Death of a Serotta

[alexstar]

It is with a heavy heart that I report the demise of my faithful Serotta. I was "left-crossed" by an inattentive driver, and the frame and fork are toast. Out of respect for the faint of heart, I will not post pictures here, although the morbid may satisfy their curiosity by clicking this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soradical/sets/72157626973295408/

I posted about this bike when I purchased it, in this thread (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=71051), and again when I built it, in the gallery (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=78495).

In February I went to NAHBS and had the good fortune to speak with Ben - he told me that very few TSX bikes were built, around 75 in number, and that it was an interim model, sort of a precursor to the Colorado.

I took it to a shop to have it appraised (for the insurance company) but they could not put a price on it, being a rare older model and obviously not replaceable. I will have to wait and see what the insurance company wants to do.

Eventually I may want to have it repaired. Who would take on such a repair? The top and down tubes are bent, and at least one of the two fork blades is bent. I would like to keep the TdF lugs if possible, but if that is unlikely, it may have to remain wall art.

Sigh.

[Louis]

Bummer.

The most important thing is that you're not hurt. (I assume.)

Once you're through the grieving I suggest that you consider a new (or used) replacement - there are so many great steel options out there.

Good luck with the insurance company.

Louis

[giverdada]

same thing happened to my brother, but he's a beefy beast and was fine and was riding a cheap trek 1000. however, after much back and forthing with the insurance company (i know we're in canada so maybe things are different), he settled for $2900 and is going with a couple of new bikes including a custom steel. his trek was probably worth about $500-700, and all but a hundred of that being the chris king/velocity/DT wheels. i wish you much luck in getting your settlement figured out, as that was truly something priceless and beautiful (kind of like the human life, but again, glad yours isn't hurt). give'r.

n.

[BumbleBeeDave]

But I'd be willing to bet there are any one of several steel custom builders who could repair this with alignment and a new top tube unless I am missing other major damage in the pics.

BBD

[AngryScientist]

tough break.

i cant see the photos at work, but it is unfortunate that your lbs can not give you a value for the damage. might it be worth contacting David Kirk or one of the very knowledgeable industry fellows we have access to hear, to at least give you an estimate to repair the frame, in order to give the insurance company some proof of its value?

good luck, let us know how things turn out.

[avalonracing]

I took it to a shop to have it appraised (for the insurance company) but they could not put a price on it, being a rare older model and obviously not replaceable. I will have to wait and see what the insurance company wants to do.


I don't see an issue here. You TELL the insurance company that it needs to be replaced by a new custom steel Serotta in your color choice with comparable modern components.

[Joachim]

I don't see an issue here. You TELL the insurance company that it needs to be replaced by a new custom steel Serotta in your color choice with comparable modern components.

+1. The insurance company does not have your best interest at heart, even tough the insurance person who talks to you will want you to think that the company is your friend. They have different claim adjusters (I use the term fuzzy level) that deals with people and professionals (ie lawyers) respectively. In addition, they want to treat the bike and components as separate entities. This is not how it should be. The bike is totalled (ie not rideable) and should be treated as a single vehicle that needs to be replaced.

If you have more questions pm me. I have gone through this process multiple times.

[weiwentg]

+1. The insurance company does not have your best interest at heart, even tough the insurance person who talks to you will want you to think that the company is your friend. They have different claim adjusters (I use the term fuzzy level) that deals with people and professionals (ie lawyers) respectively. In addition, they want to treat the bike and components as separate entities. This is not how it should be. The bike is totalled (ie not rideable) and should be treated as a single vehicle that needs to be replaced.

If you have more questions pm me. I have gone through this process multiple times.

When my bike got totalled, my LBS assessed the replacement value of each of the individual components and the replacement value of the frame. The frame was a Colnago Dream Plus on closeout - by the time we got around to claiming, the only comparable replacement was the Dream Whatever with the fancy plastic stays at nearly twice the MSRP (and about 3x what I paid for it). The adjuster didn't know better and didn't contest it. Of course, I'd rather not have had the accident happen.

[Joachim]

By separate entities I meant, what can still be used and what can be repaired. Not price them out separately and get reimbursed for everything (ie totalled).

[rwsaunders]

I'd see if it could be repaired. Call Dave Kirk, Kelly Bedford or Dave Wages...all Serotta vets and steel masters.

[RedRider]

I'd see if it could be repaired. Call Dave Kirk, Kelly Bedford or Dave Wages...all Serotta vets and steel masters.
While all the "Vets" are more than capable...Serotta does do frame repairs..."hey operator, give me the number for 911"

[ultraman6970]

The bike can be repaired, that's not a problem at all, that's the good news the bad news is how the insurance company will do.

Clearly u have good stuff in there, i have not been in this cases so what happens to the old bike? It goes to the trash like cars do? the insurance guy will show up to take the old bike away if the bike was replaced or something?

They give you a check for example but what happen with the old stuff??

[Len J]

That hardly looks like a death...more like an injury. I'd send more detailed pics to Kelly and get a quote to repair.

Glad you weren't hurt.

Len

[Joachim]

Part of the settlement can be to buy back the wreck, like they call it. You can negotiate not to pay anything for it, since they have little use for a bike.

[oldpotatoe]

It is with a heavy heart that I report the demise of my faithful Serotta. I was "left-crossed" by an inattentive driver, and the frame and fork are toast. Out of respect for the faint of heart, I will not post pictures here, although the morbid may satisfy their curiosity by clicking this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soradical/sets/72157626973295408/

I posted about this bike when I purchased it, in this thread (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=71051), and again when I built it, in the gallery (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=78495).

In February I went to NAHBS and had the good fortune to speak with Ben - he told me that very few TSX bikes were built, around 75 in number, and that it was an interim model, sort of a precursor to the Colorado.

I took it to a shop to have it appraised (for the insurance company) but they could not put a price on it, being a rare older model and obviously not replaceable. I will have to wait and see what the insurance company wants to do.

Eventually I may want to have it repaired. Who would take on such a repair? The top and down tubes are bent, and at least one of the two fork blades is bent. I would like to keep the TdF lugs if possible, but if that is unlikely, it may have to remain wall art.

Sigh.

Get a good lawyer. The insurance company does not understand high end bicycles and are all about saving money.

The frame can be repaired(call Mark Nobilette, Nobilettecycles.com) but it's gonna be expensive for 2 or 3 tubes. Essentially sweat the tubes out, reuse the lugs with mostly new tubes.

Surprised the LBS could give you an estimate........................no I'm not. Talk to an older guy there who knows about a bicycle older than a Asian made plastic bikeouttaabox.

[christian]

I'm sorry, but how hard is it to give an estimate on replacement value on any bike? Any bike shop should be able to do that.

The replacement value for that bike is
- the cost of a new Athena 11 gruppo (it looks to have had Centaur/Athena mix)
- the cost of a set of Shamal Ultra wheels
- the cost of an equivalent lugged steel custom frame, say a Bedford or a Kirk
- the cost of the other parts (seat post, seat, bars, stem)

Yes, it'll be expensive, and yes, the insurance company won't like it, but it's basically 15 minutes of web browsing and addition to estimate the replacement cost.

[Ahneida Ride]

It is with a heavy heart that I report the demise of my faithful Serotta. I was "left-crossed" by an inattentive driver, and the frame and fork are toast. Out of respect for the faint of heart, I will not post pictures here, although the morbid may satisfy their curiosity by clicking this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soradical/sets/72157626973295408/

I posted about this bike when I purchased it, in this thread (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=71051), and again when I built it, in the gallery (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=78495).

In February I went to NAHBS and had the good fortune to speak with Ben - he told me that very few TSX bikes were built, around 75 in number, and that it was an interim model, sort of a precursor to the Colorado.

I took it to a shop to have it appraised (for the insurance company) but they could not put a price on it, being a rare older model and obviously not replaceable. I will have to wait and see what the insurance company wants to do.

Eventually I may want to have it repaired. Who would take on such a repair? The top and down tubes are bent, and at least one of the two fork blades is bent. I would like to keep the TdF lugs if possible, but if that is unlikely, it may have to remain wall art.

Sigh.


You definitely want to talk to Kelly Bedford. www.kbedfordcustoms.com

Only Kelly can cut the TdF lugs and he will only do them on a Serotta.

Kelly is repairing CSi on a limited basis. Kelly was master builder and
designer at Serotta for 20+ years. Heck... Kelly probably built it.

Kelly has access to Serotta Factory tubing. So you need not worry about
non factory approved tubing.

Kelly could give you a quote for the repair.

[Ahneida Ride]

If the repair needs Bottom bracket work ...
you are now getting into serious frns (fed reserve non notes)

But it can be done and with TdF lugs.

[billspreston]

I was t-boned by an F150 a few years ago in a Cervelo S1. The fork snapped, the frame bent, the wheels were toast. Many of the components were salvageable.

The way my lawyer told me to handle the situation was to take the bike in to my LBS and have them create an invoice for a new bike with the "same" parts. And by "same" parts, perhaps the shop's spelling is a little off and Sram Rival becomes Sram Force. Or the 2.0 on that Enve fork looks like a 1.0. Or the 240 on those DT Swiss hubs looks like a 190... if you catch my draft.

My shop was great as they obviously don't like seeing fellow riders getting taken out and then screwed by insurance companies. The invoice was submitted to the insurance company and I was fully reimbursed for the stated value. They never asked for the damaged bike and the salvaged components went into my parts bin for future projects. Small consolation for getting blasted by a 2.5 ton truck.

Don't take this lightly. You were hit by vehicle and if circumstances were slightly different you could be in the hospital right now. Just make sure you are fully reimbursed for the whole bike. I know it could probably be repaired, but in bike terms, that puppy is totaled.

[Joachim]

You can/should be reimbursed for the complete bike. With the money you can decide what to do, have your frame repaired or buy a new one. What matters is that the insurance company might want you to repair it, since it will/might cost them less than to pay for a new bike.

[John H.]

You should be whole again. That means brand new everything. You can get documentation to show that everything that is crashed like that is basically out of warranty.
You should 4 for a comparable frame- steel with fancy lugs, and all new parts.
What you do with your $ is your business.
You speak of a new SLX frame- consider this a chance to upgrade- a modern steel frame will ride even nicer than that old SLX frame.
P.S. Does not take much to buckle a frame- a buddy of mine T-bone a dog at low speed and did the same thing. Dog couldn't pay up though!

[shiftyfixedgear]

The TSX tubing is bog-standard old-school 1" top tube and 9/8 downtube. No Colorado shaping whatsoever. Equivalent or better quality tubing is still readily available and not very expensive. The TDF lugs pictured are standard Henry James lugs (still available) that were simply cut out in the TDF pattern. I'll bet Wages, Kirk or Kelly could modify them in their sleep.

No need to re-use the lugs when new ones would be easier to make than salvaging the old ones.

My point is that your frame is far from difficult for a good framebuilder to repair.

BUT - there is no need for the insurance company to know that. You should be getting a NEW frame / fork and the parts replaced, and not repaired. You can price the repair later and decide if you want to go ahead with it and the repaint. Hopefully the settlement will be generous enough to partially offset the frame repairs (if you decide to get them done). Don't forget that YOU are the injured party and it is IMHO not at all wrong for you to be compensated to make things "right"
and get you back on a new bike. For an insurance company 5-10k is peanuts compared to what the insurance company would face if you had injuries that required medical care or legal fees. Peanuts.

[Ken C]

The way my lawyer told me to handle the situation was to take the bike in to my LBS and have them create an invoice for a new bike with the "same" parts. And by "same" parts, perhaps the shop's spelling is a little off and Sram Rival becomes Sram Force. Or the 2.0 on that Enve fork looks like a 1.0. Or the 240 on those DT Swiss hubs looks like a 190... if you catch my draft.

That's fraud I sorry to say. Nothing wrong with having to make judgement calls about comming up with replacements when the originals are no longer offered, but this flat out lying.

[Ahneida Ride]

Ton's of guys could cut the lugs ... that is not the issue ...

Many respectable builders will not reproduce another builders
proprietor lug cuts. It's just out of respect.

Kelly designed the TdF lugs for Serotta and he will only reproduce em for
Serottas. One cannot purchase a Bedford with TdF lugs.