Crash ins. claim, which bits get replaced??

mfin

A car pulled out on me last night warming up for a TT, his fault, didnt look and he pulled out across a crossroads he didnt have right of way on, and I went into the side of him after managing to get down to about 15mph by then.

Bike was brand new, had 4.55 miles showing on the computer.

Its a Canyon Speedmax AL, aluminium frame with a carbon fork, running 50mm carbon tubulars.

Now Im nursing bruises and looking up what needs replacing, the blokes admitted fault to the police and myself, police were there, he's insured, all fine on that account.

So the bike.

1. Fork, Im not happy riding a carbon fork thats had a head on, its my face that gets it if it breaks one day.
2. Bar set-ups all scratched, levers, shifters the same.
3. Stem's scratched underneath.
4. Front wheel's pretty wonky really, and has taken the impact although cant see cracks, but again, dont like the proposition of the carbon having been cracked.
5. Back wheel is out of true enough to rub the brake blocks
6. Rear mech scratched and damaged
7. Rear mech hanger is not replaceable on this frame but where the bikes gone down on the rear mech its bent the hanger a little, bend it back and forget it?

....like I said, it was all brand new really, so if Id found frame scratches Id be gutted on that, but I havent, only that bent hanger area.

Anyone had a similar situation, and any pointers on whether I should expect to get all this replaced as new, or will I end up with straightened wheels always knowing that front one's taken an impact etc etc.

Not so simple as an off-the-shelf whole bike I suppose as everything was bought separately and built up.

Be interested by any feedback to what to expect. Am gutted really but at least Im not properly hurt thats the main thing.

Nairnster

There have been plenty of similar threads abut collisions lately. I suggest contacting someone who deals with cycling claims.

Cant see why it would be any different to a car claim, the damage would need to be assesses surely?

As for the carbon, I agree with you. It is prone to suffereing something called BVID. Barely Visible Impact Damage. This can show as a small mark externally, but the actual structural damage is far greater. Something I have always wondered about carbon frames involved in crashes etc.

guity

I had a similar incident in November. I just claimed for the whole bike for the value it was insured for on my house insurance. I claimed through my own insurance and instructed them to go get their money off the drivers insurance and re-instate my no claims bonus once they had got me sorted. If you say it has carbon in the bike they usually just write off the whole thing regardless as its cheaper to replace the whole thing than individual parts.

The only issue you may find is initially they tried to send me to a specified bike shop (something like wheelies direct, which specialise in compensation replacements) but I wanted a Canyon so badgered them a bit more for a cheque instead. I assume you would want to do this too so you could get another canyon. If you say it has carbon in the bike they usually just write off the whole thing regardless as its cheaper to replace the whole thing than individual parts.

Hope that helps!

guity

I forgot to say, if you are a member of BC they will hook you up with a soliciter with experience in this area and guide you through the process for free...

markos1963

Given the newness of the bike I'd be looking for a new replacement of all damaged/potentially damaged parts. Go to a reputable bike shop and explain the situation and ask them for a written quote(some might make a charge for this which is reasonable to expect and you can reclaim this cost from the drivers insurance) Add up all your other out of pocket expenses as well, phone calls, petrol and parking, postage, mediacl and clothing.

mouth

I'd be wanting a new ride mate. I guess that even if the frame is undamaged, it would be considered uneconomical to repair.

benno68

Given that it was so new, I'd be looking for a full replacement. If it's repaired, the value will diminish significantly when you come to sell it.

mfin

Its difficult to know I suppose at the moment, the insurance company are going to phone me in a couple of days, Ive priced up the bar setup, shifters, brake levers and stem. Im getting a price on the fork.

Its stupid stuff thats annoying, I had new Sram Force 2009 stuff on there Id bought over time and now there's no rear mechs apart from the 2011 ones which are a completely different colour, so that isnt going to match.

I suppose I'll have to see what they say, Ideally I want a cheque to the value of the bits so then I can go make my best decisions on buying the new stuff again yknow, cos availability of things changes and what you buy a couple of months back, well, you might buy something else a couple of months later cos of availability/good pricing etc.

Tis annoying, Id much rather it didnt happen cos I was 100% happy with it, let alone the bruising. Expect it'll take weeks to sort out before I have it going again too. Hmmph.