So I was having a great day until this happened...

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Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on August 1, 2010 at 7:33am
So will the CTA be paying for the damage?
Permalink Reply by A.K.A Paul on August 1, 2010 at 8:16am
The bungee cord is a great idea and it would have probably kept this from happening. I will probably use a bungee cord from now on. Fool me once, shame on you mr. CTA man!

To clarify, the spring worked and it held (with the usual amount of tension) properly when I put the retainer arm over my tire. It seemed to fail at some point after the bus started moving. While waiting for the supervisor to show up I extended and contracted the retainer arm on the rack and there was no tension in either direction so it felt like what ever spring that was working before was no longer working or missing all together.

There wasn’t any damage to the bike to claim against the CTA, other than some scratches on the fork that were on top of previous scratches, and handle bar tape. The handle bar tape was an old inner tube. So, because of that there isnt anything for the CTA to follow up on with me and visa versa.

The lock idea sounds good too. I'm always nervous someone's going to snatch it off the front of the bus while it's sitting at a light. If there was a lock holding the arm onto the bike it may not have happened.

Is there anyone who has had to put in a claim against the CTA for a bike related (or any other) issue? It seems like it would be a bureaucratic nightmare.
Permalink Reply by A.K.A Paul on August 1, 2010 at 8:22am
It was funny! After I said "what?" She repeated it in a really shocked and fast manner and then she said "I think I just ran over your bike!"

She was great about it though and she was very apologetic and the supervisor that showed up was very nice as well. They were both very professional.

iggi said:
Kinda Funny!

Not Nathan Fillion (aka Paul) said:
"Ah- sir, your bike is under the bus"
Permalink Reply by Jera Sue on August 1, 2010 at 9:06am
Dang! And I had just managed to convince myself that these things were reliable.
Permalink Reply by james wilson on August 1, 2010 at 9:14am
bus ok?
Permalink Reply by A.K.A Paul on August 1, 2010 at 11:09am
Aside from the bus lamenting exasperations of inadequacy, it seemed fine when I left.

james wilson said:
bus ok?
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 1, 2010 at 11:23am
The older type of rack (red wheel retainer) was used throughout the CTA system until the yellow ones started being phased in. The new style (yellow retainer - as shown in picture) can be stiff. I agree with Howard on that.

FYI - CTA prohibits locking bikes to racks, but I've never seen or heard anything about bungee cords being prohibited. I think that using a bungee cord is a great precaution.

Never seen a rack failure like the one you described. I'm glad your bike wasn't badly damaged.

H3N3 said:
I actually did use a bungee on Friday when I encountered a rack that had a worn out spring (the style they're phasing out with the red tire retainers)-- I asked the driver if it was OK and he was very nice.
All it takes is a short bungee between the wheel retainer and any part of the bike (I used the bottle cage).

As to the OP's problem-- the new style racks that they're phasing in can get stiff-- typically that makes the wheel retainer a bear to extend (frikkin' hate it), but in Paul's case I'm guessing he extended it and it stuck in that position rather than retracting in on the wheel? I always give them a nudge and try to make sure they grab the wheel towards the back of the high point-- if it wants to stick in that position, fine.

The style you're referencing Clark . . . I think we only saw a few of those in the city that were early prototypes-- not sure exactly what you meant to link to but the wheel retainer is shaped like a cane handle, right?

Clark said:
And I'd also like some suggestions for the rest of us who use those bus bike racks...how can we make sure this doesn't happen to us? The bus bike rack shown in your picture isn't like those that I've used, which are totally made of steel and have no springs as far as I know.
The pictured rack (above) looks a lot flimsier. I'd assume that front wheel stabilization bar and spring might fail in other instances. Could we keep the bike on the bus by using a bungie cord somehow? Perhaps to positively attach the clamp arm to the front wheel? What do you suggest? I don't like the option to ride my bike down the bus route, instead of using the bus.
Permalink Reply by james wilson on August 1, 2010 at 11:28am
i heard once of a bike on the bus rack and rider onboard, bus stopped at stop, black guy run up yanked the bike rode off on it. bike actually looks in tact, what was the damage to it? and like thunder ask cta covered?

Not Nathan Fillion (aka Paul) said:
Aside from the bus lamenting exasperations of inadequacy, it seemed fine when I left.

james wilson said:
bus ok?
Permalink Reply by ChristopherMCA on August 1, 2010 at 11:30am
that sucks, i'm sorry about your bike
Permalink Reply by heather s on August 1, 2010 at 11:35am
Oh hey, thanks for including that totally relevant detail. This story would have been completely meaningless without mention of the supposed thief's race.


james wilson said:
i heard once of a bike on the bus rack and rider onboard, bus stopped at stop, black guy run up yanked the bike rode off on it.
Permalink Reply by heather s on August 1, 2010 at 11:48am
Did that guy end up getting paid for his bike after all? I re-read that article, it seemed that the CTA had a pretty blanket policy of non-liability at the time.
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/cautionary-tales-racked/Conten...

H3N3 said:
The lock is expressly prohibited; not sure about the bungee.
I don't remember specifics but I do recall that people have successfully had pay-outs for CTA-related claims (there was that story of the expensive road bike that fell off an express bus bouncing down LSD that was in the Reader a few years ago . . .)

Permalink Reply by A.K.A Paul on August 2, 2010 at 10:17am
The pains the guy in the article went through to collect money from the CTA is exactly why I'm glad I didnt have too. In fact, I was trying to think of a minimum level of damage where I would even submit a claim.

H3N3 said:
Heather with the search chops!
I sent the guy an e-mail to ask if he ever got reimbursed in any way -- will report back if I get an answer.
heather stratton said:
Did that guy end up getting paid for his bike after all? I re-read that article, it seemed that the CTA had a pretty blanket policy of non-liability at the time.
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/cautionary-tales-racked/Conten...

H3N3 said:
The lock is expressly prohibited; not sure about the bungee.
I don't remember specifics but I do recall that people have successfully had pay-outs for CTA-related claims (there was that story of the expensive road bike that fell off an express bus bouncing down LSD that was in the Reader a few years ago . . .)

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