Being someone who has ridden only steel or aluminum bikes for years, decided to add a carbon fiber…read morebike to my small stable. At first, I perused the local Craigslist for one that met my size, price, and rim brake criteria -- I own both rim and disc brake bikes, just prefer the former. Anyway, while I could find a few the weeks I looked, always a tad skeptical when going the private route that had a buyer-beware vibe that kept me from pulling the trigger.
Just so happened that BBG put some of its bikes on CL the last time I looked, so went to their website and looked for some reviews. This led me to their Yelp listing and Miki W's 5-star review from about a year ago. Great, and their website had an all purchases "...30-day money back guarantee." So, I contacted Pedro about my two candidates. While one had already sold online, the other was still available and stopped by on a Sunday when he'd be at the shop.
Long story short, it was a 2012 carbon bike from a known manufacturer in excellent shape at a good price, so it was bought. A 5-star experience to this point. Even told Pedro so, noting the worries associated with Craigslist, and his 30-day guarantee. Interestingly, after hearing my relief with the guarantee, he said, yes, if you need "...any adjustment to the bike in the next 30 days", just contact him. Hmm... first concern arose since money back wasn't mentioned.
Still, my test ride felt really good, so no worries, I told myself. The very next day, after further evaluating the tires and deciding to replace them, looked more closely at the bike's alloy wheels that came with it. They were older black Sunrims CR18 wheels (36-spoke), which seemed out of place with this era of carbon bikes. Going online, found the original wheelset spec for this model:
Oval 330 aero alloy, 30mm rims, DT Swiss Champion spokes 20/24H
Hmm... second concern; a lesser wheelset had been switched out. so, I texted Pedro about this. Loved the bike, but sought wheels closer to the bike's spec, if something could be worked out. After about an hour, Pedro responded and said he didn't have anything in the shop, but to wait a week and he'd "...get something nice for you for sure." That seemed reasonable and I texted back to say I could wait a week... no problem. That's when things took a downturn.
So, eight days after the purchase, I texted back midday to see if Pedro had found a better wheelset. No reply. Hmm... I'm sure he's quite busy with his bike shop sale business, so gave Pedro a couple of days. This time, though, I called the phone number of the shop I initially used to connect with him. Now, after many rings, voicemail. So, I left my name, phone number, and a clear message of why I was calling. That was a week and a half ago, and still no reply.
So, my initial reaction to the bike and sale, 5-stars. Two-star ratings drop for the response, or lack of one, for seeking better wheels, which I was willing to pay to upgrade, if something better was found, and lack of customer support for my concerns. Your mileage may vary, and I would only hope it would be better than mine. With the hope you wouldn't be ghosted like I had been for seeking a better component, or if you (God forbid) ever needed a refund.