Take it to several of your LBS and get written estimates for repair/replacement. Depreciation is what THEY want. You go for replacement. They're getting off easy. It's lawyer time if they do not want to do the right thing.

I have done this before. Make they buy you a new bike. Al does not do very will with severe impact and can in the future suddenly fail due to an incident that may have damaged a weld or other frame member. I have been hit by 3 cars now (severe)...in every instance I have NOT filed a personal injury claim - and instead made them replace my bike 100% and pay for medical bills. The is NO depreciation of a bike...they must pay for the 100% replacement value of the bicycle (it is not a car).

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

I just went through a very similar thing. I got hit by a car (driver talking on cell phone) back in October, two weeks before Great Floridian. There was not a lot of damage to my bike, at least to the untrained eye. This was on my road bike which is a Serotta Legend Ti. The only visible damage was the left brake levor/shifter was badly scratched and the wheels were knocked out of true.

I talked to a lawyer friend and he advised me in how to handle it. His told me that it is all a negotiation. What you get them to replace and what they want to replace are usually two different things. I made out all right, I'm happy with my settlement.

I had to take the bike to a shop they recommended for an estimate on repairs. They recommended replacing the Reynolds Ouza Pro forks and Kestrel Carbon bars, the brake levors/shifters and wheels. Also my helmet got replaced, a new Polar S7201 (scratched face in the crash), new Rudy Project glasses (scratched in the fall) and new Carnac Quartz shoes (side of left shoe got a 2" scuff on it). THe guy at the bike shop told me that because the bike was a Ti frame, it was hard in this situation to recommend replacement, the frame was much stronger than most other frames and aside from a small chip in the paint there was no other frame damage.

Medical cost was only $700 (x-rays and 10 stitches in arm).

Usually in settling a claim, the insurance company uses a multiplier of the medical cost (2 - 3 x) as their figure for pain and suffering.

So above all costs, parts, labor and medical, they offered me another $1000 and I told them I thought that was low and asked for $2500. They countered with $2000 and I took it. THey also reimbursed me the $300 entry fee for Great Floridian since the accident prevented me from being able to do the race.

In the early process the insurance company did ask for reciepts for some of the stuff and said they wanted to calculate depreciation. I told them no way, they had the replacement costs and I expected nothing less than being made whole again. That was the end of that discussion.

As I said earlier, it is all a negotiation, they are going to make you an offer, but it in no way has to be the bottom line. Ask what you want, make it fair and stick to it.

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Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org

If your bike were a helicopter, would you fly in it?

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Actually not. If it is their insured's fault, they have to make you whole (ie, restore you to where you were before the accident), which means replace the bike. Since there is no liquid, well-established market for your exact bike (as there would be for a car), you should insist on frame replacement. Become very, very annoying.

Definitely get the bike replaced. The thin tubes on a bike are only strong when they are whole. A small dent dramatically reduces their compression strength. This could lead to a sudden failure while you are riding. It’s not worth the risk. Repairing it is really not an option because it will ruin the value of the bike for you and no one but an expert frame builder could attempt it. I’d go for them to make you whole.



JT

It has been a long time but I think thats what its called!

A hollow column with even a small dent is dramatically weaker than a similar column without a dent.

Try this demonstration: Balance on one foot on top of an empty beer can. Have an assistant tap the center of the can with a pencil. ...Crunch!

Their fault? Get yourself a new bike.

Trader