# British Cycling and Cycle Rescue



## 2wd (29 Nov 2011)

After recent debates regarding insurance and a recent innertube fail which left me stranded (I knooooow I should have had a spare,but I didn't ) I have been looking at British Cycling membership at £24.00 with an add on of the rescue service at a further cost of £16.20

For this I would get £10m non competitive insurance (I dont need competitive),legal assistance, plus a few discounts off magazines and at Halfrauds.

Has anyone used BCs rescue service and would you know if punctures are covered as I cant see any in depthTs&Cs,only the wording....

_If you became unable to complete a journey (anywhere in the UK) due to an accident, theft or irreparable breakdown, Cycle Rescue will take you and your bicycle to a convenient location. That could be your home, train station, bicycle repair shop, car rental agency or alternative overnight accommodation. It's worth noting that any roadside breakdown must have occurred at least one mile away from your home to be eligible to use your Cycleguard Rescue cover_


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## 400bhp (29 Nov 2011)

2wd said:


> .....innertube fail which left me stranded (I knooooow I should have had a spare,but I didn't )
> 
> wording.......
> _... irreparable breakdown...._


 
There should be a definition of that term. If not then enquire as to what it means.


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## 2wd (29 Nov 2011)

Thats the sentence that caught my eye as well

I'll ring tomorrow


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## byegad (29 Nov 2011)

ETA do recovery and will cover for punctures but I don;t know how much you'd pay for just that as both our cars are covered on the same policy. And they'll retrieve recumbent trikes too.


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## 400bhp (29 Nov 2011)

I found out the other day that Salford Council have a scheme for there employees. They picked up my mates brother on his way to work when he suffered a puncture. Even fixed the puncture too!


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## growingvegetables (29 Nov 2011)

Hey - Scotrail do it; found out about it by chance last year, cycling around Arisaig and Mallaig with youngest. And to qualify? A ticket to a station in Scotland, and you're sorted! 

Just one wee thing - limited to one p******e a year 

Details here


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## CopperCyclist (30 Nov 2011)

Hopefully they might be like the AA and RAC, and if it's a puncture and you call them out, simply fix it for you at the side of the road - hopefully while mocking you mercilessly for not being able to!

If they could just come out, look at he bike and say 'Nah, you can fix that' then bugger off, that'd be a bit harsh!


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## 2wd (30 Nov 2011)

I rang them today and they said p******e's are not covered

I'll just take the pedal fell off so I can't ride it and tell em it fell down a grid 

Then when I went to look for it, my wheel got stuck in the same grid and popped the tyre


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## CopperCyclist (30 Nov 2011)

Rubbish then. Much as I think everyone should be able to fix their own puncture, I also think if you're paying for a service like that, you should have the choice to do so!

I'll stay with the free 'Friend and Family' rescue service that don't ask what's wrong before they decide to come out!


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## Scilly Suffolk (1 Dec 2011)

If you have home buildings/contents or motor insurance you may already have Third Party liability insurance and legal expenses cover; either way £10m is massively over the top.

Who and how is the recovery provided? They have a nationwide network? Ask for a specimen policy.

To be fair, I wouldn't expect punctures to be covered.


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## lukesdad (1 Dec 2011)

Shirley a puncture is repairable.


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## Banjo (1 Dec 2011)

You can go a fair way in a taxi for £16 .Unless you are really in the back of beyond Im not sure breakdown insurance is money wisely spent.


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## snorri (1 Dec 2011)

1629086 said:


> Odd, is it not, that cyclists are mostly expected to fix their own punctures and generally look after their machines, whilst motorists tend to do none of that nowadays.


Odd indeed.


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## Bicycle (1 Dec 2011)

1629086 said:


> Odd, is it not, that cyclists are mostly expected to fix their own punctures and generally look after their machines, whilst motorists tend to do none of that nowadays.


 
Not odd, I think. I've rarely suffered a mechanical failure on my bicycle that couldn't be fixed by the roadside or trailside.

Punctures on bicycles are not too hard to repair. Using (appropriate) tyre levers to split the beading on a modern, lowish-profile car tyre is a mammoth and sweaty task. Even motorcycle tyres take some doing.

I've ridden an MTB back to tarmac with snapped spokes flailing around, on one brake or with bent handlebars. many people have.

Apart from snapped forks on London Wall twenty years ago (and the odd cruncher of a collision) I don't think I've ever been unable to proceed on a bicycle due to mechanical failure. When I have been, I've generally locked it, left it and come back later.

If I look back at my (relatively few) AA call-outs in the last 20 years, there are none I could have dealt with at the roadside:

High-pressure LHM Hydraulic pipe failure in a BX.
Sheared fan backplate sliced through oil-cooler pipe in 2CV (towed home to repair it myself but utterly fooked as it was).
Several flat batteries in a 2CV (despite the starter handle, this can be a major problem - whatever people say).

Probably other call-outs I don't recall..... The hydraulic-pipe failure was at midnight with two toddlers in the car. I like that sort of back-up from a motoring organisation and pay for it with pleasure.

I really wouldn't feel the need of anything like that from a cycling organisation and wouldn't want to pay for it.

It's up to the rider to decide. Many think AA membership a waste of my money (with no call-outs for well over a decade). For the modest cost, I like to have it.

I think cycle repair and recovery a waste of money for me, but many riders will be glad to have it and will happily meet the modest cost.

But to refer back to the point I'm replying to: No, it isn't odd that cyclists are expected to repair their own and motorists are not. Cars are buggers to fix on a wet night 100 miles from home without a workshop full of tools.

I pay to have punctures on my car fixed. I'm sure I could pay my LBS to sort a flat on my bicycle... but I might feel slightly odd asking... I'm not expected to fix bicycle punctures, I just choose to.


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## 400bhp (1 Dec 2011)

lukesdad said:


> Shirley a puncture is repairable.


 
Precisely. Shirley a puncture can be fixed/tube replaced in the time it takes for a breakdown van to turn up.


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## byegad (1 Dec 2011)

Banjo said:


> You can go a fair way in a taxi for £16 .Unless you are really in the back of beyond Im not sure breakdown insurance is money wisely spent.


 
It is if you ride a recumbent trike. Not every taxi is capable of carrying one without major disassembly. Similarly if you ride in sparsely populated countryside getting a taxi to even think about coming to pick you up is a no, no!
ETA will pick me and the trike up, including if I only puncture, although I'd replace the tube and hope to carry on in normal circumstances, and take me to the car or home or to an LBS if more than 10 miles and closer than the car/home.

Also for the mechanically inept and anyone with a physical problem that doesn't let them repair and continue ETA is the answer.


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## 400bhp (1 Dec 2011)

byegad said:


> *ETA will pick me and the trike up*


 
I've just renewed my wife's breakdown cover but will certainly consider these next renewal.


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## youngoldbloke (1 Dec 2011)

1629086 said:


> Odd, is it not, that cyclists are mostly expected to fix their own punctures and generally look after their machines, whilst motorists tend to do none of that nowadays.


 
Not odd at all, bikes are (still)relatively low-tech - and after all cars (usually) carry a spare wheel. But have I noticed a regrettable trend over recent years for bikes to become seen as more 'technical' and 'specialized', requiring 'expert' attention, and servicing? - with the threat of an invalidated guarantee if the user attempts self adjustment. Every one who regards themself as a cyclist (male or female)should be able to change an inner tube, and carry the kit required to do so .


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## 2PedalsTez (1 Dec 2011)

I have used ETA cover before. Only needed their service once (when my rear mech snapped in half causing the chain to snap, then tearing into the seat and chain stay). I called them and after saying that my bike had broken, it took a few goes (after the kept insisting on my number plate) to convince them that it was a push bike and not a motorbike! They use the same recovery as you would get for a motor vehicle. I was happy to put my bike in the back of the van, but the fella was insistent that it was fitted to the trailer! 
Have to say that the service was great, but I can't justify the cost (mine was just over £100 for the year) against my British Cycling membership and contents insurance cover (I am confident enough to deal with punctures etc).
I would imagine it depends on the premium if you feel it is of value.


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## byegad (1 Dec 2011)

We pay £168 for two cars with full recovery including hotels and all the trimmings, plus the (tri)cycle recovery.


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## palinurus (2 Dec 2011)

I might consider something like this, considering I can't use the wife taxi (Ms. P doesn't drive either).

Having said that I've never got stuck so far although I've come close. I once whacked a wheel back into shape using a rock. It wasn't very good after, but at least it cleared the frame. I'm trying to think of things that are pretty much unbodgeable at the roadside and I can only think of busted fork (can't do a Eugene Christophe these days).


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