1991 Ultimate from Poughkeepsie-the story-

Robellion

Dirt Disciple
Hi all- I know the early ending of the auction caused a stir with some potential buyers and possibly even some board members here. It happened like this- During the first auction, I was in contact with the seller but made no offer as I wanted to get more details and see more pics before I was even going to bid or make any offer- he never gave me more pics and then the listing ended with the reserve not met. I wrote to him with a offer slightly above the auction
price and he declined and told me his target price- we negotiated a price and I let him know within a few days if I could swing it, then he listed the auction again with new pics. I decided that I could meet him at his new price and gave him a deposit via Paypal so he then took down the auction. I came up, looked over the bike and took it home. I warned him that if he were to list the auction again while negotiating a deal that there might be some angry bidders, but he felt like he wanted to see where it was going- so to his frustration at how much the bidding was going the second time around he just took me up on our previously negotiated number.

When I picked it up, he did tell me that someone had offered him almost
two times more than we had settled on, but felt ok about it since our deal was already in motion- to whoever that was, you are glad you did not spend that money on this- it's a project bike at best. Almost 1/2 of the components were either cracked or so neglected that they were practically throw away parts. Ringle collar- cracked, both Cooks arms-cracked, Ringle seat post- stripped (that's why the seat was in that upward position), but worst of all was that the frame had the typical seat tube problem, the post jammed against the inside for so long in the same position that it busted out of the tube and created a small hole and some disfigurement. No original stickers as the bike was stolen from the seller and returned a few years later with a new paint job! On the bright side, the rest of the frame is just fine- no real rust issues at all, just some light surface rust where paint was chipped. The Fork, stem, bars, shifters, XT derailleurs, wheels with that Bullseye hub, seat and brakes are all in great shape but he did drill holes in the SS-7 levers.....ouch! Anyway, I feel good about the frame and the prospect of restoring it.

To all the potential last minute bidders who may have won if the auction were to finish- I am sorry it went down like that.

Eric
 
Alls fair in love and war, the only people who will complain are those that didn't think of doing that. I almost always ask for a BIN if I really want something and a good 25% of the time I get it. Good luck with the build!
 
pete_mcc":1ss6dnu9 said:
Alls fair in love and war, the only people who will complain are those that didn't think of doing that. I almost always ask for a BIN if I really want something and a good 25% of the time I get it. Good luck with the build!

Well, not quite the "only people". I was willing to negotiate, but the seller, was coming across as some stand up guy who wanted to abide by ebay rules, yadayadayda. Truth is most people think of this, but not everyone is willing to throw good money after bad, (not saying that's what Eric did).

Robellion, congrats on the pick up, glad you were able to salvage the frame/stem and a couple parts. The frame/stem was all I was interested in, and my best offer was $800; definitely not twice the $750 or so it ended at the first time.

I've seen better example ultimate frames sell for around the $800 price, if not lower, so I wasn't going to go higher for this example, though that funky ftw stem was sure tempting, and probably the best thing about his auction.

I was a bit ticked at the seller for bullshitting a bit; why not just be honest, and say, I want a buttload of money for my neglected yeti, and want to see if I can strike it rich on the bay. Then again, it's his perogative, and there is nothing wrong with wanting the most for something you have, just don't act otherwise...it can leave some with a bad taste in their mouth, and not just because they didn't think of throwing money at it.

Anyway, not a big deal, and again, congrats on landing it, eric. Not too many ultimates floating around our neck of the woods. Be sure to post photos once you've built it back up proper

:cool:
 
Whoops- sorry, meant to put a link to the original thread myself. Thanks for that.
Seller also said he is still sitting on the original cable stops, cooks caps and paperwork from the original sale, and will get me those items....maybe....?
Anyway, I agree he should have been more honest about the whole thing, and if you noticed he said the frame was absolutely in great shape- no issues. But there was, which tells me he didn't really look it over very well- but I did before I handed him cash so we are square. I sure would have cringed if I had been a buyer from another country and found out after the fact that the seat tube needs to be replaced! I will say this, the seller didn't seem like he was the type to be deceptive- more like "not the sharpest pencil in the drawer".

I contacted Frank the welder, the guy who built the frame and he is on board with the repair! should be fun. If anyone knows more about details on decals, paint colors, the missing seat collar or any other things I should know about the restoration, I would appreciate the input-
Oh- can anyone elaborate on the stem more? should there be decals on that? Initials?
Thanks all
Eric
 
Robellion":3vom4skn said:
Whoops- sorry, meant to put a link to the original thread myself. Thanks for that.
Seller also said he is still sitting on the original cable stops, cooks caps and paperwork from the original sale, and will get me those items....maybe....?
Anyway, I agree he should have been more honest about the whole thing, and if you noticed he said the frame was absolutely in great shape- no issues. But there was, which tells me he didn't really look it over very well- but I did before I handed him cash so we are square. I sure would have cringed if I had been a buyer from another country and found out after the fact that the seat tube needs to be replaced! I will say this, the seller didn't seem like he was the type to be deceptive- more like "not the sharpest pencil in the drawer".

I contacted Frank the welder, the guy who built the frame and he is on board with the repair! should be fun. If anyone knows more about details on decals, paint colors, the missing seat collar or any other things I should know about the restoration, I would appreciate the input-
Oh- can anyone elaborate on the stem more? should there be decals on that? Initials?
Thanks all
Eric

Sounds like a great project. You should make a thread over in the reader's rides section, covering the restoration. I'm sure there are a few on here that will be able to help.
Pete, the guy who posted above, restored a fairly beat Ultimate as well; look up his thread via the search feature, ah, nevermind, I'll just link you

here you go:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... i+ultimate

best of luck; I'll be checking out your thread ;)
 
pete_mcc":36q8579d said:
Alls fair in love and war, the only people who will complain are those that didn't think of doing that. I almost always ask for a BIN if I really want something and a good 25% of the time I get it. Good luck with the build!

so do I .

it is always best to ask for a bin , you might bet lucky , nothing wrong with that .
 
cchris2lou":eu59zk3f said:
pete_mcc":eu59zk3f said:
Alls fair in love and war, the only people who will complain are those that didn't think of doing that. I almost always ask for a BIN if I really want something and a good 25% of the time I get it. Good luck with the build!

so do I .

it is always best to ask for a bin , you might bet lucky , nothing wrong with that .

that's already bee covered. It was asked an answered, but a bit dishonestly. The better lesson here is everyone has their price if the money is right, but I wouldn't subscribe to that either...I think :?
 
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