tandempower

Finally, roadside assistance includes cycling. A New England AAA club is going to outfit some trucks with bike racks to provide roadside assistance to members on bikes. The article says if you're on a non-motorized path, you have to come to a road for help. I guess it takes too much time for the roadside assistant to carry a bike out on the truck and bike to you with the tube, chain, or whatever it is you need.

But imagine roadside assistance services paying cyclists to help other cyclists! Now that would be bike-friendly

More Cyclists Can Now Call AAA For Help : The Two-Way : NPR

gregf83 

BCAA was apparently the first association in NA to offer assistance to bikes 10 yrs ago. I can't imagine any self respecting cyclist calling them though...

Other than friends, I don't recall ever having to help a cyclist. I did stop and change a tire for 4 women stranded by the side of the road waiting for BCAA a few years ago.

Walter S

Not to mention the tow truck driver that's 350 pounds of ass crack and has no interest in acquiring and carrying and then pedaling a stinkin bicycle.


Good news though. It will encourage more people to ride

Seattle Forrest

The one time I had a mechanical issue I couldn't fix or ride with in the past several years, I called an Uber to bring me and the bike home. Showed up promptly, and it was a quick ride.

mel2012

The Better World Club has offered 24/7 Roadside Assistance for bicyclists for years. It has some downsides (limited range, fee is for 2 calls per year), but I could see it being very useful on a trip Bicycle Roadside Assistance

I-Like-To-Bike

Are there many car free people who are eligible for AAA benefits?

Walter S

Humm...you do have to wonder about the American Automobile Association being a good resource for the car free

Machka 

I don't know what the AAA offers, but the CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) was a good resource for me.

I was able to get insurance to cover my bicycle through them.

I was able to get all sorts of travel information from them to assist me with my cycletouring.

I was able to get travel insurance through them.

Walter S

Without owning a car?

Machka 

Without owning a car.

I went car-free in 1999. In 2003, I acquired Machak, my Marinoni Ciclo and wanted to insure him.

At that time I had my home content insurance with another company, but I was not at all happy with them. Nevertheless, I rang them up to find out what would be involved in insuring my bicycle. Amid peals of laughter (their laughter) I hung up on them.

I called around to several other places and the only place who took my call without roars of laughter was CAA. The next day I was in the CAA office signing up for home insurance with an extra rider for my bicycle ... and, of course, I cancelled my other policy. Fortunately, the CAA home content insurance + bicycle rider was less expensive than what I was paying at the other place for just home contents ... but the coverage policy with CAA was better. I was pleased.

This is the CAA site: CAA National

Obviously there's an automotive aspect, but you don't need to have a car to get a membership and take advantage of the other things they have to offer.

Here's the Bike Assist feature in Manitoba:
https://www.caamanitoba.com/automotive_bike_assist

"CAA Bike Assist is emergency road service for your bicycle. If you run into a problem that cannot be fixed on the spot, CAA will transport* you and your bicycle home, to a bike repair shop of your choice, or to our preferred repair partner – Olympia Cycle & Ski at 326 St. Mary’s Road."

The Ontario site gives a bit more information:
CAA Bike Assist | Auto - CAA South Central Ontario

cooker

That's great information. Like others I have never had to call for help when biking, but partly that is because I mostly cycle in the city and on the rare occasions when I couldn't fix a problem on the road, I just walked home or took my bike on the subway. I ride in the countryside occasionally but have been fortunate not to have a serious breakdown there. However I have some plans to cycle in slightly more remote locations in the next two years and will look into the CAA option - nice to have even if you never need it.

wolfchild

Shame on any cyclists who doesn't know how to fix a flat and has to call roadside assistance.
If you don't know how to remove a wheel and fix a flat or fix a broken chain link then you shouldn't be riding a bike.

Walter S

Fixing a broken chain is asking a lot from mechanically challenged people. I would not discourage my wife from riding because she doesn't know how to fix a broken chain. If you keep your equipment up you can ride a couple thousand miles per year your whole life and never fix a broken chain. And if you DID - well that might me one case where you had to be adventurous about getting home. Big deal.

Ekdog

+1 In over 50 years of cycling, I've never broken a chain.

Ekdog

No offense intended, but who are you to be telling people that they oughtn't to be riding? That comes off as haughty and disdainful to the extreme.

cooker

That's ridiculous.

Roody

Yes, definitely grumpier since you got a car. Do you also require car drivers to know how to change out a clutch or an engine gasket? Should a bus passenger be able to jump out and fix a flat tire on the bus?

I know several people who actually quit riding their bikes because they didn't know how to fix a minor mechanical problem. Some people just happen to know less than we do about the intricacies of a bicycle. It's a time commitment to learn how to do these repairs, and it can even be difficult to find somebody who can teach you. I've often stopped to help people with flat tires or slipped chains. Some of them were young children, but most were adults.

Joeyseven

AAA Oregon/Idaho provides bicycle service to all membership levels.

Always nice to have.But I carry two tubes + patch kit.Never had any major problem on the road.Plus always Have A phone or two.
https://www.oregon.aaa.com/join-aaa/bicycle-service/

wolfchild

My reply was not directed at children but it was directed at adults who claim to be cyclists but fail to take responsibility to learn the simple basics of bicycle maintenance. I learned to patch tubes when I was about 12 years old, so there is no excuse for an adult cyclists not to have knowledge on how to fix a flat.

wolfchild

This whole idea of roadside assistance for something as simple as a bicycle is just funny and amusing to me.
A bicycle is a very simple machine and it would be extremely rare to have a "catastrophic failure" which is serious enough to require a tow truck.

Machka 

There are bicycle maintenance classes available.

wolfchild

+1

and there are also books about bike maintenance and tons of info on internet and youtube about it.

I-Like-To-Bike

I think that course of action would be more useful/practical than an AAA membership (and likely bicycling repair knowledge of random tow truck operators) for a person who is car free and dependent on bicycle transportation.

Roody

I think it's extremely useful to be able to do basic repairs on your own. I do fix the most common problems, personally. But I don't really enjoy it, and I can understand why some people would just prefer not to. The view that anybody who can't fix a bike is not a "serious cyclist"--or perhaps shouldn't even be allowed to ride one--is elitist and snobby, IMO.

I did have a rim crack under me one time when I was 10 or 12 miles from home. I was not looking forward to a three hour walk when I saw a bus stop sign beside the country road, and heard one of my good ol' city buses chugging toward it. I put the bike on the rack and was home sweet home in less than 30 minutes. It seemed like a miracle--I never even knew that the bus ran that far out into the countryside. But if no bus had been available, I sure would have wished for some kind of roadside assistance!

Ekdog

You mean you didn't rebuild the wheel on the spot? You're not a true cyclist.