Two handlebar tourer (Dawes Galaxy)

I put the 8 speed bits on, 11-34T, and cycled down to Surrey last weekend for a friend's camping birthday. I love this bike!

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I think it's finally time to dig out roger_musson.pdf and build this dynamo wheel. I've had the hub waiting since 2017..

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On tenterhooks...

Sorry I've been off forum for a while but the wheel build went beautifully that day and there are some other updates I will get around to sharing

It turns out the ball bearing + wax security measure for saddles just means they'll drill the seat tube clamp ;)

This was Friday night and the saddle was on ebay the next morning complete with the serial code in photos.

Any advice on how to get it back?

Based on the listing & profile I doubt the seller stole it but they probably know it's stolen. They've over-tensioned the saddle, stuck it in some original packaging and written:

This is one of many bicycle saddles I have purchased in my hunt for the saddle that suits me best... fitted but never used in as good as new condition.

I rode it for 3 years lols.

Edit: I was wrong, brooks doesn't do serial numbers.

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Bummer. Don't let the ebay profile put you off. Could be a hijacked account. No sure the best way to get it back, buy it and turn up to collect with some hired goons?

Hmm not sure it's worth the trip. It's listed in Ipswich, was stolen in Kings Cross.

What can you do to fix the seat tube clamp?

What can you do to fix the seat tube clamp?

Hacksaw the braze-ons off, file down and use a collar?

Hmm not sure it's worth the trip. It's listed in Ipswich, was stolen in Kings Cross.

Eesh. That sucks. Definitely flipped it quick. Maybe worth messaging them, explaining the situation and seeing if you can cut a deal? Guess it rewards the dishonesty but you'll be paying for a new one anyways so might as well be one that fits your ass.

Message them and say you'll report them to eBay for handling stolen goods, they're blatantly lying if saying 'as new'. eBay will suspend their account and ask them to provide two forms of ID plus proof of purchase for the saddle, which they don't have. So they'll be fucked. Tell them to ship it to you free of charge or you'll go ahead and report and their selling account will be suspended indefinitely.

Haven't thought too much about it yet but hoping it'll be salvageable with just a washer, we'll see. I'm taking the opportunity to strip the frame and get the forks painted (I'm an idiot for leaving it this long since the mods).

Yeah it was flipped quick. Actually being on ebay less than 12 hours after being stolen suggests the seller is involved. I only saw it today.

Thanks. Is ebay proactive with that? Wouldn't the seller just remove the listing? I've taken screenshots. It's also not a huge account (22 positive feedback in last 6 months) so they might not care much about losing it?

Maybe speak to eBay with the evidence it's yours first? They may advise you to buy it and then give you a refund

What @IrPOWERranger said, go to eBay first. If you have proof of ownership great, even better if you reported the theft and have some sort of police reference. IME eBay have been pretty hot on potentially stolen good, YMMV of course.

I just spoke to ebay customer services and the guy just said to report the seller. After some persuasion he also said I'd get a refund if I bought it before proving it was stolen, although I'm not sure what "sufficient evidence" looks like. I have photos with the serial number and it was registered with brooks

Yeah my worry with reporting now is that it'll just disappear. I think my options are:

1. Message the seller, telling them to cancel the auction and send it to me otherwise I'll report
   
2. Bid & win the auction (ends on Sat), report afterwards, try get a refund
   
3. Report now (and maybe bid if it stays up)
   
   

I got it from Spa cycles for £65 and the bid is already at £48..

Registered in your name, and you have evidence of the serial number, and pictures of said serial number?
I would make a police report (including the serial number) so you can submit that as well.
Did you get a copy of that customer services chat?

I would say bid & win, then claim a refund. Given how often eBay closes cases in favour of the buyer anyway, it seems like a slam-dunk.
Messaging them now, surely they'll just go dark and you have no recourse.

Agreed, thanks. And yes I have that evidence but technically it doesn't prove they stole it, only that I owned it once. I filed a police report earlier, it seems a waste of everyone's time because I don't think there's much they can reasonably do but if I get a reference number that will help with the ebay claim.

Ok I'm super confused now.

I thought the big stamp on the bottom was a unique serial number because I had to provide it to brooks when registering, but it's actually a production lot code. Thought it was weird it was only 3 characters long.

However.. there's a stamp defect before the "1" which matches. And there's another number stamped (serial number?) which you can just about see the last digits of in the ebay photos. Also the discolouration around the borders of the holes is quite distinctive. And it was posted 12 hours after being stolen! Case closed.

However however.. the rivets don't seem to match exactly. And the ebay leather looks quite new I think? And the rest of the photos of the top of the saddle don't look like mine. Even if they polished and tensioned it, I can't imagine mine looking like that. I thought maybe they'd combined photos of different saddles but now I'm questioning the whole thing.

Photo with the saddle clamp is mine from 3 years ago. Other photo is from ebay. It's the same saddle right??

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Very similar from the underside markings and stampings. Though the seller listed the same saddle on the 24th of Feb - ended on the 3rd of March - unsold/reserve not met. Then re-listed.
What date was yours nicked?

Also, if you're modding the fork why not get a new seat bolt boss at the same time?

Yikes in that case it can't be mine. How do you see old listings / please can you dm me a link?

Fork mods were done last year but haven't ruled out frame mods..

sellers other items, filter, completed items

So yeah it was listed previously, before mine was stolen. Also brooks got back to me saying the 3 character code 1G8 identifies the month of production as July 2018, and the other number is the production lot of the leather. They don't have unique serial numbers.

It seems quite a coincidence that this listing appeared 12 hours after mine was nicked, with the same month of production (nearly 5 years ago), same last digit of the other code and same markings around the holes and before the "1". But I expect those markings aren't as random as they look, and probably a feature of the whole production lot.

Mind blown. I don't know what's real anymore.

Surprisingly the police did investigate as well, I had a phone call and emails with a PC. They were decent and also concluded there wasn't enough evidence linking the saddles.

Thanks for all your help!