Did I do good?
 

I got hit by a car on monday and the front wheel was detroyed as well as the fork being bent. I have been surfing around for a new fork and happened to come across this bad boy on craigslist.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...hock/001-5.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...hock/002-2.jpg

What do you think???



I picked it up for $120 :)

looks good to me... curtis...

stellar.

I hope you are running 1 1/8 and a 650c front wheel....

yep 1 1/8 but thanks for the concern!


Do they even offer the SLX in 650c??

I don't think so, it just looks short in the picture.

hows your frame doing? If you totalled your front wheel and fork, there's a decent chance you also messed your headtube up.

And I hope the guy in the car paid for it, if not, try and squeeze something more out of them

I'm taking the bike in to a LBS on monday to get it looked over. Then I am going to get ahold of her insurance company to send them the bill. She has a horrible criminal record so I'm worried I won't get any money out of it but I'll I can do is try.

Well, if she has insurance, her record is irrelevant. Don't let them screw you -- their job is to pay you for what she did, assuming she was at fault.

You did pretty good. That's a nice fork. My girlfriend recently picked up one of those Performance Bikes Forte Axis CF forks for 20 bucks, though. THAT is a seriously good deal.

When she has a record of driving without a license and insurance multiple times since '02 then it makes me suspicious if her insurance is actually valid. She had a proof of insurance card at the scene but that doesn't mean anything. Oh and she was at fault and she got a DUI because of it.

And you're surfing CL for replacement parts? Driver @ fault and DUI is a greenlight for a full-custom handbuilt lugged frame and all the fixin's.

Seriously. If she's insured, don't mess with a potentially compromised frame, just replace it with something nice. And if she's not insured, you should still try to get the same, as she's getting off easy compared to how many (most?) people would try to soak her. Glad you're okay (I assume?) -- sounds like things could have gone a lot worse.

I have to agree w/ the 2 posts above mine. You need to try and get more money from this chick. And this is coming from someone who works in a law office and also someone who has experience w/ this same situation (not personally, though)

My friend got hit by a drunk woman on his GTB. Obviously, it was the woman's fault and he claimed that his bike was extremely rare and expensive. The thing is, if your bike is unique or rare in the SLIGHTEST, you can claim more than its worth b/c some of the parts may be impossible to get again or it may have "sentimental value" This kid had a basic GTB w/ veeps or something, but wound up getting a Yamaguchi. This isn't just any yamaguchi either. It has dura ace cranks, phil wood hubs, mavic ellipse, etc etc etc. It's like a $4,000 bike.

Basically, insurance companies are used to shelling out large sums of cash to people because cars are infinitely more expensive than bikes. To an insurance company, $5,000 is NOTHING for a drunk driving accident. Especially if you're not claiming any health bills. You can get enough money to buy any bike you could possibly want.

By the way, this isn't illegal either. Sentimental value is a genuine claim as is rarity.

you did NOT do good.

Seriously dude, get a whole stable of bikes.

I have no remorse for drunk drivers. They all deserve far worse than what we give em.

Not to mention "pain and suffering", "emotional trauma", and the "loss of work productivity of such".

looks like you made another cyclist. congrats!

He also said she's got a record of uninsured and suspended license convictions. You think this time was something special to keep her from doing it again?

Suspending someone's license stops them from driving with the same effectiveness that taking the college degree off my wall stops me from thinking.

I didn't buy the fork with any money claimed under her insurance and have recieved zero contact from them so I can still try and get as much money as I would like. I just bought the fork cause it was an awesome deal that I didn't wanna pass up.

As for actually trying to get a ton of money for my POS Dawes SST goes I will not do that. Yes she was drunk and yes it was messed up but I am not injured and at the most there was 400 dollars worth of damage because I have an upgraded headset. Trying to get thousands out of the deal is dishonest and taking advantage of the system for no reason other than my personal gain. I would be perfectly content if this b*tch actually was taken care of by the legal system the right way. She has been in and out of jail every year since '02 but never over 30 days and always gets unsupervised parole. Taking money that is most likely not hers because she is a leech off society and out of someone elses pocket is just f'ed up.

Just do yourself a favour and get checked out by a doctor if you haven't already.

You might feel fine, but it's not unheard of for someone to suffer an injury and feel no ill-effects until weeks down the line when it's impossible to draw a conclusive line between the symptoms and the even which caused said event.

Don't get stuck with thousands in medical bills just because you feel fine.

edit: Other than that I'm glad to see someone here has some integrity. Get 'em for all you deserve, not all they got. Too many people see this as a meal ticket.

Those two sentences back to back should be proof enough that the legal system isn't going to "take care of her" without any pressure from you. She'll get another slap on the wrist, which she'll ignore, and go right back to driving on a suspended license, without insurance.
Does she have to maim you with her car before you understand this?
I'm mildly sarcastic when I make statements about milking the situation for a $7000 custom ride.
I'm dead serious when I say press charges and get her ass off the road. With a craptacular record like hers and now she's hit someone, you can get her put away for well over that 30 day vacation; and with a good lawyer you can push for mandatory alcohol treatment and random testing as part of her parole.
Barring that effort, at least have the nards to go slash her tires (which she probably can't afford to replace) so she's not out on the road trying to take down the rest of us.

Dude, the insurance companies are not the "system" they are a corporation that takes HER money and socks it away for occasions like this. They are SUPPOSED to pay out in the case of an accident, that's how it's supposed to work.

Besides, as clifton stated, by playing the stoic you are, essentially, condemning someone else to get hit.

Hell, if it makes you feel better file with her insurance, ask state simply "I'd rather not have this go to court, because it's rather obvious that I'd win and get pretty much whatever I ask for. However, I'd like to know what your first settlement offer would be." Then whatever they offer you above and beyond the repairs your conscience feels good about repairing the bike take and give to charity of your choice (a bike advocacy program or inner city education program are probably appropriate in this case). Then, justice is served and you don't have to deal with feeling like a thief. Unless you're the sort that considers old Robin Hood a thief and that he should be hanged... but if that's the case... well...

Emphasis and additions mine.

That doesn't mean they should foot the bill for a custom Vanilla randonneur bike because some ******* creamed you on your 20-year-old Schwinn. The insurance company is responsible for paying out the actual damages caused to the injured party, nothing more, nothing less.

Bogus repair estimates, phony medical bills, and imaginary pain and suffering is fraud, plain and simple. RunningWild is perfectly entitled to the cost of a replacement bike as well as any medical expenses incured because of this accident. And if he had to miss work, or was caused genuine pain and suffering, then fine, but all signs point to "he's fine." Although I still encourage him to see a doctor ASAP to make sure he's fine.

Anything more, you're being dishonest.

While i agree to a point; insurance companies are in the business of screwing people and turn-about is fair play.