Hi all,

I’m interest in other’s opinions and experiences which will hopefully help me make the best decision here…

Basically, a couple of days ago I found my shed broken into and both my bikes stolen 🙁
A 2012 Giant Anthem X2 and my retro Specialized FSR Ground Control which had loads of upgrades.

Because of the terms of my insurance policy I can either take a cash option for each bike of £1000 per bike (which actually works out way less than the value of the 2 bikes and would leave me out of pocket) OR I could choose replacement bike/s from the insurance company’s preferred dealer up to the value of £2800.

I’m thinking of going for the 2nd option. I’m considering going for the full value on 1 bike – something like a Giant Reign 1, Trance X1, etc. Then I’d sell the bike on as brand new for a few hundred quid off and buy a 2nd hand one (maybe a 2011/12 model) and hopefully end up with a few quid left over to replace the bits that were nicked along with the bikes – lights, pedals, tools, etc.
I’m taking the opportunity to get something with longer travel than the Anthem had… still undecided on what though.

Anyway, do you think this is the right thing to do?
How much would you think is reasonable to knock off a brand new bike before you’d consider buying it?
What do you think is a popular enough bike that I could sell on easily to someone that wants a bargain?

What would you do?

I’m considering going for the full value on 1 bike – something like a Giant Reign 1, Trance X1, etc. Then I’d sell the bike on as brand new for a few hundred quid off

I think youd be better taking the £2000 cash in that case, if i can buy a bike for £2800 in shop why would i pay £2600 from you with no warranty?

I was thinking more along the lines of knocking about £300 off.
I wouldn’t register the bike… So warranty should still be okay shouldn’t it?

what he said

you would need to knock of a minimum of 35% IMHO to tempt someone

which insurance company offers that deal of 1k per bike or replacements at much more?

Is that deffo your terms or are they trying to get you a deal?

If you have new for old than that is what you have and they cannot deny you a cash replacement though they try and get you to settle for less as they have “discount deals” with suppliers

Tricky one – Frame warranty is a valuable part of buying new for a lot of people, and doesn’t usually transfer. I’d never look at a second hand ‘new’ bike for only a few hundred quid off for this reason. I think you’re bang on with getting something mainstream, though. Makes a huge difference when trying to shift it on ebay or wherever.

Who is your insurer, out of interest?

I’d take what the insurer say as an opening offer and start from there.

If buying from a private seller I’d want at least 25% off, and that’s 25% off the best internet price, not rrp

If you have new for old than that is what you have and they cannot deny you a cash replacement

And even if you don’t have new for old, you may wish to dispute their secondhand valuation of your bikes.

Sounds like it could be a bit under (but maybe not too much).

Thanks guys.
I know… it all seems a bit weird to me too and this is the first time I’ve been in this situation. I want to do the right thing that gets me as good a deal as possible and potentially someone else as well.

To be honest, I interpreted the policy small print as a lot worse. I was actually semi-pleased when they said that the policy states a maximum of £1000 p/bike. I actually thought it was going to be less.
Then, they said they could do a “deal” if I chose to replace the bikes instead. I guess it must have something to do with the discount that this dealer gives the insurance company or something… actually working in the customer’s favour!
I don’t want to question it too much in case I end up worse off.
This isn’t exactly a bad situation to be in (apart from the fact that some little scr*tes have come onto my property and helped themselves to stuff I work hard for and also made me question the area we live in even more 🙁

What mainstream bike/model between £2500 > £2800 would you say is the most popular? Ideally from Giant or Specialized?

Fwiw when I had one nicked i went with the insurers preferred supplier – in my case I also got 23% off anything that exceeded the insurance payout.

Why not just chose something from them that you want ? And then invest in a really decent security chain and an alarm

I’m starting to think that’s probably the best way to go as well.
It’s certainly less hassle and means I’ll be able to get out and ride (on something rather nice) by next weekend! 🙂

This bike won’t be going in the shed… Not until I have a more solid one anyway.

Any shed or outbuilding is likely to be vulnerable, it’s about layers – get a house burglar alarm and link the shed to it, protect the shed windows, reinforce the doors add extra locks and get decent ground anchored chains in the shed – check out pragmasis products. It might cost you a few hundred pounds but its well worth it.