guy who specifically flipped vintage Italian road bikes. He knew the bikes and parts intimately and didn't need to burn time doing a ton of research. He could make a reasonable assessment of a bike on the spot.
You're going to need to work to find good deals. The guy I knew who flipped Italian road bikes, he didn't troll classified ads most of the time (sometimes he did when he needed parts or was looking for prices on comps). He worked to find people selling random stuff out of old barns. Estate sales where they didn't know what they had, etc. Ppl selling on classified ads typically either know what they have and are pricing it accordingly, or they think they have something worth more than it is. You rarely find people selling low in those environments. If you can buy low, you have a little wiggle room in your budget to fix the bike up.
Just don't buy stolen stuff. You need to be able to assess the seller, too.

Search serial numbers on stolen bike listings. Check for stolen bike reports elsewhere like the local police, on Facebook, local forums, craigslist, etc. If those come up empty, then you can say you did your due diligence to make sure the bikes aren't stolen.