Sports & Recreation

RFD Cycling Thread [OFFICIAL]

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Jr. Member
Mar 29, 2007
161 posts
21 upvotes
MadCow wrote: I've been an insurance claim adjuster for the past 8 years, so I can guide you through this and give you options.

I'm assuming this is your bicycle, since this is the cycling thread (confused when you mentioned mechanic, since I attribute that to a motorcycle or car).

You have a couple options, and how you go about it will depend on the insurance companies involved.

**FIRST AND FOREMOST: Get that cop to file a Police Report and provide you with the report number. This is absolutely required to help your situation.

1. Call the driver's insurance yourself and request to speak to the claims department. Provide the driver's policy number and the date of the accident. They may ask you to verify the driver's vehicle. Hopefully, the driver started a claim (if there was damage to his car that he wanted fixed). If he did, and a claim is set up, you would then provide the police report information and the information regarding the damage to your bike. The adjuster will want to see documentation to show cost of repair, and may ask for 2 or more quotes from separate shops, depending on the cost of the damage. If there is no claim set up on the policy, the adjuster will take down the information from you (vehicle involved, time of day, location of accident, your personal information, weather, and your statement of what happened). The adjuster would then contact the driver to verify the information. **THIS IS WHERE THE POLICE REPORT WILL HELP YOU TREMENDOUSLY.

2. Call your own home insurance/renters insurance. Provide them with the information of the incident and the damage to your bike. If your bike is an expensive one, hopefully you have insured it on a schedule (where the bike is described and valued accordingly). If you didn't schedule your bike on your insurance, there will most likely be limits on how much will be covered. This amount will depend on what policy you have. What will happen next is that your insurance may help you with whatever damage is done to your bike (less your deductible), and then they will subrogate from the driver's automobile insurance company for the amount of the claim. After they recover the money from the driver's insurance, you would then be reimbursed your deductible.

3. File a small claims court action against the driver AND his insurance company. This way, you will force their hand and they will have to respond within the guidelines. The downside to this is that you will have to pay for the costs to file the action, and to serve the claim against the driver and the insurance company (Maybe $200 to $300). There are guides online about how to do this. This is your last resort, and you have up to 2 years from the date of the accident to go this route if the other routes are unsuccessful.

Good luck, and I hope you are okay from the incident. If you start to feel any pain, contact your automobile insurance regarding your bodily injury. They will most likely not help with your claim for your bike damage, though.

Wow thanks for the awesome reply. You really clarified the questions I had unanswered even after talking to my home insurer. I have begun to pursue options 1 and 2 already. I really feel bad for the driver of the van, he was really apologetic and I understand it was unintentional. For him to be charged with careless driving, get 6 demerit points, and then suffer further insurance complications seems disproportionate to the accident. He did say he would take responsibility for the accident, and as far as I know he has not reneged on that.

Id prefer to pursue option 1 if the drivers insurer doesnt hassle me and agrees to pay for the repairs/replacement of the damaged parts. I know he has already started a claim and I am totally comfortable with getting a couple of quotes. Its not a super expensive bike but I think most lay people falsely presume that bikes are just a few hundred bucks. The driver said he would tell his insurer that he is taking responsibility for it, so hopefully for him, I will not need to file a police report. That said, I would not be surprised if his insurer does try to dispute it, then I will have no choice. Option 2 seems just fine as well, I am just concerned that my insurance rate could go up with filing a claim, even if I am shown not to be at fault. When I called my home insurance, it seems they were a bit confused about deductibles and rate increases since the most common thing with bikes is they are stolen and they have no one to subrogate. I think with option 2 I am more likely to get the full value for my bike parts but I suspect I will also have no choice but to file a police report since the process between 2 insurers will be more adversarial.

Anyways. Thanks so much again. Will update the crowd when I learn what happens.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 5, 2008
18182 posts
14186 upvotes
Toronto
MadCow wrote: **FIRST AND FOREMOST: Get that cop to file a Police Report and provide you with the report number. This is absolutely required to help your situation.

TomKat2 wrote: I think with option 2 I am more likely to get the full value for my bike parts but I suspect I will also have no choice but to file a police report since the process between 2 insurers will be more adversarial.
You absolutely need a police report, get one.
r1lee wrote: Tomkat does, he picked up the Farley.
Can't keep that bike in Stock, bike is pretty much still sold out since launch.
Tomkat, is the Farley the bike you had damaged?
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jun 2, 2009
2090 posts
95 upvotes
Toronto
TomKat2 wrote: Wow thanks for the awesome reply. You really clarified the questions I had unanswered even after talking to my home insurer. I have begun to pursue options 1 and 2 already. I really feel bad for the driver of the van, he was really apologetic and I understand it was unintentional. For him to be charged with careless driving, get 6 demerit points, and then suffer further insurance complications seems disproportionate to the accident. He did say he would take responsibility for the accident, and as far as I know he has not reneged on that.

Id prefer to pursue option 1 if the drivers insurer doesnt hassle me and agrees to pay for the repairs/replacement of the damaged parts. I know he has already started a claim and I am totally comfortable with getting a couple of quotes. Its not a super expensive bike but I think most lay people falsely presume that bikes are just a few hundred bucks. The driver said he would tell his insurer that he is taking responsibility for it, so hopefully for him, I will not need to file a police report. That said, I would not be surprised if his insurer does try to dispute it, then I will have no choice. Option 2 seems just fine as well, I am just concerned that my insurance rate could go up with filing a claim, even if I am shown not to be at fault. When I called my home insurance, it seems they were a bit confused about deductibles and rate increases since the most common thing with bikes is they are stolen and they have no one to subrogate. I think with option 2 I am more likely to get the full value for my bike parts but I suspect I will also have no choice but to file a police report since the process between 2 insurers will be more adversarial.

Anyways. Thanks so much again. Will update the crowd when I learn what happens.
The guy wants to risk demerit points and insurance increases because he doesn't want to pay cash for this collision? Is this the correct?
Deal Fanatic
Sep 21, 2004
8687 posts
1542 upvotes
I understand you're trying to be a nice guy but you need to file a report and have him charged. 1) so he learns his lesson 2) so it goes on record and can be used as safety stats for car v bike accidents. It's the only way things will change.

Glad to hear you're OK though and hope it resolves in your favour.

Madcow - great info!
Deal Addict
Jan 2, 2007
1098 posts
153 upvotes
Toronto
I don't think you made the implication of the police report clear to the guy - He will end up paying a LOT more than what you are asking for if he goes that rout. Stop being nice and ask him to get the bike fixed a place you deem suitable or you file the report and let the law take its course.
Newbie
User avatar
Jun 5, 2010
62 posts
50 upvotes
Toronto
Since when do police officers in Ontario allow citizens to decide whether to press charges? As far as I understand, it's the police officer's responsibility to do so when he deems necessary. This way, there can be no intimidation tactics.

I was in a very similar bike-related accident as the above. In my case, I had video evidence of the incident. A driver started to blindly back out of his driveway very quickly without thoroughly looking for passers by. I had to brake extremely hard to avoid a collision, and in doing so ended up on the pavement without even hitting his car. He realized what had happened, jumped out and tried to help me. At first, him and his wife agreed to pay for the $200 or so of damages to my bike (seat, seat post, lights, + a few other misc things). I took down their information (sans insurance info because I didn't know better). Once I had the products in hand at MEC, I called to confirm, but their tone had changed drastically. Suddenly it was my own fault. I called the police, and the officer very clearly explained: any incident involving bodily harm has to be reported to the police. They sent a cruiser to my house a few days after the incident to speak to me. After I showed the video, the officer took down my information, took a copy of the video, drove over to the guy's house and gave him a ticket for careless driving, as well as took down his insurance information for me. He instructed me to contact his insurance to make a claim. His insurance company was very unhelpful and increasingly rude as I tried to navigate their bureaucracy. At the end, I was told that I couldn't make a claim because there was no actual collision between my bicycle and his car. After contacting the police officer responsible for the case once more, he told me to just take him to small claims court. It took me a few more months, at the point mostly due to the principle of the matter, but I got my money back from him. Instead of ponying up for the accident on the spot for <$200, he ended up paying upwards of $600, inclusive of the ticket given to him by the police, mine and his court fees, etc.

What saved me was the video evidence though. If it wasn't for that, it would be my word against his. This all happened in Toronto, by the way. I can't seem to edit my Windsor tag.
Deal Addict
Mar 5, 2012
2045 posts
193 upvotes
Guelph
Looking to change the cables and hyd. hoses on my mtb to blue coloured ones, I'm in Guelph but don't mind travelling anywhere in the gta if someone can recommend a good place (honest, fair prices, quality work) to have this work done.

Appreciate any recommendations!
Jr. Member
Mar 29, 2007
161 posts
21 upvotes
MS MSP wrote: You absolutely need a police report, get one.



Tomkat, is the Farley the bike you had damaged?
No. My commute bike took the hit. Farley is safe in the stable

RIP Caad 9

Image
Deal Fanatic
Jan 17, 2003
8993 posts
1532 upvotes
Stock R wrote: I understand you're trying to be a nice guy but you need to file a report and have him charged. 1) so he learns his lesson 2) so it goes on record and can be used as safety stats for car v bike accidents. It's the only way things will change.
Tomkat,
stock is right, if he was being apologetic and understanding he wouldn't let this ride out, he would be taking care of issues immediately. I think you need to do what you need to do, at the end of the day he's responsible and you did nothing wrong.
Sr. Member
Nov 4, 2003
654 posts
81 upvotes
I know you guys mostly use GPS computers but I picked up a cateye wireless computer speed/cadence and HRM the CC-RD430DW for $103CAD from Wiggle its on sale for 46% off. I have a wired one that works great on my bike which is now permanently attached to the trainer. The wireless one will be going on the Foil.
Member
Aug 10, 2008
388 posts
17 upvotes
Toronto
Blue7thGen wrote: I know you guys mostly use GPS computers but I picked up a cateye wireless computer speed/cadence and HRM the CC-RD430DW for $103CAD from Wiggle its on sale for 46% off. I have a wired one that works great on my bike which is now permanently attached to the trainer. The wireless one will be going on the Foil.
I recently purchased the wired one for $30 from WOB. :)
Jr. Member
Mar 29, 2007
161 posts
21 upvotes
MadCow wrote: I've been an insurance claim adjuster for the past 8 years, so I can guide you through this and give you options.

I'm assuming this is your bicycle, since this is the cycling thread (confused when you mentioned mechanic, since I attribute that to a motorcycle or car).

You have a couple options, and how you go about it will depend on the insurance companies involved.

**FIRST AND FOREMOST: Get that cop to file a Police Report and provide you with the report number. This is absolutely required to help your situation.

1. Call the driver's insurance yourself and request to speak to the claims department. Provide the driver's policy number and the date of the accident. They may ask you to verify the driver's vehicle. Hopefully, the driver started a claim (if there was damage to his car that he wanted fixed). If he did, and a claim is set up, you would then provide the police report information and the information regarding the damage to your bike. The adjuster will want to see documentation to show cost of repair, and may ask for 2 or more quotes from separate shops, depending on the cost of the damage. If there is no claim set up on the policy, the adjuster will take down the information from you (vehicle involved, time of day, location of accident, your personal information, weather, and your statement of what happened). The adjuster would then contact the driver to verify the information. **THIS IS WHERE THE POLICE REPORT WILL HELP YOU TREMENDOUSLY.

2. Call your own home insurance/renters insurance. Provide them with the information of the incident and the damage to your bike. If your bike is an expensive one, hopefully you have insured it on a schedule (where the bike is described and valued accordingly). If you didn't schedule your bike on your insurance, there will most likely be limits on how much will be covered. This amount will depend on what policy you have. What will happen next is that your insurance may help you with whatever damage is done to your bike (less your deductible), and then they will subrogate from the driver's automobile insurance company for the amount of the claim. After they recover the money from the driver's insurance, you would then be reimbursed your deductible.

3. File a small claims court action against the driver AND his insurance company. This way, you will force their hand and they will have to respond within the guidelines. The downside to this is that you will have to pay for the costs to file the action, and to serve the claim against the driver and the insurance company (Maybe $200 to $300). There are guides online about how to do this. This is your last resort, and you have up to 2 years from the date of the accident to go this route if the other routes are unsuccessful.

Good luck, and I hope you are okay from the incident. If you start to feel any pain, contact your automobile insurance regarding your bodily injury. They will most likely not help with your claim for your bike damage, though.

So things seem to be going pretty smoothly. I spoke with the drivers insurance adjuster and had my LBS send them pictures of the damage and a quote to replace the parts. The insurance adjuster was really easy to deal with and he told me that my recollection of the accident fit the drivers story, so it appears that the driver did take responsibility for the collision. The adjuster did not haggle with me about the replacement cost and he says that as soon as I sign a form (I think the form absolves the insurance company of liability), they will send me a cheque. I guess the trade off between a pretty insignificant amount of money (to the insurance company) and future injury claims was a no brainer decision for them.

The whole process was so easy I sort of wonder that even though the amount I am getting for the bike is fair value, maybe i should have aimed for more? I really did like my Caad 9, it had some sentimental value as it was the first bike I built up myself. It was responsive and fun to ride but not flashy which made it a good bike to park downtown. I've heard vintage steel bikes can be really fun to ride so maybe I will build one of those.

Thanks for the all the advice and the well wishes.
Deal Fanatic
Jan 17, 2003
8993 posts
1532 upvotes
Tell me you got enough for a new bike which is worth the same as the caad9. Any damage to the frame in my opinion would just be a replacement. I wouldn't ride anything other than that. For an insurance company that's nothing, considering there's no future concern of liability. They don't care of its $1k or $4k.
Jr. Member
Mar 29, 2007
161 posts
21 upvotes
Im getting replacement value for the frame, shifters, seat plus miscellaneous things like bar tape, cables, and labour. But all the components that were undamaged are being reused. In all, the value I am getting back is about 70% of what the bike would have cost brand new (considering buying a complete bike is usually cheaper than putting it together from brand new parts). Its just that for the money, nothing thats available in that price range feels like an adequate replacement because i found the caad so fun to ride for its purposes (caad10 is not an option since my LBS doesnt sell Cannondale and I feel I should buy from them because they helped me out with my claim). Maybe like a car I should have argued for a write off of my bike and gotten value for a brand new complete bike.
Deal Addict
Jan 24, 2004
1708 posts
48 upvotes
Toronto
it's unfortunate that you didn't get multiple quotes on your bike as that would absolve your feeling to have to buy from them. since you will be getting cash back, you can wait until something better comes up or just look for a used caad9 and buy some other parts from your lbs
Member
Aug 10, 2008
388 posts
17 upvotes
Toronto
TomKat2 wrote: Im getting replacement value for the frame, shifters, seat plus miscellaneous things like bar tape, cables, and labour. But all the components that were undamaged are being reused. In all, the value I am getting back is about 70% of what the bike would have cost brand new (considering buying a complete bike is usually cheaper than putting it together from brand new parts). Its just that for the money, nothing thats available in that price range feels like an adequate replacement because i found the caad so fun to ride for its purposes (caad10 is not an option since my LBS doesnt sell Cannondale and I feel I should buy from them because they helped me out with my claim). Maybe like a car I should have argued for a write off of my bike and gotten value for a brand new complete bike.
You should be getting an equivalent of the CAAD 9, brand new. Which would mean you could get a CAAD 10 5. As long as you haven't signed anything... there's ways to get that changed. Make the LBS do their magic with quotes and get them to do all the mechanical service to get that bike of equivalence back to you, and you'll have an even better relationship with your LBS because you're giving them more business and you'll get a better ride. Good luck.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Aug 18, 2005
21223 posts
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Burlington-Hamilton
Remember the Rideye Camera Kickstarter Project that was originally promised in Spring 2014? I finally got mine!

Obviously I have not given it a test run yet during this extreme cold weather.
- casual gastronomist -
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2003
1879 posts
55 upvotes
Toronto
TomKat2 wrote: Im getting replacement value for the frame, shifters, seat plus miscellaneous things like bar tape, cables, and labour. But all the components that were undamaged are being reused. In all, the value I am getting back is about 70% of what the bike would have cost brand new (considering buying a complete bike is usually cheaper than putting it together from brand new parts). Its just that for the money, nothing thats available in that price range feels like an adequate replacement because i found the caad so fun to ride for its purposes (caad10 is not an option since my LBS doesnt sell Cannondale and I feel I should buy from them because they helped me out with my claim). Maybe like a car I should have argued for a write off of my bike and gotten value for a brand new complete bike.
The insurance company was only obliged to give you actual cash value for your bike, which means they would have depreciated the value based on how old it is. Bicycles would be depreciated about 10% per year, to a maximum of 50%. I don't know how old your bike was, but this is something to bear in mind. This is similar to how they would have settled your claim if it was your car (but then again, if it was your car you would be dealing with your own insurance company).

I would not recommend trying to ask for more money after making an agreement, unless the amount is very significant and you have a good reason. If you want more, you're better off suing in small claims court, and cancelling this claim.
Deal Fanatic
Apr 16, 2007
8134 posts
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Financial District B…
Virtual trainer and game all in one

----------------------------Licensed Credit Bureau member, S1, FI Automotive, CCP forums most banned = x 13 and counting, guess who that is?... stomped to the curb once again

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