Cycle rescue..?

[andyoxon]

Does anyone have cover / know about which packages are useful / worth it?

I googled and came up with ETA.

If you suffer a breakdown to your bicycle whilst out cycling, our 24-hour recovery team is on hand to arrange transport for you and your bicycle back to a safe location. We’ll take you to the nearest repair shop, railway station, car rental agency, overnight accommodation or home.

edit.  or home [if nearer]

[toontra]

I've had cover with ETA for 9 years but never needed to use them so have no idea what the service is like.

[andyoxon]

Thanks.

Found some previous discussion...   https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=58524.0

[Torslanda]

Lexham Insurance offer 24/7 breakdown cover for £15 a year.

I'll fess up that I am an agent for them but don't let that sway your decision!

I know of one customer who had a mechanical on a Sunday afternoon and was ferried back to his car. Ripponden to Hebden Bridge in a taxi. On that basis it has to be good value . . .

[Biggsy]

Can't we rely on Uber XL nowdays?  What are they like at accepting bikes?

£15 a year for proper insurance is surprisingly cheap anyway.

[Paul H]

I know of one customer who had a mechanical on a Sunday afternoon and was ferried back to his car. Ripponden to Hebden Bridge in a taxi. On that basis it has to be good value . . .

How far is that?  About 10 miles? You'd need to use it once a year for that to be good value and IMO anyone needing rescuing once a year would be better off investing the £15 in some basic maintenance.
I've been rescued twice in 20 years, once by a passing van driver who wouldn't take any payment (7miles) and the other time by taxi/train/taxi which cost £45 (80 miles), £15 a year would have been very poor value.
I'm not anti insurance but IMO it's better used for stuff that would be difficult to deal with if you didn't have it, transporting a bike isn't one of those.

[Biggsy]

Even the best mechanic can need rescuing after an accident wrecks the bike.  It probably will never happen, but peace of mind is worth paying something for, arguably.

(The ambulance will take the bike if you're lucky, but you won't always need an ambulance or you'll need the bike recovered from the hospital).

[Paul H]

Even the best mechanic can need rescuing after an accident wrecks the bike. 

How often have you needed rescuing in how many years cycling?

[MikeFromLFE]

Even the best mechanic can need rescuing after an accident wrecks the bike. 

How often have you needed rescuing in how many years cycling?

It's a fair question.
In 45 years of cycling, I can recall 4 occasions when I needed rescue - twice as a teenager both following carelessness on my part (sliding off on a corner into gravel leaving me with a painful hip - my dad collected me from a police station where I'd called for help; going through a red light into a car - I'd seen the green filter light - bent front wheel, again collected by my dad); then once when a Sturmey Archer 5-STar hub fell apart; and once on an Audax for reasons that escape me - both times collected by my wife.
On this basis insurance would not have been good value > for me < . Insurance is a gamble, some win, some lose.


Tapatalk puts this signature here, not me!

[Kim]

Lexham Insurance offer 24/7 breakdown cover for £15 a year.

Lack of small print is offputting.  What's their policy on unsually-shaped bikes?  Do they cover recovery due to a fault with the rider rather than with the bike?


The one time I've needed rescuing I was able to bodge the bike back into limping-home order, but contact points covered in road rash and general wibbliness precluded riding it.


The value of insurance is going to depend on how many people with cars you know.

[Biggsy]

Even the best mechanic can need rescuing after an accident wrecks the bike. 

How often have you needed rescuing in how many years cycling?

Twice in 37 years, but that's not the point.  Like I said, it may *never* be needed, but you might want to pay for peace of mind in case it happens just once to save a day of severe stress.  Or you might not, to probably save money.  That's the choice we make for all insurance.

Personally, I've never paid for rescue cover, but I'll think about it now I know it's only £15 pa.  I might just carry on hoping that I'll be able to use a taxi or Uber instead.

[Paul H]

Even the best mechanic can need rescuing after an accident wrecks the bike. 

How often have you needed rescuing in how many years cycling?

Twice in 37 years, but that's not the point. 

I disagree, I don't know how to evaluate insurance without considering the probability of needing it as well as the consequence of not having it. 

[Biggsy]

Yes ok, but I don't think you'll evaluate much by asking me.

The probability of needing the insurance can be low if one regards the consequencies of not having it as high - perhaps even less than once in a lifetime for some nervous people.

[toontra]

Also worth taking into account how much cycling you do in remote areas and at strange times, and likely to involve unfavourable conditions (sound familiar  ).  Granted that may also mean that recovery is slower!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Also depends who you're likely to be with, if anyone. Breaking down even at 2 a.m. in the Highlands of Scotland might be merely expensive rather than disastrous if you're with someone who can ride to the nearest village/house and get a taxi or something similar.

[andyoxon]

Thread re-awakening

I did a bit more research into ETA & Lexham.

With Lexham, basically a taxi picks you up if you need rescuing, and it seems that, say, if you e.g. take the car and ride from somewhere remote (some large distance from home), they will take you back to the car, IF there are no nearer bike shops open, suitable trains etc.  No max distances for this are stated in T&Cs - so technically this comes under 'discretional'  I guess.  I got the impression that if there was e.g. a bike shop closer than other options, it would have to be this.
Lexham define Pedal cycles... Means any bicycle, adult tricycle or tandem, including any mechanically or electronically assisted cycle weighing less than 40kg and with an output not exceeding 250w/15.5mph.

ETA, said to me that 25 miles is the max they will take you, but within 25 miles one could choose options, so e.g. back to car, even if nearer bike shop was open.  However the 25 mile 'condition' is not in the stated/available T&Cs - so again 'discretional'?

So it's not entirely clear.

[toontra]

Thanks for the research.  I've been renewing my ETA sub for 11 years (without ever once using the service) and certainly was unaware of the 25-mile limit. 

[Graeme]

Thanks for the research.  I've been renewing my ETA sub for 11 years (without ever once using the service) and certainly was unaware of the 25-mile limit.

+1

They're really responsive on their Twitter feed, so perhaps a useful public space to have that conversation. I'm thinking of the right question to ask. Suggestions on a postcard below.

[JohnL]

Pedalcover now include recovery in their insurance as standard. 50 miles back to your home or ‘accomodation’. I’m trying to bottom out if that could be your car, or train station if on a long Audax...

As for the usefulness, I think the huge advantage is just having to make one call, and they do the rest. I don’t fancy trying to sort a taxi company that will take your bike when stuck on the side of a Welsh mountain at three in the morning with the rain coming down horizontally with dodgy data reception.... in those circs £15 a year is a bargain!

John

[zigzag]

more constructive discussion would be - what can go wrong with the bike for it to be totally stuck and can those scenarios be prevented. also - what the insurance company would do differently from us to get us back to the "safe" place and is it worth paying them for the value that they provide.

[Kim]

more constructive discussion would be - what can go wrong with the bike for it to be totally stuck and can those scenarios be prevented.

Chiefly, it can be "in collision with" another road user or otherwise lose control at speed leading to extensive damage to bike and rider, leaving one or other unable to continue.  If the injuries are serious enough, recovery of the bike may not be a priority, of course.

Or something really serious breaking, like handlebars or (slightly more predictably) a rim.

Beyond that, complete loss of drive or rolling ability (let's say the freehub disintegrates, an axle breaks or a plastic bag takes out the rear mech and half the drive-side spokes) somewhere too far to walk to civilisation.

And let's not rule out non-emergency medical problems that mean the rider can't continue.  IME those are more likely than terminal mechanical failures.


I suspect the recovery option starts to look a lot more attractive if your bike isn't readily transported by a standard taxi.

[GrahamG]

I'm just pondering this again after starting up audaxing again and realising that now there two young kids at home I have lost my default rescue option! I've not needed rescue as yet, but my wife would probably appreciate the peace of mind.

[Oxford_Guy]

I actually used ETA recovery once - had a puncture in the middle of nowhere and had forgotten to bring my usual pump and repair kit/spare inner tube - called them up, not expecting anything to happen, and they sent out a breakdown truck to take me home, with the bike strapped in the middle of it on the back!

[toontra]

I actually used ETA recovery once - had a puncture in the middle of nowhere and had forgotten to bring my usual pump and repair kit/spare inner tube - called them up, not expecting anything to happen, and they sent out a breakdown truck to take me home, with the bike strapped in the middle of it on the back!

Reassuring that there is actually someone answering the phone!  I thought ETA have a puncture exclusion clause.

[BrianI]

An interesting thread.

Sadly I lost my father two years ago, and I always had at the back of my mind that if the worse was to happen, and I was stranded with a broken down bicycle far from home, a quick phone call to dad would sort things.

However rather than now relying on my increasingly frail mother (who doesn't like driving far nowadays) perhaps my taking out some form of Cycle Rescue would be a good idea!