I am visiting San Antonio for a week and can’t bring my bike.
I’m pretty sure I’ll have free time to train, so I was hoping I might be
able to rent a bike while I’m there. Does anyone have any
experience renting a bike to train on? Do many shops do this?
I googled around a bit, but the rentals that I found seem to be
beach cruiser style. Thanks for any pointers,
-Joe
Is there a specific reason you can’t bring your bike? A week is a long enough time to justify the cost of shipping your bike vs renting. Given that some shops charge north of $70 a day you could have your bike UPS’d from your shop to a local SA shop.
You may want to post at roadbikereview in the regional forum for local LBS options. They may help you if you decide on renting still. Realistically, the best rental bikes are usually Shimano 105 at best…not saying that is bad but it’s not YOUR bike.
Unfortunately, I’m just as inexperienced shipping as renting. I’ve been fortunate
to only do races that I could drive myself to so far. I’ll be traveling with my wife
and four small kids (2-8 yrs), so I trying to take it on the plane sounds like hell.
On the other hand, maybe taking it to my LBS and getting it sent to an SA LBS
wouldn’t be too bad. I’ll do some research. It would certainly be nice to have
my bike. I’ve got multiple bikes at home, so its not really that big a deal to be
without one if the shipping takes a few days. What’s the ball park cost if I do it
via LBS vs. trying to do it myself?
I live in Boston but grew up in San Antonio and visit often. I have had my LBS ship my bike to Tri-Sition Area (a local SA tri shop) and had no problems. They were great there. The shop though is on the North/North East part of town so it may not be a great option if you aren’t staying out that way.
I am shipping my bike to CA from FL in July and have a quote from the CA shop of $100 unpack/repack plus shipping charges. My local should will do it for less so I’d guess $300 total including UPS.
Thanks for the tip. What was the ballpark cost for there and back?
Bike World’s newest location at the old Pearl Brewery (heart of downtown) rents bikes, with easy access to the Mission Trails from their front door. Another shop that has rented in the past is Britton’s Bicycles. Britton’s is closer to the airport but farther from downtown. If you’re in town for the weekend, the SA Wheelmen have regular rides on both Saturday & Sunday. Assorted others ride all over the city on week nights, with the exceptions of Mondays & Fridays. PM if you need additional information.
I had a great great experience with Bike World at the Pearl Brewery - - and you can jog up the little sidewalk path-like thing they have along the river from the downtown area to get there - - it isn’t far at all…plus there was a REALLY AWESOME tapas restaurant right overlooking the river there.
I don’t recall exactly but I don’t think it was much more than $75, and that included the break down and packing of the bike. I only shipped it one way though.