Untested

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Look, I've purchased a lot of parts on this site, and 90% of the time, it's great. But I just want to put a moratorium on something I see in the "for sale" section, relating to lights. Can we all just finally admit, once and for all, that "untested" means that it doesn't work?

I'm not necessarily trying to suggest that there was maliciousness in the shelf full of cool looking headlights I've got that don't do anything when you put batteries in there, but I'm not saying they were all bad luck buys, either. The word untested is a code that means you put batteries in there, it didn't come on, and so you don't want to bother to see if it's something simple, like a burned out bulb, or something more permanent, such as rotted out contacts. I've got one I found a wire off its bolt, but once fixed, it still didn't function. I did one of those LED conversions in the "how to" section, and now I've got a cool light. Oh well. Maybe a little pricy to get an unworking light, but I've got no complaints.

Because that's where the untested word comes from, right? "Doesn't work" it's a $10 light. "Works great" is $40. "Untested," and at least you can charge something in between the two.

Yes, this is me venting a little, but I also would be very happy if I stopped seeing that code word come up so often in the "for sale" threads.
 
I agree with you 100 percent! I hate seeing that word in any description!

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If the add says untested, I usually ask the seller a few questions I might need, as well as some closer shots. I can usually tell at that point if it just needs a little cleaning or if it's too much work for my liking. I've gotten most all mine to work. If it looks like too much, I move on, no biggie.
 
Well, I'm not on the Cabe.
Yeah I'm sure some corksniffer over there flipped on their 3000 dollar Schwinn with an tested headlight...
Seriously, I see untested as an open invitation to negotiate the price down.
Carl.
if it just needs a little cleaning or if it's too much work for my liking. I've gotten most all mine to work. If it looks like too much, I move on, no biggie.
bordx.jpg

Ha Ha. Seriously, I joined the Cabe about the same time as RRB, Asked a question or 2 and never got much of a response - so I don't go back. :p
 
This is an interesting little discussion...

First of all, since the first time I saw the "untested" label on a bike light, i immediately assumed "broken" and moved on. For folks who want to try a conversion to modern LEDs, or who just want to mount a cool looking light on their bike and never intend to ride at night and turn it on, it probably won't be a dealbreaker.... but they would probably buy if the term used was "untested" or "broken" or even "busted all to bleep...."

None of that applies to me, b/c i don't want to mount a light unless I'm going to use it. And, aside from a few battery powered "hipster cysts" that i can quickly transport from bike to bike for night-time pub crawls and such, all my lights tend to be modern, bright, generator hub-powered LEDs by Busch & Muller. Which brings me to my next point:

To be fair to sellers offering generator lights, it CAN be difficult to test one, if you don't have a bike with a compat generator set up to test it with. I've seen sellers offering NOS-in-box Miller light sets as "untested," and you know what? They could, hypothetically, bolt it onto a bike and test it, but then it wouldn't be new-in-box anymore, would it? And, as i type this, i realise that kinda applies to battery-lights, too. If it's a vintage-but-NIB battery light, i think i'd rather take my chances with a busted bulb filament or shelf-borne corrosion than have the seller crack the box open just to test it, know what i mean?

As for the 3-speeds and such, it is difficult to test an IGH that isn't laced into a wheel. It's also impossible to test a 3 speed (or any other IGH) without the proper shifter. With these, "untested" kinda makes sense. Sure, you can try to move the rod or the indicator by hand to make sure it has full range of motion, and if you really know 3speeds well, you may be able to guess functionality by feel...But really, unless the hub is laced into a wheel with the right shifter and properly installed/adjusted, and then you really test it (more reliable to road-test it than to test it in the stand), you can't truly know if the thing works or not. With Sturmey-Archer AW hubs, you can probably make it work no matter how bad it is, b/c parts are everywhere. For most others, parts availability can be dodgy, so you might want to be careful with untested hubs. If you buy an "untested" Shimano 333, you probably haven't read this far b/c reading and comprehension may be difficult for you.

But, yeah.... bottom line: if you're selling a used battery-powered light, put a bulb in it and see if it works before you list it. B/c most buyers, if we see the word "untested," we'll assume it's broken and either pass or toss out a wild low-ball offer.
 

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