BusterMcFly

On Monday I was hit full on Right side of bike by a truck who ran a stop sign. Both wheels are bent, pedal is toast. Took the bike to where I purchased it to see what knd of $$$ we are talking about and the extent of the damage. He used a frame measure to see if it was bent... Is this accurate? He mentioned that the GT triangle steel frame is really tough and is probably fine. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Probably fine??? I wasn't going very fast and the truck did stop before going over the frame. Handlebars are twisted but the shock forks look okay he says. My gut tells me I am not asking them the right questions. Am I missing something? Should I go to a LBS vs a place like Perfomance Bike (Perfomance is where I purchased the bike)? Do I trust what they say? Would you trust that there is nothing wrong with the frame?

Sorry about all the questions, first serious accident, nothing on body broken but there is long term damage in shoulder and knee. My bike is the only form of transportation I have had in the last 2 years. Daily commuter 25 miles r/t and weekend pedaler. its dinged up quite a bit. This one is only 10 months old with 3500 miles. I am confused on what to do next.



Bryan

catchabadone

If they are using the proper tool (Park Frame Alignment Gauge-2) and know how to use it you can tell if the frame is bent. Essentially it measures to a fixed point on each side of the frame, if the measurements don't line up the frame is bent. Depending on what frame you got and how bent it is you can usually straighten out steel within reason.

CACycling

Assuming the truck owner is paying, I wouldn't care if the frame was bent. As it is dinged up from the accident, I'd demand it be repainted with all of its original colors and decals. It will be cheaper for them to just replace the frame. Add this to the other damage and a new bike will probably be cheaper than repair.

LarDasse74

A visual check for cracks or crumpled ares on the frame, coupled with a measurement with a frame alignment tool, should be sufficient.

Most of the time a steel frame will bend before it breaks when subjected to impact. If the frame has not been stressed enough to have been permanently deformed then the frame probably wasn't damaged seriously. I would suspect if a frame experienced a number of fairly seriously hard crashes or accidents that it would shorten the life of the frame.

Edit: What model GT bike is it and how old? What was the estimate for the repair?

mconlonx

Did they just look it over, or did they use an actual alignment tool/measuring tape?

For piece of mind, you could take it to a LBS for a second opinion... In fact, I probably would.

With as much damage as you're describing, dude owes you a new bike. If your LBS takes the time to check the frame out and will do and will do an estimate for repair/replace cost, maybe drop your insurance settlement check for the bike at that shop...

BusterMcFly

2009/10 (bought dec 2010 new) GT Transeo 2.0 Disc - estimate was $600 for 2 wheels, labor, pedals...

AlphaDogg

You can get a 2011 version of that for that price!

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes..._20000__400307

BusterMcFly

I know.

gforeman 

So who is paying for this???

DCB0

I just looked up the transeo 2.0 and that is an Aluminum frame, not steel. I posted last night that steel usually bends before it breaks... but aluminum does not. In reality, most well made aluminum frames are probably stronger than a well made steel frame of similar weight, but the mode of failure tends to be different... aluminum is more likely to crack and suddenly break without bending.

BusterMcFly

I am told she has insurance. Since I was taken away to the hospital I did not have the opportunity to gather her info. Talking with the officer today (I hope) and will contact her after. The officer (when I was in the ER) told me that my story (her running the stop sign) was confirmed by witnesses. I hope they gave her a ticket. The SMIDSU excuse isn't going to hold up in court if I have to go (Sorry Man, I didn't see you).

HillRider

Don't agonize over the details of that bike. Get the driver's insurance to buy you a complete new replacement bike.

Homebrew01

Yup, and maybe you can keep the old bike for parts.

gerv 

BusterMcFly, hope you are feeling OK soon. I had a similar experience about two months ago with a lady who pulled out from a red light.

As HillRider and others suggest, you need to make concentrate on getting a new replacement bike out of this deal. You need to insist on this when talking to the insurance adjuster. They will undoubtedly be in agreement. Also, don't forget that you are due a "pain and suffering" amount as well... even if no bones broken. I was a month unable to sleep probably from a bruised chest wall and several other bruises. I still have the scars of a road rash to my elbow.

You can also probably keep the old bike if they supply a new one. Think about that later. I ran a line around my bike, from the left dropout around the headtube and back to the right dropout. The frame was out 5mm. I also discovered the fork was slightly bent. {Edit** You can check out Sheldon Brown's method here, middle of the page.

As I got to look closer, I discovered other problems. Like a bent handlebar.

You'll probably find other things too.

well biked

+2....About a year ago, a friend and customer got run down from behind by a pickup truck. I mean, he was at a stop light on his bike, truck behind him, light turns green, and the truck just mows him down as they proceed forward. A crowd gathered, the driver fled the scene on foot, and was caught later. He was drunk, and had what appeared to be a full bar in the front seat of his truck. This was early in the afternoon on a Sunday, FWIW. Luckily, the rider escaped somehow with only minor injuries, but the bike was completely run over and ruined, literally pinned underneath the truck's axle when it was all over. It was a nice bike, the guy had bought it from us, and he had outfitted it in his own way like we all do, and so he had a fair amount of money in it.

So some time afterwards, I get a call from the rider's insurance company (the pickup truck driver had no insurance), his own insurance is going to pay for his damages. It had already been established that the bike was a total loss, there was no question about that. And we had already prepared an itemized list for the customer showing the price of a new, equivalent bike, and all the add-ons that he had on the old one that were now completely destroyed. It was all pretty simple, I thought, and so did our customer. We were all very honest about everything, not trying to "upgrade" anything, just wanting to get him on a bike that was like the one he had before.

Well, when the insurance company called, you would have thought she was part of the fraud division or something. The lady questioned me, very skeptically, about each and every item on the list, and the price. I mean, the whole list added up to something like $1500; I wouldn't have thought it would have even been worth the insurance company's time to scrutinize it. But she did.

We would get to something on the list like the Brooks saddle, she'd give me the price on the list, which I'm sure was about $100, and she'd say something like, "now, was this the same type of seat the old bike had on it?" I got so impatient with her I kind of lost it. I said something like, "listen, this fellow was run down from behind by a truck; there's nothing left of his old bike and thankfully he's going to be okay. He's worked with us to make this itemized list, which is exactly what his bike was before. There's no dishonesty here. This isn't even a particularly expensive bike. Your company has agreed it's going to cover his losses. I don't have time to go through this list with you, I'll give him a call and let him know what's going on with his insurance company and let him take it from here."

Keep in mind, if she would have called and simply gone down the list to verify prices, I wouldn't have minded a bit. Even one blanket question of "just to verify, this new bike on the list is exactly the same as the old bike, correct?" would have been fine. But she was questioning, in a very rude way, every single item and pretty much implying that he was trying to gouge them for an upgraded bike, and that, in effect, we were, too. I'm thinking, wow, he was run down by a motor vehicle from behind, could have easily ended up with catastrophic medical bills, and they're questioning me about the price of a Brooks saddle?

So I called the customer and told him about the phone conversation. This fellow is not a person I would want to debate with about anything, I'll tell you. He calmly said he would put a call in to the insurance company and discuss legal options with them. The shame of it, of course, is that the lowlife drunk driver who hit him didn't even have insurance......this was his own insurance company he was having to deal with. I suppose it was it was his homeowner's policy that was covering it, I don't know. Or maybe the "uninsured motorist" portion of his auto insurance. Anyway, in the end, we put the bike together exactly as he instructed, he came in and paid for it with his own funds.....and I asked him later, out of curiosity, if the insurance company paid him for the bike. "Oh yeah," was all he said, and I was glad to hear it.

Bottom line: look out for your own interests in this. A person broke the law and damaged both you and your bike. Give'em hell........unfortunately, you may have to.

timg7

I hit a wild boar a few weeks ago at 60kph (according to the GPS trace). It was startled by a car, and ran right into my front wheel before I'd even seen it. Boars don't have insurance, but are softer than trucks and the bike didn't appear too badly damaged. As soon as I was out of hospital I started work on repairing the bike, and soon found that the forks, frame, handlebars and wheels were all substantially twisted. Economically it was a write-off, but having time on my hands and access to a large workshop I fixed it anyway. (This was a steel frame - I wouldn't have attempted unbending aluminium.)

My point is this: a bike which has taken a hit large enough to knock the frame out of true is likely to have other problems, which aren't necessarily obvious until you actually start straightening it out. It's unlikely to be economically fixable.

BusterMcFly

So I took some time to calm down from my initial contact with Performance. I started to look more closely at the bike. I noticed a small fracture line on the front fork top strut (it is a shock fork). Also noticed that the derailleur is bent, shifter on right side are bent, handle bars are slightly twisted, Rear rack is broken... So much for the big boy shop. I bought it from them and that is probably the last time I ever buy from them again. Despite the report that says frame is fine, it visually looks bent in the back triangle. GRRRR!

AlphaDogg

If I were you, I'd just gen an entire new bike of comparable value.

dabac

If you are on the bike, and really gets pushed over and along sideways, the bike takes a pretty serious lateral load - something they just about never see during riding.
I was toppled by an impact from another bike rider two years ago, which bent my front (sus shock) beyond the point of reasonable use.
First I thought it was just the wheel that had taken a hit, so I relaxed the brake and rode home. Then when I chucked a straight wheel in there I realized that it sat about 1/2" closer to one of the fork legs. Write off.

fishymamba

fify

Ira B

If that is an Alum frame and it is bent at all I would not even think about trying to fix it. Just send the bill for a new one to the drivers insurance co.

fietsbob

#1, Did you get a Police report?

Top notch Seattle Shop..R&E..

No recommendations about the Lawyer.. but.

Harvey Grad advertises in the Bicycle Paper,
a personal injury contingency attorney.

BusterMcFly

R&E Now there;s a name I haven't seen in a long time. Great shop. Thanks!

tanguy frame

You should get a new bike out of this.

matimeo

Even if you could fix the bike, you don't know what kind of problems would come up in the future. IMO, a bike that goes through something like this is effectively totaled and you need to get a new bike out of this.