This is an update on it turns out that this bike was not stolen the serial number checked out with specialized. However once i purchased it i brought it into the shop for a tune up and i learned i had a whole other problem. It turns out this bike is a counterfeit. I was not aware this kind of thing even existed. I still find it strange that someone could be good enough to manufacture a carbon bike yet choose to scam people instead of starting a legitimate bike company. The specialized company has apparently seen an increase in this type of thing recently however this was the first time a forgery included an actual serial number.
Nov 25, 2011 The serial number is usually located on the bottom of the bike between the pedals - on the bottom bracket. Question still doesn't make a lot of sense. Ask an authorized Specialized dealer. A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value. The unique code that. There is no serial number under the bottom bracket of this 1996 Specialized M2 Pro Specialized.jpg and I haven't found it anywhere else.
Which i assume was just copied from an authentic bike. I know this is what i get from buying outside of an authorized dealer but i just don't have that much money to spend on a bike. Since i sold my car i have been saving up the money that would have been going to gas to buy a race bike but figured i could get a good deal off the second hand market. Well buyer better beware i guess.
Summer Wishes Winter Dreams. Although i was looking out for stolen bikes i never considered the possibility it was counterfeit. As a result i am out the money and left with this fake bike. However the specialized company is livid that this bike that they did not produce has their name all over it. They want me to turn it in to an authorized dealer for destruction.
Nokia C2 Facebook Apps. Which will leave me with no money and no bike. So hopefully writing this here will help someone else learn from my mistake. Well, can they realistically force you (legally or otherwise) to destroy it? I would write to them with some firmly-worded sob story telling them they can either give you some sort of compensation, or else they can fuck off and you will certainly never be purchasing a real specialized if this is how they deal with things and so forth. If you're not comfortable riding it, I don't know how legal it would be to resell it, but I would feel ethically ok about selling it to someone with full disclosure.