BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Glad you're O.K.! I hope the person does do the right thing and pays to replace your wheel, good luck.

I have an old set of 27-inch wheels I just replaced on my fixed gear (with tires and tubes). I was going to drop them by free-ride but if that guy doesn't come through and you can use them, they're yours. I'll even true them up before I hand them over.

Hey, RF! Glad to hear it was not any more serious than that.

Glad you're safe & sound.

Might want to take down the license plate info from here, though. I'm sorry he damaged your wheel but he did do the right thing to stop and give you info. It really does sound like an honest accident and not someone we all need to be vigilant for. You could google the name and phone number if you are worried, or call it. If it turns out to be bogus, or he stands you up tomorrow, then maybe put his license up here. But so far he did the fair thing; I think it's fair to him to not publish his personal info like that.

Glad you're okay. He should pay for the wheel & cost of putting it on. Great that the driver stopped. I agree with Noah about not putting the plate # on the web unless his phone # is bogus.

I say keep the plate number up, even though he was nice about it he may still be a poor driver.It seems like he wasn't paying much attention to the road considering you have a pretty brightly colored bike. Also he may of figured it would be better to be nice and not have the police or his insurance company involved, but what happens when he isn't paying attention next time and hits someone again. They might not be so lucky. I for one would like a record of any driver that seems dangerous, accident or not.There are many people out on the road that may be nice but just shouldn't be behind the wheel of a vehicle.

He gave me a fake fucking number

You have his plate (maybe?) and a description of the vehicle and driver (I hope). Go file a police report. At the very least I'm guessing they would be able to provide you the registered owner of the vehicle. Like any legal stuff, I'd avoid posting about it on the Internet.

That's very disappointing. Do as Dan says...

I did what I could, I guess...

you might want to edit your post though, just to be safe. best to keep such details off the internets.

Bummer.

But hey, you're ok and just your rear wheel is bent up. Non-disc, 26" mountain bike wheels are a dime a dozen so it shouldn't be much to get the bike rolling again.

that is super-lame. i'm not optimistic you'll get much satisfaction from the cops unless you have a witness, but there's always hope. some people are just worthless pieces of crap, unfortunately.

but, glad you're ok - obviously getting hit by a car could have been a lot worse.

yeah, I'm gonna pm erok to have him edit my posts a bit, and in the meantime, my bike is 14th in line at thick to be fixed, borrowing money from my roommate, I think there may have been damage to the rack or frame, because the actual price is way over what I thought it would be.

Also - if I want to file a complaint against a 911 operator, would I need their name? the guy who took my call was very unprofessional and told that even with a plate number, there's probably not much they could do. I told the officer about it, and he said that people complain a lot about the operators.

this is why you must ALWAYS make them show you their insurance info and copy down at least the company, the driver's info and policy number. best bet is to take a pic of their plate, license and insurance card with your phone.

Gah, this brings back bad memories of when my wheel got taco'd. The guy said he would pay for any damage too, but I was rushing to work and didn't notice it was bent so was like "Nah, I'm okay, but thanks." Still have that bent wheel on my bike and I think that was three? years ago. And he seemed like an old middle class spandex type (said he cycled too) so his word might have actually been good.

Sort of off topic.

I don't understand why when a bike is involved a plate number isn't enough. A friend of mine was involved in a hit and run where his brand new car was totaled in the process. The guy who struck him did stop and give his info and license plate number but then left the scene. When the police came and saw the damage and heard the situation the guy who left ended the day with a bench warrant. He has since gone to court for hit and run. I don't understand why it is seemingly universally different when one party is a bicycle user. A license plate and vehicle description should be enough.

The operator didn't take me seriously when he thought I said I was on a motorcycle, then when I said that I was on a bicycle, he said, he'd send someone, but there was probably nothing they could do.

Luckily, the officer who took my report was the exact opposite and told me all the possible outcomes, good or bad.

@Brad

My brother got rear-ended by a guy, exchanged info, then the guy claimed he didn't hit him. Similar situation. If the cops aren't involved at the scene, chances probably are against you, no matter what kind of vehicle.

Yeah, I had the same thing happen with a car. I was parked in front of the history center waiting for my wife, this guy comes along and tries to park but hits my bumper and hood (he's got some big SUV and i'm in a little sports car). We get out of the cars, he's really nice and apologetic and gives me his insurance information.

I get an estimate, something like $500. I call his insurance agent, he asks me what happened, then says "my client told me the exact opposite story". He said, "I'm inclined to believe you, but without a police report or witness, there's not much I can do." I couldn't really believe someone would commit insurance fraud over a few hundred dollars, but I guess I was naive.

@rubberFactory

*Hugs*

Guy who hit me lied to the insurance agent too. I just assume everyone is lying or will lie if they have a financial interest in the outcome. I can't picture any situation where I wouldn't now call the police if there was any damage or injury.

RF

If money is an issue, take it to Freeride. They have a brazilian 26" MTB wheels there and surely someone to help you put it on.

This is where I have a dilemma - The guys at thick are always really good to me and try to help me out, so I try to keep my business there, plus I just like wandering around the store - however, I really don't have the money for any of this (collection calls from the gas co, student loans, etc), so I would feel like a huge jerk if I went in and said that I needed it back so I could take it somewhere else (and then there's the convenience factor - I know how to get to southside and it's a lot closer to my work than free ride is. I'm one of those people who doesn't like to change things up due to comfort/habit, even when it's in my best interests to change).

however, I'll hopefully be getting a great tax return this year, hopefully that will help.

I think bike shops are good for people with money and people whose time is worth more than the time it would take them to fix their bike

For other people, or even people who don't want to pay LBS labor or like fixing things, FreeRidetools at home is the way to go

I can't imagine them having any problem with you taking it to FR especially if they're that backed up. You said it was more expensive than you thought - for reference, I got a new rear wheel built at Trek (new spokes and rim, same hub) and I want to say it was maybe $80 including labor? Free ride will definitely be a lot cheaper, it may not cost you any more than time.

+1 salty's advice. How bad is the wheel? If you could post a pic, that might help. It might only need true'd - which would only cost a little time.

it didn't look that bad at first - but then the more I looked at it, the worse it looked to me - maybe half a mile per hour (on the driver's part) away from a taco, I can't wheel unless I open the back brakes, and even then, the wheel hits the frame of the bike.

I'll have to give thick a call tomorrow to see what they can do - FR isn't open sundays, are they? I'm busy tomorrow, and after sunday, I don't know when my next day off is.

In the police report, they asked which shop my bike was at, if I pick it up, should I inform them of that? or is that just a trivial thing?

Also, morningsider, thanks for the offer! I don't think I can use 27" wheels, but I do appreciate it.

RF - I have a Trek with a fairly small frame that's just sitting in my basement. Let me know if you want to borrow it until you get this straightened out. I am about 5'5", and it is slightly small for me, so it won't work if you are taller than I remember. Also, men's frame, if that works for you.

For other people, or even people who don't want to pay LBS labor or like fixing things, FreeRidetools at home is the way to go

I've found that if you're interested in working on your own bike for free (and don't have all the tools at home or need to buy supplies anyway) Kraynick's has WAY better hours than Free Ride.

I know it's dangerous to form opinions -good or bad - of people based on their message board posts. And though i've never met her in person, I've become a huge fan of RubberFactory.

Whatever happens, she keeps bouncing back, and what she said above, about her dilemma of taking business away from Thick - that's awesome.

So, +1 for Rubber Factory.

aw, thanks. I've never thought of myself as a bounce-back kind of person, but I guess I kind of am. You'd enjoy this one: the day I went over my handlebars (and banged up my shoulder pretty bad), I got a ride to work, worked 8 hours, then rode my bike to an appointment with my therapist, then rode to the first bike to work day planning meeting.

and sara, I really appreciate the offer. Only thing is, I've had bad experiences on smaller bikes (I'm 5'6"), and they cause some pretty intense back pain for me. But thank you!

I think that I am going to keep it at thick, simply because of time constraints - by the time I have a day available to pick it up and take it somewhere else, they would have it done already (I have other obligations all week and on monday [ the latest day that it would be done], and I'm off sunday, when they're closed).

As for the "taking business away from thick" thing, I plan on owning a small business myself one day, and I know that regulars are the ones who help keep you afloat, so I try to be the kind of customer I want to have. It doesn't always work (I felt like a jerk when I called the shop the first time yesterday), but for the most part, I'd like to think that I'm good for that. Or at least better than I used to be.

Got a call from the officer, I had the wrong plate number. He said there's pretty much nothing else they can do.