Road Bike rental in Dearborn/Detroit area
 

I will be in the Detroit/Dearborn/Ann Arbor area for a couple of weeks in May. Does anyone know of a bicycle shop that rents out decent road bicycles ? I am willing to drive a liitle out to pick one up. I tried calling some of the shops in the area but none of them rent out. Thanks in advance.

Try "bicycle rental, Detroit, MI" or "bike rental" in place of bicycle in maps.google.com in any of those cities. I've never had to rent a bicycle so I'm not so sure this is the best place to look for advice and I'm not sure if any of the bike shops I've visited offer rentals. American Cycle and Fitness is a chain that I like though. Look them up as suggested, look at their sites and contact them to see if they offer rentals and if so what is their inventory to rent.

I'm just curious if you don't mind me asking, what is the bicycle rental for? Flying in and want to still ride? I guess it's kind of hard to bring a bike along with you in that case. I have my bike with the wheels off in my room and it takes a good amount of room (no hanger for it).

I've a lot of great things about these guys, although I haven't rented a bike there yet:

http://www.wheelhousedetroit.com/Rentals.aspx

I'm a Michigan native living in Boston, a commuter and occasional centurian, and I drive to Michigan specifically Macomb county, about three times a year. I rarely have enough room to bring a bike. I have fruitlessly searched for years, even calling what I consider premier bike shops, to no avail. My best alternative has been to borrow my brother's comfort hybrid, or if I am time-limited to go to a gym. One subscriber once suggested buy a cheap bike and then re-sell it. I have seen some pretty decent used bikes for sale in the Detroit area, more so than in Boston.

I have used Google as described above to easily find rentals in many other cities I have traveled to, but not Detroit, or Ann Arbor, though you might try it again. I recall a recent thread on the Touring Forum, I think, that mentioned a bike rental service being started by one of the car rental agencies, might have been National. If I find it, I'll reply back.

Finally, what is the rental for? As I mentioned I am a daily year round commuter so a 14 mile ride is a natural part of my day. If I'm training for a century. I have a daily mileage schedule I follow. But most of all, traveling for business or pleasure is alway disruptive to my usual healthy routines so cycling is how I "stabilize." Besides, IMO, it is the best way to explore a new area.

I posted subsequent to your reply to the thread, and I did not read your post. :o The website looked pretty interesting and I think I'll give them a call my next trip to the Detroit area.

The Wheelhouse is a great bicycling asset to Detroit not only with the rentals, but with all their organized rides and bike tours. [Disclaimer and plug: I'm leading two of this summers bike tours. One is of historic Nortown and the Conner Creek. The second traces the early history of Henry Ford, the Ford Motor Company, and the Model T.]

Another option is to buy a bike from our co-op, The Hub and simply donate it back when you're done. The bikes are inexpensive enough that this is a good long term option. And besides, they're another huge asset to our urban biking community.

I recently canvassed Ann Arbor stores looking for rentals, and the only one I found is Student Bike Shop. I was not crazy about the selection.

Thanks for all your responses. I have called around the area but had no luck. I may end up shipping my steel bike ahead of time.

We are going to Michigan for a graduation and the family decided for a longer stay. I do not want to be off the bike for an extended period of time as I have some hill climb events here in New England that I am planning on doing a week after getting back.

On a similar note, any suggestions/routes on where to ride? Found out we will be staying in the Macomb/Sterling Heights area. Thanks again.

You can ride along with The Clinton River Riders.
Here is their ride schedule url http://www.lmb.org/crr/rides.htm
Maybe Stoney Creek Metropark will be close to where you are staying
http://www.metroparks.com/parks/pk_stony_creek.php I see a lot of roadies pedaling there.
You can use the cycling/blading/walking pathway or right on the park roadway.

As far as renting a descent road bike, I have never seen anywhere that does. All you can do is keep calling .

Another very accessible club is the Downriver Cycling club. They have something happening almost every evening, and I've never seen them anything less than very welcoming to newcomers.

Road Fan