I've no idea what I just bought

[MahatmaAndhi]

For £50. It's a frame design that I've seen before on bikes including the Carrera Intercity, but it has mechanical disc brakes front and back. It has 7 gears and it's not a grip shift.
The frame says "New design folding" then "CITY BIKE" and along the seat say, it says "classicvoguebike".

I've no idea what this is. I bought it from someone in Cambridge. They weren't English, but I didn't think to ask where they got it from. I'm quite chuffed though. Seems like a little mean machine.

 

[Racing roadkill]

It’s a Taiwanese bike, the same as the Carrera, but with Taiwanese spec.

 

[MahatmaAndhi]

Suits me fine. I'll remove the stickers if I can, improve the shifter add give it a good go over. For the money, I'm very pleased.

 

[shingwell]

You could buy 10 of those for what I recently paid for a second hand Brompton!

 

[Smudge]

Seems a real good deal for £50...... and having disc brakes means no rim wear, which is obviously more of an issue with smaller wheels.
Good buy.

 

[alicat]

For £50....I bought it from someone in Cambridge. They weren't English, but I didn't think to ask where they got it from.

How sure are you that it was theirs to sell?

 

[MahatmaAndhi]

How sure are you that it was theirs to sell?

I was given no reason to doubt them. I'm not sure how thorough you can be with a second hand purchase. Genuine question: What would you do in this situation?

 

[alicat]

Ask them some questions about what use they have made of it and why they are selling it. Ask them where they bought it and how much they paid for it. Ask them to produce the purchase receipt.

It's protection for you if nothing else. Bike theft is rife in Cambridge and if it's not theirs then they can't pass on ownership (good title to you).

 

[MahatmaAndhi]

I've honestly never gone in to that much detail during a sale. If something seems dodgy (they want to meet in a car park, the price is exceptionally good etc.) then I take a screenshot of the ad. If the police ever stop me, at least I have proof that I never stole it and take the loss on the chin (I don't spend hundreds at a time).
Through my dealings on Facebook, Gumtree, Shpock etc, I've come across some all manner of people. Some were just not up for a conversation, some could talk the hind legs off a donkey. But I'm not going to interrogate them to establish the backstory of the bike - and nobody has done the same with me as of yet.