New Bike rear-ended while on bike hitch :(

[cherinyc]

Hi everyone -
Some of you may recall that I was very excited to have recently won a new Mountain Bike off Ebay. Actually, I will have had it for 2 weeks tomorrow. I rode it on the Saturday of the Holiday wknd (sort of rode it - I fell a lot). Then I rode it again this past Saturday. I fell less often, but hurt myself more that time.
Anyhoo, on the way home from the ride this past Saturday, my FH and I's car was rear-ended with the 2 MTB's on the hitch behind. Obviously, the bikes took it for the team, my bike on the outside. My chain ring got bent to the point that it was grinding into my frame, and the back wheel won't spin. Along with that there were scratches on the frame of course. FH's bike was sandwiched between my bike and the vertical bar that was attached to the car hitch. His frame was crushed in.
Today, FH brought both bikes into a bike shop to see what the damage was. They said his bike was done for sure. (cost about $4000 with upgrades in 2004) and that mine could be repaired for ~$650. The replacement value of my bike would be around $900.
I am weary of having my bike repaired. I guess it is possible that nothing is wrong with the frame, but even if it's bent a smidge - won't that take a toll on it in the long run? It's a 2008 and I had only ridden it twice for godsake.

Any words of wisdom? Am I just being a worry wort thinking that my bike's frame could be compromised? Afterall, my bike was sandwiched between the hood of the Laredo that hit us, and FH's bike which was crushed.

Ugh!!! Any bike lawyers, or just really smart bike frame knowing people out there? Should I get a second opinion?

help

cheri

[Aggie_Ama]

I would go after the punk that hit you for new bikes. I think if you can document the parts that were on it and how much the bike would be new you might have a fighting chance. Yours should be easy to prove since it is a current year model. I would be worried about a repaired frame so make sure the shop telling you it can be repaired really knows their stuff. Never hurts to ask another shop and see if they are in agreement? Hopefully FH has plenty of pictures of his, if not have the bike shop write up the cost of that bike built with the damaged parts and hope for the best? Good luck!

[VeloVT]

Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! That is terrible. I would be so upset.

Do you have renters' or homeowners' insurance? Your bikes (bikes=property) may have some coverage under that kind of policy.

I am not sure if I would spend $650 to repair a $900 bike.

Was there any damage to the car? Is that being covered by the bad person's insurance? If they have some sort of umbrella policy it may cover your bikes as well (though they are not going to volunteer that information probably). They caused a not-insignificant amount of damage to your property (other than the car) -- about $5,000. I would at least let them know this. I don't know the technicalities of what constitutes grounds for small claims court, but if they aren't prepared to make good on it either from their own money or from insurance, that is always a potential threat.

OK, I'm not sure I like the person I'm looking like in this post .

But these thoughts would probably cross my mind, depending on the exact circumstances of the accident, of course.

[cherinyc]

Actually, it was a little old lady who hit us, after being rear-ended by the guy behind her. 3 car accident. Fun fun fun. The guy who hit the little old lady is Asian and is here visiting for 5 weeks. He was driving a rental from Enterprise and said he got the insurance, which I assume he would have to - not being from the US.

I guess I am thinking of the frame like they tell you to think about helmets. If you drop your helmet, you should chuck it because even if it looks ok, the integrity could be weakened. Am I off for thinking the same about a bike frame?

[VeloVT]

I guess I would want to find out exactly what I could get from insurance before even thinking that far -- if the shop is willing to declare the frame totalled, will you get a check for the value of the repairs or replacement, for instance?

Personally, depending on how bad the frame looked, if the repair cost were that close the the replacement cost, I'd probably save up and get a new bike, unless that bike were my dream bike. But that's more an emotional response that a rational one.

[Zen]

I wouldn't trust that frame

[cherinyc]

I wouldn't trust that frame

I am glad that to hear that others would think that.

[Aggie_Ama]

Hmmm I wonder if it is like cars and at some point a percentage is considered a total loss?

Your renters/homeowners may cover it but I know my homeowners only covers theft, not wrecks but I asked about me wrecking it not some bozo rearending me.

I would try the search function, I know this has been discussed before in regarding to people actually getting hit on their bikes.

[Irulan]

Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! That is terrible. I would be so upset.

Do you have renters' or homeowners' insurance? Your bikes (bikes=property) may have some coverage under that kind of policy.

I am not sure if I would spend $650 to repair a $900 bike.

Was there any damage to the car? Is that being covered by the bad person's insurance? If they have some sort of umbrella policy it may cover your bikes as well (though they are not going to volunteer that information probably). They caused a not-insignificant amount of damage to your property (other than the car) -- about $5,000. I would at least let them know this. I don't know the technicalities of what constitutes grounds for small claims court, but if they aren't prepared to make good on it either from their own money or from insurance, that is always a potential threat.

OK, I'm not sure I like the person I'm looking like in this post .

But these thoughts would probably cross my mind, depending on the exact circumstances of the accident, of course.

If it were going to cost 70% of the value of your car to repair it, your insurance would total it.

I'd talk to YOUR insurance agent. If the other driver is at fault, ultimately they pay the costs. If you have good insurance, they should take care of you and it is thier job to go after the other person. Typically the other guys' insurance is going to get away with putting out the minimum $$ on the claim - have your agent work FOR you on this. That is one of the reasons we pay them the big bucks!!

Don't we all have to carry some sort of property damage with our car insurance just for damaging other's property?

[SadieKate]

You need to find out about the "little old lady". She's the one who hit you. She was too close to begin with. I have no idea if there is shared responsibility with the driver who hit her.

Was there a police report? Get your insurance company involved NOW. Do not wait. Do not pass go. Call them tonight.

I'd be leery of a frame that was hit that hard, especially since it was between the car and your husband's bike which was totaled.

[SadieKate]

BTW, I had a Yakima Hitchfork rack folded upright on my Trooper and was rearended by a Ford Expedition at 20+ mph. The rack folded around the spare tire and it looked like the car was untouched. Not so. The I-beam inside the door was bent and the entire door had to be replaced and painted. About $3,000 later and now owning I think Yakima's last Hitchfork rack, I was good to go.

The trailer hitch left a very lovely hole in the grill of that brand spankin' new Expedition.

I was stopped in wall to wall rush hour traffic in an Isuzu Trooper. He "didn't see me?" My a$$.

Anyway, you need to check the small things on the back of your car. The tip off was that the back door wouldn't lock due to the bent beam.

[Aggie_Ama]

My husband was in the middle of a 4 car sandwich last year. He rear-ended a guy (call him car 2) who rear ended someone (car 1) and was rear-ended by a lady (car 4). The insurance determined he was to blame for the guy in front of him but the lady behind him had to pay for the rear end damage because she should have been able to stop. Screwy thing? The guy he rear ended immediately told the cop if my husband hadn't hit him he wouldn't have hit car #1. My husband did rear end the guy first but our insurance refused to pay for for car #1. But at first they were saying we would pay for 3 of the 4 cars. After reviewing it they said guy in car #2 should not have been able to rear end car #1 if he was using appropriate following distance/speed. So it may be little old lady's fault for your bikes and I am stereotyping but she probably carries enough insurance if she has a Laredo.

Those multicare rear end wrecks get really messy, don't file a claim with your insurance yet but you might want to talk to your agent ASAP.

[VeloVT]

Every time we drive in significant traffic with bikes on the car, I'm thankful for my roof rack... something to think about, if it would be compatible with your car... back when I was using a rear rack I was constantly nervous.

Of course, this is totally secondary to figuring out the bike issues...

[cherinyc]

FH and I both just said, "the chance of this happening with the rear rack never would've occurred to me before this happened". We both have tall cars, which make roof racks difficult. I am 5'5 1/2" and he is maybe 5'8".

I still think I would prefer a roof rack though. Except that I have to go under low clearance areas a lot. I can only imagine the damage of driving through a low lying cover and smashing the bikes that way.

This is why I love my Road Bike. I walk out my door with it, and when I get outside, I get on it. I ride, get home, and place it back on the stand. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. No cars involved, except the jerks who almost hit me

[Blueberry]

Forgive my not remembering the details, but what material is your frame? If anything except steel, I wouldn't trust a repair. And I still think you should be able to get a new bike.

Ditto what the others have said on calling *your* insurance. It usually won't be a ding to you, and they can really help sometimes with negotiating the claims. May also depend on whether there were 2 impacts (did she hit you and then get rear ended again).

Good luck in any case!!

CA