Replacement frame

Tonyandthewhale

My 2008 Time Edge Racer was recently written off after a car decided to drive into me while we were both stuck in traffic. I'm expecting to get about 1600e from his insurance company (based on a quote from a local bike shop for what it would cost them to do the necessary repairs). Basically the rear wheel is toast as is the chainset. The frame looks OK but it's getting on anyway and has a pretty serious scratch (though as far as I can see not a crack) where the chainset was bent against it so I'm treating it as finished even though the bike shop didn't include it in their quote as needing repair/replacement.

So my plan at the moment is that once I get the insurance money I'll salvage whatever I can from my bike and source my own rear wheel, chainset and frame and put it together myself.

The thing is I don't know what frame to buy. I'm happy to go second hand but also open to new. The simplest option is to find a frame built for rim brakes so I can keep my existing front wheel, brakes and shifters. A lot of options for frames these days seem to be disc brake specific though so maybe I'm cutting myself off from a good deal there?

Basically what are the best value/quality frames out there these days for about 1000e (to leave money for a wheel, chainset and probably seatpost)? My fork is OK so I could probably keep that (1 and 1/8 threadless black carbon Time fork) if there's a good deal out there for a compatible frame rather than frameset.

I'm not going to be doing any racing on it, just long spins in Wicklow and the like. I like going up hills and I like going fast. I have other bikes for practical pursuits or off-roading.

magicbastarder

i would have that entire bike written off. surprised the bike shop did not do that, there could be damage to the frame not visible to the naked eye.

Tonyandthewhale

Yeah, might try and get a second opinion before I put through the claim. Working on worst case scenario budget at the moment though (well second worst, actual worst case scenario is somehow they refuse to pay out at all).

ratracer

Firstly, I’m glad your ok and not injured, too much bad news on that front recently, sadly.

From experience, I wouldn’t spend any money just yet, as the bike shop quote will be seriously argued and cut to shreds by the insurance company before anything is paid to you, regardless of liability.

Once that’s all out of the way, have fun shopping! For €1000 I reckon you’d be better off looking for a second hand frame set, it’s also a good time of year to be looking as riders plan their upgrades for next year.

magicbastarder

an insurance company won't blink at the cost of replacing the frame. my sister rolled her car into a ten year old micra this year and the garage quoted 4k to fix the micra, if it was going to go through insurance.

magicbastarder

ratracer wrote: »

the bike shop quote will be seriously argued and cut to shreds by the insurance company

magicbastarder wrote: »

an insurance company won't blink at the cost of replacing the frame.

unanimity on the internet!

Tonyandthewhale

ratracer wrote: »

From experience, I wouldn’t spend any money just yet, as the bike shop quote will be seriously argued and cut to shreds by the insurance company before anything is paid to you, regardless of liability.

Will definitely source a second/third quote so just to be safe. Though I hope you're wrong and magicbastarder is right.

In the half hour or so since posting this thread I've got my eye on a Zannata Z82 frameset. Anyone any experience with them?

Large bottle small glass

What was condition of frame before incident?

Had it been yours from new? Had it ever been crashed before?

If answers are yes and no respectively then you are entitled to a similar quality bike as a replacement.

Get a quote for a new Time frame (or in the alternative ask insurance company to find a 2nd hand one they can guarantee has never been crashed) and whatever other parts need replacing.

Add in cost for professional assembling of bike also.

Bill will be a lot more than 1600 I would think

Tonyandthewhale

Bought it from a bike shop but it was a year old when I got my hands on it. Junior rider had traded it in still mint condition just because he'd grown out of it. After a decade in my hands it had a few small cosmetic scratches but had never been crashed or otherwise abused.

magicbastarder

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

(or in the alternative ask insurance company to find a 2nd hand one they can guarantee

on a similar note, if they are not willing to cover the cost for frame replacement, ask them in writing that they guarantee the frame has suffered no damage which could result in a safety risk to you.

Tonyandthewhale

magicbastarder wrote: »

on a similar note, if they are not willing to cover the cost for frame replacement, ask them in writing that they guarantee the frame has suffered no damage which could result in a safety risk to you.

You mean ask the insurance company for this? Is there a precedent for demanding/receiving such a guarantee that you know of? Or are you just saying it's worth a shot?

magicbastarder

i have a vague memory that someone here tried that route. don't quote me on that though; but it's an open goal if they put in writing that they're not willing to pay for a new frame - to ask explicitly that they are claiming the frame did not suffer damage, and that they will carry *any* subsequent cost of a frame failure should one occur due to damage sustained in the crash.

fat bloke

The insurance deal is a bit skinny, you should be able to do better.

But frameset deals crop up all the time, whether it's 1 or 2 year old stock or second hand barely used, or lads often get crash replacement frames and just sell the new ones un-used.

What size frame are you looking at?

sy_flembeck

Insist on like for like and accept nothing else. Bottom line is the insurance company will want to avoid the courts at all costs due to legal teams (both sides) fees etc. Happened to me a few years back. They sent an assessor to the LBS but he hadn't a clue what he was even looking at. He ended up asking the mechanic his opinion. In the end I walked away with a (better) brand new frame. I salvaged everything else off the original bike. It's small change to them.

Tonyandthewhale

fat bloke wrote: »

What size frame are you looking at?

Like a 52-54cm top tube. I'm about 173cm. Current bike is 53.5cm top tube.