bike replacement

gonzalez gomez

has anyone had any dealings with Wheelies for bike replacement? I've had two bikes stolen, my insurers will replace them with new for old but they will be supplied by Wheelies. Insured value of the bikes is £1500 each, actual costs were around £1400 bike bikes were only just 12 months old. I would like to replace with like for like but Wheelies don't offer the brands.

oodboo

What brands do they offer? Anything there you like?

My insurance couldn't source a direct replacement for my bike when it was stolen and they settled in cash. Could be worth asking your insurance company if they would be willing to do the same.

cooldad

Bit expensive (so they can give the insurers a fat 'discount') but bit of info would help - what was stolen?
Insurers should replace with equivalent, but not necessarily the exact models.

cooldad

They will normally offer cash but it will be less the discount they would get from Wheelies.

gonzalez gomez

Bikes stolen were:

cube reaction team 2011 mountain bike and guerciotti g45 custom build road bike campag centaur group fsa sl-k finishing kit.

on their website they have a giant xtc composite 2 mtb and giant tcr composite road bike in the price bracket, they both look ok, but i was more than happy with my cube and would like another one.

cooldad

Replacement though should not just be based on price - it should be based on spec as well, so if the spec on the bikes at Wheelies is inferior to that on the bikes stolen, the should replace like with like.

Dredd6969

Had my 2008 Mongoose Teocali Elite stolen last year (cost £800 from Pauls Cycles). Insurance company instructed Wheelies for a replacement. They took into account the spec of the bike and offered an equivalent spec new bike. I now ride a £2K Ghost AMR 5900

Ghost turned up after a week, but had a nice dent in the downtube. Had to wait for a week for the bike to be collected and then another week for another bike to arrive. All in all my experience has been good and bad with Wheelies, but alls well that ends well.

cat_with_no_tail

It's good that they take into accout spec and not just rrp (well, unless you've got a custom build). Wasn't aware they'd do that.

*runs off to buy a canyon and arrange for a mate to nick it*

gonzalez gomez

thanks for all the comments, I anticipate some issues with the custom build guerciotti as I have a couple of invoices missing (fsa sl-k crank and gipiemme grecal wheels). I've been honest with them not upping the spec on any items, so we'll se how it pans out. my lbs estimated £1600 for each bike based on spec and in the case of the cube replacement cost of current equivalent model (reaction slt). The best bikes i spotted on their website in the £1500 price range were Giant tcr 2 composite and giant xtc composite 2 mtb the specs not as good as my stolen bikes but they're good framests with plenty of upgrade potential.

gonzalez gomez

Insurers have allowed me £3725 to replace both bikes. I'm going to use £2 - £2.5k for the road bike. Can't decide what to spend the rest on either the Giant XTC Composite 2 or 3, the specs nowhere near that of my Cube but the frame looks pretty good and worty of upgrading the kit over time. Other options include the Kona Kula, C/Dale Flash 3 alloy, Scott Scale 50 or Bianchi JAB 7500.They also have the 2011 Stumpjumper FSR Comp reduced to £1500. I think the Giants the best bet, but would welcome some opinions.