OT: best places to rent a road bike and ride in Europe?

[vasek1]

I'm going to be in Western Europe in late April and early May, and would love to cycle some famous routes.  Would anyone have recommendations what are some good routes to try (both climbs and flats, any country in Western Europe), and if it will be easy to rent a bike + gear there?  I'm not bringing anything (no shoes, no padded shorts, etc) so would need to rent everything.

[Elizeu Santos-Neto]

Based on my limited experience (and always carried my own shoes/gear/clohtes):

If your plan is riding for a single day, renting might be cheaper (and
less of a logistic hassle with airlines) than packing your own bike. I
rented in Italy (few years ago) and in Zurich (last year). In both
places, it was easy to find places to rent road bikes.

If your plan to ride several days, I think packing your bike is, in
general, cheaper (even paying the airline fees, if needed) and more
convenient. Specially if you have (or can borrow from someone) a
Ritchey Breakway. :)

People in the list who have done tours around Europe might know better, though.

./Elizeu

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[Ben Kochie]

I don't think you're going to find a place that will rent kit.  The most extra you can rent is a helmet.  You'll need to bring your shoes if you want to ride road.  I'd also recommend bringing your pedals, just in case.

Another option is to just buy a new set of kit and bring it home.

Most bike rental places that rent road bikes don't stock many of them, you will likely have to research and reserve in the city you're going to ahead of time.

On Sun, Mar 29, 2015 at 10:23 PM, vasek1 <vas...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm going to be in Western Europe in late April and early May, and would love to cycle some famous routes.  Would anyone have recommendations what are some good routes to try (both climbs and flats, any country in Western Europe), and if it will be easy to rent a bike + gear there?  I'm not bringing anything (no shoes, no padded shorts, etc) so would need to rent everything.

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[vasek1]

Ah, I see, thanks!  I'm traveling super light and will only bike maybe 1 or 2 times so won't be able to bring my bike or pedals, but I really like the 'buy a kit there' idea.  If nothing else, I will be a noob and ride with flat pedals in my gym shoes...:p

 

Any good places you guys recommend to ride in Spain and Portugal?  Will be spending most of my time there!

[Mark Kahn]

Girona.

There are also some nice rides in the hills above Barcelona.

[Peter Colijn]

I loved the Dolomites last year. Northern Italy / Southern Switzerland. Very pretty. You can do stelvio!

I would recommend bringing your bike. If you're doing serious rides you want to know you'll be riding a bike that fits you, is comfortable, etc.

[stnvsa]

I'd strongly recommend bringing your own pedals and shoes. They don't take up that much room, and having them will make life much easier if you can manage to pack them.

If you're going to be in Italy, I've heard many, many good things about Cinghiale (http://cinghiale.com/).

If you're going to be in France, consider heading to Bourg d'Oisans (about 45 minutes from Grenoble, accessible by bus or rental car). The surrounding area has many famous climbs nearby (Alpe d'Huez, Galibier, Croix de Fer / Glandon, Sarenne, etc.) and at least a few spectacular but not-as-famous ones (e.g. Villard-Notre-Dame <http://www.steephill.tv/2006/villard-notre-dame/>, the Vercors region, etc. See that website for many other detailed guides.). As for rentals, I'd highly recommend Cycles et Sports (http://www.cyclesetsports.com/en/). As someone else commented, no shop is going to have an infinite variety of rentals, but it's at least possible to get a high-end road bike there (I rented a Scott Foil). The owner, Jean-Philippe, is quite knowledgeable about anything and everything cycling-related in the area. And the shop _does_ have an enormous selection of clothing and related gear.

HTH,

-s

[Mark Kahn]

yeah, if France is an option, the Bourd d'Oisans area is fantastic...Villard-Notre Dame is tremendous (in addition to the other more well known climbs such as Alpe d'Huez, Col de la Croix de Fer, et al).

[Ben Kochie]

I met a fantastic local frame builder in Barcelona last weekend.  I was checking out a bike outside a local coffee place, turns out to be his bike.  He's an Italian frame builder living there.

http://www.legorcicli.it/en

[Eva Guo]

Sorry to post on your post, but I'm bicycling in Provence in late April, anyone know a shop near Marseille that will rent bikes or anyone willing to lend or rent to me his/her Brompton? I have a Bike Friday which is too much hassle to bring (I know, I know) for four days in Provence. Thing is, I'm going to be flying to other cities first, so I don't want to schlep around the suitcase for my bike in all those places where I won't be bicycling.

 

Thanks! :)

On Sunday, March 29, 2015 at 1:23:16 PM UTC-7, vasek1 wrote:

[Lina Mårtensson]

Youenn might know?

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[Eva Guo]

Thanks, Lina!

www.tinyurl.com/evaguopoetry my poetry book

http://tinyurl.com/evaguohc2015

[Matthew Hiller]

Are there luggage-forwarding services in the relevant countries that would allow you to fly with the BF, land, and send the suitcase ahead to the first destination that you'd need it? I know such things exist in Germany & Austria.

btw, the first message in this thread reminds me of something that comes up on the Goog miscellaneous ny list. The question will often be phrased something like "Hi, I like restaurants and eating. What are the good restaurants in New York City? Which is the best?"  :)

[Eva Guo]

Hi Matthew,

 

Not sure, but I just don't think it will work - hate for my bike to get lost. Last resort is I could ship my BF to Marseille, then ship it back.

 

Thanks!

www.tinyurl.com/evaguopoetry my poetry book

http://tinyurl.com/evaguohc2015

 

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[David Goldsmith]

I was just in the UK with a spare weekend and I had a heck of a time finding a decent bike to rent. Googled all the shops, "bike rental," looked on Yelp, everything obvious.

Just for the heck of it, I e-mailed the info@ address of a local bike club. A super-friendly guy got back in touch; after assessing what I was looking for, he e-mailed the club list, and someone found me a great demo bike at a local shop. (One of the club members worked there and knew about it.)

The bonus was that I rode with the group - really nice group - the second day of my weekend, which beat the heck out of getting lost 10 times the previous day while trying to follow a RideWithGPS route on my own.

http://www.nb-cc.co.uk if anyone's ever around Bristol, England.

If you're still having trouble finding something, consider writing one of the local clubs.

David

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[Youenn Colin]

Hi Eva,

We're renting ours from Biking Luberon. Although I have yet to meet Hubert I hear he's very nice to do business with. He's got a good selection of Specialized Tarmac and will deliver. He's located 1h North of Marseille near Isle-sur-sorgues I believe. Where are you going to be based?
http://www.luberon-biking.fr

Another option is the BMC test center located inside the luxury resort of La Coquillade near Apt, but they're not super responsive as bikes are in priority rented to their guests... Which I suspect are in honeymoon from Japan or the US and have other things to do than ride bikes around.
You can try contacting Nadège at cyc...@coquillade.fr

Also shameless plug, my friend Gerry' low key guiding company (and native English speaker): http://www.445cyclingtours.com

Not to mention my vacation rental in case you fall in love with the region and want to do it again with lots of friends in the future: www.la-grande-bergerie.com

Happy to recommend some routes in the Luberon too.

[Eva Guo]

Thanks, Youenn! I fly into Marseille and want to ride probably north and west of there, but I've really no clue. I've looked at some websites on the Luberon. 

Yes, please recommend some routes to me. But I plan to ride a steel frame so I don't think I'd want to do serious climbing - some might be ok. Do you have any physical maps? I'm kinda old school and don't use the cel phone for maps much.

Thank you! Eva

www.tinyurl.com/evaguopoetry my poetry book

http://tinyurl.com/evaguohc2015

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[Mark Kahn]

For Barcelona and surrounds, here are a couple of resources:

http://www.meetup.com/The-Barcelona-Road-Cycling-Group/ (posting of club rides, good resources, etc.)

www.terradiversions.com (they will rent very good road bikes -- I got an Orbea from them with 105s but they had other higher end options).

Mark