AA / RAC for cyclists

Richard C said:

Has anyone ever tried to call out the AA / RAC for help
while out on their bike? What kind of response did you get
from the call centre, and when they arrived were they any
good? I can't think of many occasions when I'd need them
but it would be handy to know they were there if I was
stranded miles from home. The only time when I considered
calling them was a loose crank bolt (I don't carry a
socket spanner in my tool-kit) but luckily I managed to
find a bloke working on his car to tighten it up. In the
event of a terminally buckled wheel would they give you a
lift home on the Relay van?

Do they help stranded cyclists as a perk if you have a
policy with them for your car?

The CTC advertise a bicycle rescue scheme for a few 10's of
pounds a year
- I have sometimes thought of joining.

AC

anonymous coward said:

The CTC advertise a bicycle rescue scheme for a few 10's
of pounds a ye=

ar

Quoted message said:

- I have sometimes thought of joining.

=A330 IIRC. I thought about it... and then it struck me that
the /only/ =

time I've ever really needed such a thing I had a free
ride most of the=20 way home in an ambulance anyway, and a
nice policeman took the remains=20 of the bike back to
Dundee for me!

I figure my typical worst case if I couldn't repair it would
be lock it=20 up to something and hitch on to arrange a
pickup. Nearest repair point=20 is unlikely to be more than
=A330 taxi ride away most places, and I can=20 think of
quite a few things I'd sooner spend the =A330 on. Beer, for
a s= [censored]!

Pete. --=20 Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44
1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

anonymous coward said:

Richard C said:

Has anyone ever tried to call out the AA / RAC for help
while out on their bike? What kind of response did you get
from the call centre, and when they arrived were they any
good? I can't think of many occasions when I'd need them
but it would be handy to know they were there if I was
stranded miles from home. The only time when I considered
calling them was a loose crank bolt (I don't carry a
socket spanner in my tool-kit) but luckily I managed to
find a bloke working on his car to tighten it up. In the
event of a terminally buckled wheel would they give you a
lift home on the Relay van?

Do they help stranded cyclists as a perk if you have a
policy with them for your car?

The CTC advertise a bicycle rescue scheme for a few 10's
of pounds a year
- I have sometimes thought of joining.

AC

Have a look at ETA - they do offer a cycle rescue/recovery
scheme, though I think it's fairly expensive, it comes free
with their cycle insurance. However, the quote for a 900
quid bike was aprox 90 quid. I declined, but am trying to
weigh up whether to just stuff that money into my own
'insurance fund' or get insurance.

The bike's rarely left places that aren't within
eye/earshot, or covered by CCTV, but I do still worry about
it. It's rather nice and I'd hate to have it nicked.

--

Velvet

Velvet said:

Quoted message said:

Have a look at ETA - they do offer a cycle rescue/recovery
scheme, though I think it's fairly expensive, it comes
free with their cycle insurance. However, the quote for a
900 quid bike was aprox 90 quid. I declined, but am trying
to weigh up whether to just stuff that money into my own
'insurance fund' or get insurance.

The bike's rarely left places that aren't within
eye/earshot, or covered by CCTV, but I do still worry
about it. It's rather nice and I'd hate to have it nicked.

Having recently been involved in an 'incident' which left me
with a mangled Dawes Audax, I find myself constantly
worrying about being hit by someone with no insurance or who
leaves the scene etc. and leaves me with no bike and no
redress. £900 is a sum I can't put together just like that,
but £90 per year seems a huge penalty to pay for someone
else's stupidity.

--
Terry Duckmanton.

homepage.ntlworld.comterry.duckmantonOpen ↗ A website
mostly dedicated to cycling

Terry D said:

Velvet said:

Quoted message said:

Have a look at ETA - they do offer a cycle
rescue/recovery scheme, though I think it's fairly
expensive, it comes free with their cycle insurance.
However, the quote for a 900 quid bike was aprox 90 quid.
I declined, but am trying to weigh up whether to just
stuff that money into my own 'insurance fund' or get
insurance.

The bike's rarely left places that aren't within
eye/earshot, or covered by CCTV, but I do still worry
about it. It's rather nice and I'd hate to have it
nicked.

Having recently been involved in an 'incident' which left
me with a mangled Dawes Audax, I find myself constantly
worrying about being hit by someone with no insurance or
who leaves the scene etc. and leaves me with no bike and
no redress. £900 is a sum I can't put together just like
that, but £90 per year seems a huge penalty to pay for
someone else's stupidity.

Yes, that's my dilemma too. I'm not convinced that the
insurance would actually pay out in the event of an accident
with third party not being insured, which is what makes me
doubtful as to the idea of forking out the 90 quid (mine's a
dawes audax too, I bumped the value up over what it
*actually* cost cos it's had a lot of stuff changed from
stock so it fits!)

I don't rely on it to get me places, so in that sense I
could live without it if the worst happened, but my
addiction would dictate I would *have* to replace it at
some point.

I can't help but think if I put away 100 quid a year, then
potentially after 5 years (500 quid) I'd be looking at being
able to top that up to get another good bike if the worst
happened. If I needed to do it tomorrow, it's another story,
unfortunately.

--

Velvet

In message <[email hidden]>,
Velvet <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Terry D said:

Velvet said:

>

Have a look at ETA - they do offer a cycle
rescue/recovery scheme, though I think it's fairly
expensive, it comes free with their cycle insurance.
However, the quote for a 900 quid bike was aprox 90
quid. I declined, but am trying to weigh up whether to
just stuff that money into my own 'insurance fund' or
get insurance.

The bike's rarely left places that aren't within
eye/earshot, or covered by CCTV, but I do still worry
about it. It's rather nice and I'd hate to have it
nicked.

Having recently been involved in an 'incident' which
left me with a mangled Dawes Audax, I find myself
constantly worrying about being hit by someone with no
insurance or who leaves the scene etc. and leaves me
with no bike and no redress. £900 is a sum I can't put
together just like that, but £90 per year seems a huge
penalty to pay for someone else's stupidity.

Yes, that's my dilemma too. I'm not convinced that the
insurance would actually pay out in the event of an
accident with third party not being insured, which is what
makes me doubtful as to the idea of forking out the 90 quid

Depends on what the insurance is for - just theft, or damage
as well etc.

If you just want to insure you bike, then covering it under
your home contents policy is the best option - though you
may need to change policy for a good deal. (see previous
thread on this)

I don't see the worth in the ETA cycle breakdown cover
really. Basically, all it does it get you and your bike to a
bike shop or a train station.
--
Chris French, Leeds

anonymous coward <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Richard C said:

Has anyone ever tried to call out the AA / RAC for help
while out on their bike? What kind of response did you
get from the call centre, and when they arrived were
they any good? I can't think of many occasions when I'd
need them but it would be handy to know they were there
if I was stranded miles from home. The only time when I
considered calling them was a loose crank bolt (I don't
carry a socket spanner in my tool-kit) but luckily I
managed to find a bloke working on his car to tighten it
up. In the event of a terminally buckled wheel would
they give you a lift home on the Relay van?

Do they help stranded cyclists as a perk if you have a
policy with them for your car?

The CTC advertise a bicycle rescue scheme for a few 10's
of pounds a year
- I have sometimes thought of joining.

AC

Yes, I'm aware of the CTC / ETA scheme - but as I'm an AA
member already (but thinking of defecting to the RAC) it
would be silly to duplicate the insurace or pay for a 30mile
taxi ride home. I seem to remeber a newspaper story about a
pensioner on an electric invalid buggy being rescued by the
AA, so surely they must cover pedal bikes too? Perhaps I
should get in touch with their customer services dept. to
find out the answer for sure.

Richard C wrote:

<snip>

I seem to

Quoted message said:

remeber a newspaper story about a pensioner on an electric
invalid buggy being rescued by the AA, so surely they must
cover pedal bikes too?

Surely?

Jules

in message <[email hidden]>, Julesh

(') said:

Richard C wrote:

<snip>

I seem to

Quoted message said:

remeber a newspaper story about a pensioner on an
electric invalid buggy being rescued by the AA, so surely
they must cover pedal bikes too?

Surely?

Why not phone 'em up and ask 'em?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke)
jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

;; 'I think we should trust our president in every
decision ;; that he makes and we should just
support that' ;; Britney Spears of George W Bush,
CNN 04:09:03

Julesh said:

Surely?

Not necessarily, or you could use it as a cheap taxi service
to anywhere. "Hello, AA Relay please, my membership is
XXYYZZ, I was cycling up to Aberdeen docks to take a ferry
for my holiday to Shetland, but I've got a transmission
failure after just 10 miles of the 70. Send out a van to
take me there please!"

I feel the AA might, quite reasonably, take a Dim View of
that sort of thing, though they were happy to do the above
for my car.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

"Julesh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Richard C wrote:

<snip>

I seem to

Quoted message said:

remeber a newspaper story about a pensioner on an
electric invalid buggy being rescued by the AA, so
surely they must cover pedal bikes too?

Surely?

Well as they only cover motorised buggy's and not manual
wheelchairs I think there's virtualluy nil chance of
them covering a bike. Why a puncture is any more serious
on a motorised buggy/chair than on a manual one I have
yet to find out.

Russ

"Russ" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Well as they only cover motorised buggy's and not manual
wheelchairs I think there's virtualluy nil chance of them
covering a bike. Why a puncture is any more serious on a
motorised buggy/chair than on a manual one I have yet to
find out.

Manual ones weigh less and are easier to flip over to get
the tyres off, I suppose...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden] Edgware.

Simon Brooke <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

in message
<[email hidden]>, Julesh

(') said:

Richard C wrote:

<snip>

I seem to

Quoted message said:

remeber a newspaper story about a pensioner on an
electric invalid buggy being rescued by the AA, so
surely they must cover pedal bikes too?

Surely?

Why not phone 'em up and ask 'em?

Because I'm sure to get a call centre droid with no
knowledge of the organizations rules and regulations, who is
only capable of taking down the location of my broken down
car, offer to renew my membership or try to sell me
insurance.

[email hidden] (Richard C) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

anonymous coward <[email hidden]> wrote
in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Richard C said:

Has anyone ever tried to call out the AA / RAC for
help while out on their bike? What kind of response
did you get from the call centre, and when they
arrived were they any good? I can't think of many
occasions when I'd need them but it would be handy to
know they were there if I was stranded miles from
home. The only time when I considered calling them was
a loose crank bolt (I don't carry a socket spanner in
my tool-kit) but luckily I managed to find a bloke
working on his car to tighten it up. In the event of a
terminally buckled wheel would they give you a lift
home on the Relay van?

Do they help stranded cyclists as a perk if you have a
policy with them for your car?

The CTC advertise a bicycle rescue scheme for a few 10's
of pounds a year
- I have sometimes thought of joining.

AC

Yes, I'm aware of the CTC / ETA scheme - but as I'm an AA
member already (but thinking of defecting to the RAC) it
would be silly to duplicate the insurace or pay for a
30mile taxi ride home. I seem to remeber a newspaper story
about a pensioner on an electric invalid buggy being
rescued by the AA, so surely they must cover pedal bikes
too? Perhaps I should get in touch with their customer
services dept. to find out the answer for sure.

Reply from AA customer services, still waiting for the RAC's
response -

Thank you for your e-mail.

I can confirm that pedal cycles are not covered under AA
Membership, UK Breakdown Assistance Services are only
available to members when they are travelling in the UK, in
a car, van, minibus or motorcycle which complies with the
relevant restrictions in the terms and conditions.

On 9 Jul 2004 11:00:17 -0700, [email hidden] (Richard C)
wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Richard C) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

anonymous coward <[email hidden]> wrote
in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 10:22:18 -0700, Richard C wrote:

> Has anyone ever tried to call out the AA / RAC for
> help while out on their bike? What kind of response
> did you get from the call centre, and when they
> arrived were they any good? I can't think of many
> occasions when I'd need them but it would be handy to
> know they were there if I was stranded miles from
> home. The only time when I considered calling them
> was a loose crank bolt (I don't carry a socket
> spanner in my tool-kit) but luckily I managed to find
> a bloke working on his car to tighten it up. In the
> event of a terminally buckled wheel would they give
> you a lift home on the Relay van?

Do they help stranded cyclists as a perk if you have a
policy with them for your car?

The CTC advertise a bicycle rescue scheme for a few
10's of pounds a year
- I have sometimes thought of joining.

AC

Yes, I'm aware of the CTC / ETA scheme - but as I'm an AA
member already (but thinking of defecting to the RAC) it
would be silly to duplicate the insurace or pay for a
30mile taxi ride home. I seem to remeber a newspaper
story about a pensioner on an electric invalid buggy
being rescued by the AA, so surely they must cover pedal
bikes too? Perhaps I should get in touch with their
customer services dept. to find out the answer for sure.

Reply from AA customer services, still waiting for the
RAC's response -

Thank you for your e-mail.

I can confirm that pedal cycles are not covered under AA
Membership, UK Breakdown Assistance Services are only
available to members when they are travelling in the UK, in
a car, van, minibus or motorcycle which complies with the
relevant restrictions in the terms and conditions.

TBperfectlyH, I can see why they'd restrict it.

I suspect they're frightened of folk calling for Relay
service when they're tired - something that doesn't happen
when driving internal combustion powered vehicles.

--
Cheers, Euan Gawnsoft: gawnsoft.co.srgawnsoft.co.srOpen ↗
Symbian/Epoc wiki: html.dnsalias.nethtml.dnsalias.netOpen ↗ Smalltalk
links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk)
html.dnsalias.netsmalltalkOpen ↗

In message
<[email hidden]>, Richard C
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Yes, I'm aware of the CTC / ETA scheme - but as I'm an AA
member already (but thinking of defecting to the RAC) it
would be silly to duplicate the insurace or pay for a
30mile taxi ride home.

The answer's simple: don't defect to the RAC, defect to the
ETA. Their main business is motorist rescue services. I've
been with them for years (and had to call them a few times).
There's a basic membership charge, then the car and cycle
rescue services are extra on top - so it's cheaper if you
buy both services from them. And of course, your money goes
to support worthwhile causes, as opposed to the AA/RAC where
it goes towards lobbying the government to cover the whole
of Britain in tarmac. (Exaggerate? Moi??)

--

Andy Key said:

In message
<[email hidden]>, Richard
C <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Yes, I'm aware of the CTC / ETA scheme - but as I'm an AA
member already (but thinking of defecting to the RAC) it
would be silly to duplicate the insurace or pay for a
30mile taxi ride home.

The answer's simple: don't defect to the RAC, defect to
the ETA. Their main business is motorist rescue services.
I've been with them for years (and had to call them a few
times). There's a basic membership charge, then the car
and cycle rescue services are extra on top - so it's
cheaper if you buy both services from them. And of course,
your money goes to support worthwhile causes, as opposed
to the AA/RAC where it goes towards lobbying the
government to cover the whole of Britain in tarmac.
(Exaggerate? Moi??)

Yes, I've just gone for them as my breakdown company. I
looked at the cycle recovery, but to be honest I decided if
I ever get stuck and need to be recovered along with bike,
it'd probably be no more expensive to sort that myself. I
think recovery is to local bike shop or railway station, or
home if that's closer than the above.

So it's not really quite the same deal as car recovery, and
seemed quite expensive for what it was.

--

Velvet