Fifty Plus (50+) - Heavy bikes that don't fit are the way to go

Hello all

I'm just back from a holiday which included a cycling week in Brittany and Normandy in Northern France.

A group of 20 of us who have taken bike holidays before in Scandinavia and Russia. This time, though, we rented bikes from a tour company, and very pleasant and efficient the people were too. (Before, we'd taken our own bikes).

So, on arrival, we got to adjust the rental bikes. Sturdy one-size fits all roadsters made from recycled railway lines. If you tried to check one in on an aeroplane, you'd be paying 20kg excess weight!

Initial impressions - blimey, this ain't right. But, as all accepted, we could think that things were wrong or just think that's it's a vacation and enjoy it.

At the end of the vacation, everyone was exchanging grins and photos about what we'd seen and the excellent group dinners and how much we'd enjoyed it.

And today I took my own bike out for a spin - and I've never been so fast. It felt great to ride a bike in my own size weighting a fraction of the rental.

I'm not going so far as to think that the next N+1 should be a clunker --- but resistance training works

Best wishes to all

R

. . . or this one?

Cost of flying your machine here in the Uk is going ever upwards as airlines try to make profits on ther items rather than tickets. It is starting to appear to be as cheap to rent a bike [if staying for only a week]with a lot less hassle at airports. You only need to pack your own saddle and pedals and once fitted, the rental machine is not so bad. you soon get used to a bit of extra weight. I have done this using my own panniers and rack as luggage. Had a great time. Staying any longer consider buying cheap MTB £80ish and adding your stuff. Leave it at the side of the road as you leave or sell it to LBS or rental guys. Cycling should not be a hassle. It is all about freedom.

Jim

I've almost gone and purchased Wal-Mart bikes when on a vacation. Only reason I didn't on a recent one was because I wasn't going to have as much time to ride as I had hoped. I figure that if I purchased a $69 cruiser & used it for 7-10 days, that I was going to come out way ahead of renting a bike. Then I could drop it at a Goodwill on the way out of town.

I did scan two Goodwills for used bikes on a recent trip.

Hello all

I'm just back from a holiday which included a cycling week in Brittany and Normandy in Northern France.

A group of 20 of us who have taken bike holidays before in Scandinavia and Russia. This time, though, we rented bikes from a tour company, and very pleasant and efficient the people were too. (Before, we'd taken our own bikes).

So, on arrival, we got to adjust the rental bikes. Sturdy one-size fits all roadsters made from recycled railway lines. If you tried to check one in on an aeroplane, you'd be paying 20kg excess weight!

Initial impressions - blimey, this ain't right. But, as all accepted, we could think that things were wrong or just think that's it's a vacation and enjoy it.

At the end of the vacation, everyone was exchanging grins and photos about what we'd seen and the excellent group dinners and how much we'd enjoyed it.

And today I took my own bike out for a spin - and I've never been so fast. It felt great to ride a bike in my own size weighting a fraction of the rental.

I'm not going so far as to think that the next N+1 should be a clunker --- but resistance training works

Best wishes to all

R

"Resistance training".... I like that. Next time I ride my heavy hybrid that's too big for me, I'll say I'm going on a "resistance training" ride. After riding that for a year, the new Specialized Roubaix Expert seems to fly up hills, all I need to do is keep my feet on the pedals and the bike does the rest.