ChrisAlbertson

I plan to buy a new road bike at the end of this summer. I want to make an informed decision so I had the idea to rent a few different bikes. I don't mind driving 200 miles to a good bike shop located near a good place to ride. Then I'd do about 50 or more miles on the rental bike. Maybe after a half dozen times, I'd know more about different kinds of bikes, if I liked SRAM or Shimano shifters and how different frame geometries and saddles suit me.

I live in the LA area (Redondo Beach) and there are a couple of good places to rent near me and some good places to ride too. But I'm looking for other good places to rent and ride as far south as San Diego and as far north as Santa Barbara (more or less)

Does anyone have suggestions for a bike shop and a route?

What am I looking for? Based on spec's and budget a Cannondale CAAD13-105 might be good but I don't want to decide based on specs or even a 5-minute test ride.

jimincalif

Not quite as far away, but in Irvine there is Trails End Cycling Center on Von Karman, and in Lake Forest, Pure Ride Cycles on Muirlands.

if you want to go all the way to Idaho, George’s Cycles in downtown Boise. 🙂

Here’s an off the wall question for you, did you used to sail a Catalina 36 and participate in the Sailnet groups?

ChrisAlbertson

Yes. I sold the boat some years ago. I enjoyed sailing and want to get back on the water some day but on "other people's boats". When I bought the boat I said I'd never do what so many other owners do, just leave the boat in the slip week after week. If it was not getting used every week, it was time to sell.

Thanks for the leads on shops that rent. Where can I ride from those shops? I hate to put a bike in a car.

diphthong

palos verdes is a good testing ground near you but the santa monicas will be better. longer climbs. some steep sections/climbs here and there along with sustained grades.
pch is flattish once west of point dume. mully has plenty of short rollers/up and down action east of its junction with hwy 23 (decker/westlake). i'm sure someone else closer than me can
vouch for a rental shop in santa monica, westlake village or environs on either side of the sammos.

jimincalif

i had a Catalina 380, sold it about 3 years ago, my use dropped off quite a bit in 2015, so yeah, no sense letting it just sit unused. I owned it for 15 years, but I’m enjoying not being a boat owner now.

Lots of excellent riding in the OC. Head south or east for lots of climbing, north and west for flatter routes. A favorite is Santiago Canyon. A loop thru there from either shop would be about 35 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation. You can look at the websites for Bicycle Club of Irvine and OC Wheelmen, they have routes posted for almost every day of the week. Almost all BCI routes include a link to RideWithGPS in addition to the turn by turn pdf.

Calendar ? BCI -- Bicycle Club of Irvine

https://www.ocwheelmen.org/

ChrisAlbertson

Yes, I am lucky to live in a lace that has Palos Verdes just to the south and the Santa Monica mountains just tot eh north. Both are accessible from my driveway. I live 8 minutes from a first-class bike path that extends to each of those places. There is "Helen's Bicycles" only 2.2 miles from my house and they say if I wanted to rent a bike they can move a bike from one of their other stores and have it ready for me. They have some mid and high-end road bikes to rent.

But I'm thinking that if I'm going to spend $50 to $150 to rent a bike I want to make it into a kind of "mini-vacation" can go someplace I would not otherwise go.

diphthong

^death valley np. flats for days/daze and climbs (some biggies) if you want 'em. not much in terms of rollers tho...

allroy71

I suggest checking out San Luis Obispo. I don't live in SLO, but they seem to have a few bike shops that have rentals, from a quick Google search. There is a definitely a lot of riding in the area. Nice little vacation spot!