What do I do about this dodgy Ebay seller?

are you serious? nobody will know what one is, unless they are into bikes. his listing is accurate, technically, but it does not explain that this is therefore dangerous to ride!
No one reading the auction will think that someone would have the gall to sell something they knew to be dangerous, and will assume the 'lockring' isn't a big deal, as he said.
Buyer beware my fucking arse.

Yes I am quite serious.

"Car for sale, no distributor cap"

If you were interested in buying a car and saw this, would you not question SOMEONE about whether or not the distributor cap was necessary for safe or effective operation? If not, you are a fool.

Listing is accurate. Buyer beware.

No, the listing isn't accurate. There's a huge difference between saying 'no lockring' and actually telling the truth, which would be to say 'no lockring, so you'll need to spend at least sixty bells to put it right before you get to ride it."

Or you could swap a dairylea triangle for a new rear wheel, see MultiGrooves.

'All it takes for evil to triumph...is for a good man to do nothing'....Edmund Burke got it right....Fatbloke do not walk away do something.....Caveat Emptor....is an excuse....an out date get out clause........ 'We ARE our brothers' keepers'.....after all!

Yeah, right, of course. I keep forgetting that the whole world is a bike mechanic, and anyone buying a bike would never dream that it might be fit for fucking purpose, and would of course strip it down and rebuild it as a matter of formality.

Ok - fair enough. I'll meet you on Brick Lane on Sunday morning so we can warn all the people buying Unipacks that the chain will snap, the hub bearings will fail and the headset will come loose in five minutes' riding.

While we're at it, I'll need someone to spend all their time sat on eBay to check listings to make sure the descriptions are 100% accurate and no-one's going to get misled.

Oh, and we should probably have someone picketing Halfords, Evans and all the other major bike retailers too just to make sure they're behaving.

It can't be done - dodgy stuff will be sold on eBay, people will exploit people's trust and others will try and sell shit for an extortionate price by adding the word 'fixed' to the item description. Buyer beware is the only defence you have. When I built my first fixed I didn't know a thing about lockrings, flip-flop hubs and chainlines, but you do your research. If you're too stupid to do that, or too eager to jump on the fixed bandwagon, you deserve what you get - yes it's a shame, but there's not a lot can be done.

Mooks is right that you cannot stop it from happening.....what little you can do and that might be little indeed is better than doing nothing...at least your conscience is clear...otherwise why start this post in the first place!

Mooks is right that you cannot stop it from happening.....what little you can do and that might be little indeed is better than doing nothing...at least your conscience is clear...otherwise why start this post in the first place!

A rational post to calm the storm...

I've just noticed that the winning bidder's ID is kept private, so you can't e-mail them to warn them, but I did notice this, asked on the 23rd...

Q: Hello, What is the significance of there not being a lock ring on the fixed cog? 23-Nov-08

A: It can unscrew if enough back pressure is applied to the pedals however this is usually when the bike has only one brake and you reverse pressure on the pedals to slow down. Not the case with two brakes as here. I added it to the description purely for completeness. hope this is of use regards Graham

Seems to have covered all the bases?

Yeah but it would have been so much easier/less dodgy for this seller to have put on a freewheel instead. Really ought to respace and redish the wheel too. I think the OPer has a good point, the seller's a dick.

Maybe we should do an Ebay attack!

2 brakes = lockring not really necessary as you wont be skid stopping or resistance braking.

Fatbloke, what you should have done is contacted the seller and said that you felt the bike was unsafe and asked for a partial refund to pay for work to be done to make it safe and said that upon receipt of said partial refund you would leave positive feedback.

Seller would have probably refunded £20 or so to pay for a weld job etc and you would have had even more of a bargain.

I did this with wheels i bought that were described as "negligible wear" but when they arrived the braking surface turned out to be pretty worn.

You also have to remember that a bicycle is a complex item and that in the case of Ebay while one mans junk can be another mans treasure the same is also true.

As for "sabotaging" this guys listings, i have emailed him with a link to this thread and advised him to cancel any bids from you so i wouldn't goto the bother.

You tell tale tit.

No, the listing isn't accurate. There's a huge difference between saying 'no lockring' and actually telling the truth, which would be to say 'no lockring, so you'll need to spend at least sixty bells to put it right before you get to ride it."

If I sold a wheel on ebay do I need to tell you that there's no bike included so it would make cycling somewhat difficult? No. The listing is accurate.

Fat bloke's here. We're safe.

2 brakes = lockring not really necessary as you wont be skid stopping or resistance braking.

Fatbloke, what you should have done is contacted the seller and said that you felt the bike was unsafe and asked for a partial refund to pay for work to be done to make it safe and said that upon receipt of said partial refund you would leave positive feedback.

Seller would have probably refunded £20 or so to pay for a weld job etc and you would have had even more of a bargain.

I did this with wheels i bought that were described as "negligible wear" but when they arrived the braking surface turned out to be pretty worn.

You also have to remember that a bicycle is a complex item and that in the case of Ebay while one mans junk can be another mans treasure the same is also true.

As for "sabotaging" this guys listings, i have emailed him with a link to this thread and advised him to cancel any bids from you so i wouldn't goto the bother.

Well done you.

I did suggest to the guy that he refund me the cost of putting it right, but he obviously preferred to take it back and fob it off on someone else for the whole cost - that's why he's waited a few months before relisting, so I could no longer leave negative feedback.

And having two brakes makes no difference when the rear cog unwinds and falls off as soon as the wheel tries to rotate faster than the crank - that means you have to be accelerating all the time. Not needing to resistance-brake has nothing to do with it.

Here's a guy who has taken the cheapest, laziest approach possible to 'fixing' a bike in order to turn a quick buck, has produced something dangerous and that just doesn't work, has accepted it's fucked and taken it back from one buyer, then waited before offering it again in exactly the same condition with no returns - and you're on his side?

Fat bloke's here. We're safe.

My balls are bigger. But I do have the same suit and lights for unbeatable aero night-time commuting.

I'm on the sellers side i'm afraid. It's a "conversion" its not got a lock ring, I think thats all that needs saying. The Unipack sellers never bothered to advertise its lack of fixed hub, and that was claiming to be a track bike. I understand you were unhappy with your purchase, and it sounds like the seller was generous in allowing a return. Surely thats enough?

i might bid on it then convert it to freewheel, seems like a nice enough pub bike

i might bid on it then convert it to freewheel, seems like a nice enough pub bike

Chainline is still a mile out, so would still need redishing...

The seller emailed me back stating that - as i suspected - he has been using the bike as is without incident.
He also mentioned the state that Fatbloke sent the bike back in.
Tell me this Fatbloke, if a lockring is such a crucial part of a fixed wheel bike then how come a high percentage of brakeless track bikes don't have them? Would that be because generally people are capable of moving their legs in a pedalling motion at a variety of speeds and hence don't have to be "accelerating all the time"?