You’re kind of a weirdo, and that makes the whole thing kinda a crapshoot. You board your plane. You eat your airline snack. You watch a movie you’d meaning to see. You land, claim your bag, and head off to a hotel/AirBNB/campsite. But you want to ride bikes, so before you left home, back when this trip was still a fantasy, you booked a rental.
I called you a weirdo, and that was maybe unnecessarily provocative, but I’m weirdo too, so don’t think of it as an accusation so much as a recognition that you have, through years of experience, developed some idiosyncrasies. They are your “charms.”
So, you rock up to the bike shop in whatever far flung locale you’ve managed to get yourself to, and you give them your name and they wheel out a bike. You saw what bike you were going to get on the website before you left home. It’s probably something you haven’t ridden before, or you have, but you’re about to find out how different two bikes can be.
The thing is you have preferences for how your bike is set up, and they’re likely not stock-standard. That means the bike in front of you now doesn’t fit. Its stem is too short/too long. The saddle height is wrong. The pedals are wrong. The crank length is wrong. Also, the gearing is weird, or the brakes are reversed, depending on where you are on the globe.
So, actually, are you weird, or are rental bikes weird, or is the answer to both those questions, ‘yes?’
My friends with travel bikes (i.e., bikes whose frames uncouple or fold) seem to have the best time, of course. They’re riding their bike in their fantasy location. Some others will pack their non-travel bike into a large bag or box and make that work, too. I have not yet crossed this Rubicon of bike tourism. I rent. And so, I deal with how weird I am and/or learn to brake with opposite hands for a day.
This week’s TCI Friday wonders what your experiences have been like? Do you rent? Has it been good or bad? Do you pack a bike? How big a pain in the wrong parts is that?
We packed our tandem for a vacation trip from Honolulu to New York State. It was a colossal pain in the ass. Huge box (as this was prior to couplers) and we ended up renting a minivan, which cost more. But having the bike was loads of fun. We drove over the Peace Bridge in Buffalo and rode from Fort Erie to the Falls and back. Then did a day trip through the Finger Lakes near Horseheads, NY, and a ride or two in the Adirondacks. Was a blast that made it worth it.
I rented a Specialized in Boulder once but brought my own pedals and seat cluster. Worked well.
https://labikes.blogspot.com/2014/11/lafayette-and-boulder.html
Have done a number of package tours with rental bikes. None of the bikes were bad, though none were great either. Much prefer the tours where we brought our own bikes.
Years ago, 23 to be exact I ordered my first and only custom frame. It was a single speed with S&S couplers. During my time owing it I built up in numerous configurations including rigid, suspended with big/small travel fork options, with and without dropper posts, knobby and slick tires, and flat, drop and riser bars. I went through 2 different travel bags/cases with it. No matter how I had it set up, it always was simple, solid and ready for whatever riding adventures I could find. The main reason I sold it was that it was a 26” wheel frame so I’d have to spend a great deal to convert it into something it was not meant to be. I thought it best to send it on its way to another keeper.
Since then I’ve wanted to build another travel bike. This may still happen, but it likely will not be custom as I have a frame in mind that I would have a builder add couplers to.
In the meantime, I continue to travel with my bikes using a Dakine bag. It is rare that I rent anything as bringing my own rig can be accomplished with a modicum of organization and for low fees. Still, having a travel bike as I did, meant it was always ready to go with no fees and minimal fuss. Maybe you’ll convince me to get a Seven, but I imagine they’d hate to build what I have in mind. This would be a motivation for me to do so.