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renting bikes instead of traveling with bike

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

renting bikes instead of traveling with bike

Old 08-14-19, 04:41 PM
  #26  
Jim from Boston
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
"Do you bike on vacation?"

I try to include cycling in on every trip away from home, even including those to go away to professional conferences. Since I don't fly, it's easy to bring my own bike in the SUV.
Originally Posted by jpescatore
I'm a renter - never actually shipped a bike when flying somewhere. The cost of the actual shipping part usually isn't the issue - more the hassle of disassembly/reassembly and my feeling that airline shipping is much more likely to muck something up than a bike rental place...

For the STP I brought my own seat with me and adjusted the seat position to be just about identical to my home bike - worked great. I would rather be riding my own bike on doing 200 miles over 2 days, but that kept my rear end happy.

It is a personal trade off of cost, hassle and how you feel about riding on random bikes. I've actually never had anything go wrong renting bikes (other than e forgetting to remove my GPS mount before returning the rental bike...) and I feel like that would not have been the case if I had shipped bikes back and forth over all those trips.
For a 400 mile drive to Pennsylvania for an organized bicycling weekend, I posted:
Originally Posted by BluesDawg
Yeah, I've never been and never intend to become that organized. I'll be there. That's about all I need to know at this point.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Well you should see my packing list…hate to arrive on time, having forgotten my bike (helmet, gloves, shoes, pump, tools, shorts, water bottle, computer, lights, extra valve stem caps never happened.
Originally Posted by Wilmingtech
I travel a bit for work and have rented a few times (only domestically in the states). Mostly with success.

Here are the things I will bring if I know I am renting -

1. Your own Saddle - As others have said. You probably have gone through 4 or 5 trying to find the one that fits you. Why leave it at home and hope the rental saddle is as comfy as your own?

2. Pedals & Shoes - You already have your cleats set up and your shoes are comfy. Easy to pack and pedals can go inside your shoes.

3. Lights - Not a must but some rental companies charge extra for these and they are light and easy to pack. Nice to not to have to worry about.

4. Saddle Bag - I like to have a minimal toolset and spare tube/patch kit with me. Most rental places will give you a patch kit and co2 cartridges but I like having my tools to dial in the bike as needed. Remember - You cannot fly with CO2. Get some from the rental house.

5. Helmet and gloves - I've never packed these but I guess you could if you are particular about fit and comfort.

If you have your saddle, pedals and shoes, almost everything else could be dialed in. I would make sure to take some measurements (Specifically - BB to Saddle and Tip of Saddle to center of hanlebars) and let the bike shop know those before traveling.

If you are just renting for a couple of days to adventure around and no serious riding then most of this is not really necessary. (Although consider bringing a saddle and lights for night riding)
I also bring a rear view (Take-Look) mirror.

BTW,
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
...Here in Boston, my LBS, Back Bay Bikes, located conveniently on the Green Line Subway in Back Bay does rent quality hybrids and road bikes, and I think will attach pedals at least.

A major hassle of renting, is to locate and inquire about rentals, in a city you don’t know, find your way to the shop from where you are staying, and return it and get to your departure point.
Originally Posted by Wilmingtech
I travel a bit for work and have rented a few times (only domestically in the states). Mostly with success....

My experiences renting -...

Boston - Back Bay Bike shop - Good shop, good support but a little pricey. Community Bike Supply - I dont think these guys had anything but Hybrids and Cruisers for rentals but were great to rent from and not too pricey.

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 08-14-19 at 04:46 PM.
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Old 08-16-19, 12:27 PM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by goenrdoug
https://www.spinlister.com

(disclaimer, I'm not associated with nor have I ever actually used this service.)
Yeah, that's it. I just installed the Android version of the app and things aren't looking promising. It hasn't been updated since March of 2018 and everybody is complaining that it doesn't work. Maybe it was an idea whose time hasn't come yet.
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Old 08-16-19, 12:30 PM
  #28  
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Yeah, might be better to visit the website as opposed to the app. I dunno.
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Old 09-02-19, 02:32 AM
  #29  
spectastic
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thanks for the suggestions. I get that people have sentimental attachments to their bikes. However, if you pick a bike with the right size/geometry, you can adjust the fit to be exactly like your own bike. in addition to saddle, pedal/shoes, maybe also bring your own stem. I thought about handlebars as well because I go 2-4 cm narrower compared to others my height, but that's be a lot of work with tape wrapping..

I also have the fear of damaging my good bike, during transit. so I imagine it's probably a good idea to bring your #2 bike. This is especially true if you're traveling for races, where crashes can happen. This is where I thought renting might make a lot of sense. For a few days, the chances of you damaging your equipment is dramatically increased, so instead of risking your own, you rent one with insurance coverage. But then you open up another can of worms with crash coverage... oh well

i have heard of bike flights. they're awesome. if it's short distance, like <1000 miles, it's probably $55 each way. But if it's longer than that, it's more like $95 each way. Also some of the airlines are starting to allow bikes without the fees, which is very nice.
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Old 09-02-19, 04:48 AM
  #30  
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Remember trains? Amtrak has become very bike friendly on many of its routes. You can bring a bike on board with you (as opposed to checking it into the baggage car) for a very reasonable fee.
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Old 09-02-19, 12:38 PM
  #31  
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the trains in the US are pretty slow, otherwise, i agree it'd be a good option
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Old 09-03-19, 09:48 AM
  #32  
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Unless you, and your destination, are both very close to an Amtrak station, it’s more than likely cheaper, easier and quicker to travel by car. When you get into the sort of distances where you would consider an overnight train journey, then it’s definitely cheaper, and a lot quicker, by plane.


For my last rental, I brought saddle, pedals, stem, pump, (a lot of rentals will only supply a CO2 cartridge) Garmin mount, saddle bag(with multi tool, tire levers and spare tube). I ended up leaving the stock saddle and stem, except that I dropped the stem way down.

Handlebars would be going overboard, and depending on the age and model of your own bike you may run into compatibility problems with the shifters; unless you’re willing to unwrap bar tape, reinstall shifters, and rewrap, and go through all that again at the end of the trip.

Last edited by Leinster; 09-03-19 at 10:10 AM.
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