I agree espeacialy if they only cost 5frcs like Lob say`s

This is conflicting advice from that given earlier.

I don't mind spending the five francs on another vignette but would prefer to know whether I actually needed to get one by law for a four year old's bike.
I suppose that if the vignette applies to the bike (which it does) and not the user then all bikes actually need one - in case someone much older than four used the bike.

I guess the Policeman probably knows the law better than most.

As stated it was a police officer that told me i needed one so i would say it was correct but who know.....go to your local police station and ask as it could be a canton or region thing......

i have one for my 4 year old as i was told i needed it.....

Does anyone know if we need to get a Vignette for a trail-a-bike? The trail-a-bike is attached to my husband's bike, and his bike has a Vignette, but we weren't sure if the trail-a-bike would need one.

I'm sure you wouldn't need one for a trail-a-bike. After all, a tandem doesn't need two stickers, and a bike plus trail-a-bike is basically a three-wheeled tandem when assembled.

What do you do if they take your bike away?.
At the weekend I went to the downstairs garage where my bike was chained to a post and it is gone.

Unfortunately I didnt pay for the vignette.
How do you get your bike back and how much does it cost normally?
Yes I was lazy and it would have been better to just have bought the sticker in the first place

From you post you seem to think that your bike was impounded for not buying a vignette!

You mean your bike was stolen? Report it to the police and inform your insurance company with a view to claiming for it...

Yeah I think it must have been impounded as I left it there for a few months. Not sure if you could claim it back on the insurance??? Also I heard you may have to pay the police about 200sfr is that true??.... if so I am not sure if it is worth it?.

Considering that the sticker is made to fall apart like the auto-vignette, how on earth does one move it between bikes? If I tried that it would be half on one bike and the other half stuck to my hands.

I presume one sellotapes it then on whichever bike you want to use?

They might take it away if it was chained up at a train station or other major bike park, they sometimes clear out all the abandoned bikes. It wouldn't matter if you had a vignette or not though.

Your bike was more likely to have been pinched. As others said, report it the police, then claim from insurance.

I'm also confused as to why you're so sure it has been impounded rather than stolen. You'll need a to file a theft report with the police to claim it on your insurance, so either way you're going to have to go to the police station and ask them about it.

The velo vignette is a registration and insurance that covers the dammages inflicted to third parties on the event of an accident where you are responsible.

It doesn't cover the theft of your bike. Your appartment insurance could cover it, check out the conditions of it.

I do have the TCS velo vignette for my bikes.

It costs 25 CHF and you have the basic 3rd party RC, and additionally you have accident, legal help, return to home expenses and road repair help from the TCS.

It is very effective. I had an accident with my city bike and the fork and wheel were affected. I had to pay nothing for the repair. the bike shop invoiced the TCS directly. No questions asked.

http://www.tcs.ch/main/de/home/assistance/velo.html
road and mountain bikes need also the vignette unless you ride it only inside private racing installations ( track biking for example )

Use your ingenuity! For example stick the vignette to a small metal plate, which you can clip or screw to the bike you are using.

Migros sell vignettes in packs of 4... which is handy if you have a lot of bicycles - we need 4 packs! Without a vignette you risk a 40.- fine if the police decide they need to top up their Christmas fund.

Worse is if you cause an accident and you don't have a vignette - you will be liable for the damage so even if the other person (...assuming you hit a person) has 'Nichtsbetriebsunfallversicherung' which ensures they get hospital treatment to fix their broken bones (...I guess you hit them pretty hard) their insurer may decide to try to recoup the cost by suing you. I've no experience of this mind you, just scare-mongering

I do have experience of claiming on the vignette insurance - my daughter veered into a parked car while cycling around a campsite. The car owner, who was not around at the time, was really pleased that we owned up. We contacted the insurer and with minimal fuss they covered his repair bill.

You can buy a 'metal plate' to put the sticker on. It's red in colour and there are several mounting options, from a 'clip on' collar that goes round your seat post to more permanant fixings (require a screwdriver to fit/remove). You will find them in the bike part sections in Migros etc..

I used to do this but in the end these things are so damn cheap it's not worth the effort. Also if I have a friend(s) over it's useful to have a spare bike(s) for them to use.

szhjcn, thanks very much, I wasn't aware one could buy the clip from Migros, mind you I have not been looking lately.

only been here 4 days so scuse the nobby question but do they sell the vignetts at a specific counter in Migros?

Yep, the customer service counter, the one away from all the checkouts.

Your local post office would sell the velo vignette, too.

my vignette got washed out in a rainstorm in France, anyhow know if I can get a free replacement or do I have to shell out the 6 or is it 8 francs again?