Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Renting a bike

08.13.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Although lots of bikers pack their bikes and take them along on trips, we decided against the hassle for our recent vacation. Instead, I contacted a local bike shop to see about rentals. If you’re ever planning to rent bikes in a distant city, my experiences may be of some use to you.

Traverse City, Michigan, has a couple of good bike shops for a city this size (14,000). I got in touch with McLain Cycle and Fitness, since they were the first to come up in a Google search. McLain’s has an online rental system, and I decided to use that.

They offer road bikes, “comfort” bikes, cruisers, tandems. My wife, Pat (she prefers I don’t call her Mrs. Noob), rides a hybrid at home, but wanted to rent a flat bar road bike for the trip. No luck. The road bikes are all drop bar bikes, and the “comfort” bikes are hybrids. I ordered a comfort bike in large size for her, and a road bike in 56 cm for me.

I placed the order six days before our arrival. When I received no confirmation, I called the shop on Friday — the day before we got to Traverse City. They had no record of our order. I repeated the order over the phone, and asked for clarification about the comfort bike/hybrid bike issue, and whether any flat bar road bikes would be available. No, said the clerk, only a hybrid. OK.

When we got to the shop the next day, the clerk I had talked to wasn’t there, and the one on duty was confused. We finally found that a 56 cm Specialized Allez had been set aside for me. They put on SPD-SL pedals, and I was ready to go.

It was less easy for Pat. The shop had no large size hybrids. We confirmed that no flat bar road bikes were available, then she tried out an XL Specialized Crossroads and one in a medium size. The bike mechanic insisted that with a seat post change, the XL would fit Pat fine. He made the change, she rode it around the parking lot, and said OK.

The shop threw in two helmets and two water bottles, and charged us the weekly rate, although we would keep the bikes for eight days.

As it turned out, I was pretty happy with the Allez. It came with Sora components, which I’d never used before, but which gave me no trouble. The saddle was a different model than the one on my bike, but it was close enough, and by the end of the week, I felt quite at home on the Allez.

The rented Specialized Allez fitted me fine.

For Pat, the experience was not as good. Her own bike is a hybrid, with a high stem that puts her in a very upright position. The Crossroads was very upright, too — which she likes — but the XL size made her feel as though she were riding a tall horse. Its handlebars were almost a foot higher than the ones on my bike. She quickly dubbed it “The Beast” — a name that stuck.

Pat aboard The Beast.

They fitted it with Look pedals, and although they were the same kind she uses at home, she never really adjusted to them. She unclipped from them too easily, which made uphills hard, since she couldn’t pull up on the pedal. I adjusted the tension, and then she felt permanently attached to the tall machine, which made her uneasy, especially one day when we spent most of the ride along a somewhat busy highway.

She did one hilly ride of 23 miles with us, but beyond that, didn’t feel comfortable enough with the bike to ride it for more than six or seven miles — on flat roads.

When we returned the bikes to the shop, checkin was almost too easy. We gave our names, they took the bikes, and said, “Thank you. Have a nice day.” I was surprised they didn’t ask about any problems, and mentioned that the Allez worked out great, but the hybrid, not so much. They didn’t seem interested, and went about their work. We left the store.

What did we learn from our renting experience? First, shop around. There is another bike shop in Traverse right next to McLain’s. If we had bothered to check, we might have found something more in line with Pat’s needs. Second, get confirmation. If the shop’s web site doesn’t indicate that the order has been received, follow up with a phone call. And on the call, be sure they have all the necessary information. I was more than a little miffed that they didn’t have a bike in Pat’s size. Third, make sure it’s right. One quick turn around the parking lot isn’t enough, especially if you’re going to keep the bike for more than a few days.

Will we rent again? Sure, probably. It’s too convenient not to. But next time, we’ll do it with our eyes open.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Categories // Bikes Tags // Bikes, rentals

Comments

  1. Arlyn says

    August 14, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    Sorry to hear about the hassle. I rented a bike once when visiting Oregon. It worked out pretty well, but I had my friend who lives there do all the arranging.

    Reply
  2. Bob says

    August 15, 2008 at 11:09 am

    I could not imagine riding a bike that felt too tall. In the photo the handlebars look really high.

    I go the rental route when I visit my son in Hawaii. Although it cost more to rent a bicycle than a car, the benefits far out way the cost and is by far more fun than driving on the island.

    Reply
  3. rainycamp says

    August 15, 2008 at 12:04 pm

    Thanks for checking in, Bob. We’ll be in Hawaii next year, and renting bikes is on the agenda. But we won’t let a bike shop mechanic talk us into a bigger size than necessary.

    Reply
  4. Paul says

    November 7, 2012 at 1:48 pm

    Recently found your blog…liked the first couple of posts I read so I decided to read it from the beginning. I realize this is an old post but if you rent any bikes in the future, perhaps you can bring along your own pedals and seat.

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 257 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d