thedon

At the moment I am contemplating road bike rental options and what personal cycling accessories to bring on a trip next week (leaving Friday).

The rental options are:
Cervelo R3 105 - $250
Cervelo S5 Rival - $250
Trek Madone 4.7 - $300

Given that I ride a Caad10 Rival, I would like to stay with the same group, but the S5 geometry might be too different. Which bike should I pick if I want it to be familiar?

I plan to bring:
Shoes
Multitool
Clothing (including gloves/sunglasses)

I do not plan to bring:
Pedals (should be provided, but not guaranteed)
Saddle
Helmet

What do you recommend I bring with? Any advice is appreciated since I've never rented a bike before. Thanks!

caloso

I don't know enough about the various geometries to comment on that. All seem like nice bikes. But personally I'd bring my pedals and saddle. Only takes a few minutes to swap them out and it's nice to have familiar contact points.

And helmet? I'd definitely bring my helmet. That's not even a question.

shoota 

Are you riding to the coffee shop or riding centuries on your trip?

RPK79

What are you going to do if the pedals aren't provided? Tape your feet to the cranks?

Seattle Forrest

Every bike I ever rented came with platform pedals.

njkayaker

You might reconsider bringing your saddle.

Providing some info about the riding you are doing might be useful.

You shouldn't have too much issue with 105 (most rental bikes will have shimano, which means you'll have to deal with it sooner or later).

The S5 is a bit unusual. I'd probably go with one of the other two. Pick the bike that seems more interesting to you.

wheelreason

We do quite a bit of renting to folks from out of town. Which bike you rent really should be determined by the type of riding you plan to do, and what you hope to accomplish. BRING YOUR PEDALS. Also if you are very particular bring your saddle. Everything else, like I said depends on you. Are you going to spend long hours on the bike? Are you riding hard or with folks who are stronger than you? Are you interested in checking out different equipment?, or want something you are familiar with?

halfspeed

Bring your own helmet and pedals. Leave the multitool at home. That should be included with a patch kit.

Long Tom

Bring your pedals. Bring your helmet. You really want an ill-fitting lid that smells like 10 other guy's sweaty head?!

I rented a bike over Xmas... I brought my own tool kit (minus my multitool because it has a small knife blade) and my own blinkies. As well as pedals, helmet, shoes.

Check the bike out carefully; don't ass-u-me that they are renting you a bike in good trim. My rental had a front wheel that was literally unfinished. I didn't realize until it went so out of true that it was rubbing my brakes about 2/3 of the way around! I trued it up with a ****ing crescent wrench and a wee little vise grip. This, because I didn't bring a spike wrench like a ******.

Dunbar

I'm pretty sure the newer Cervelo road bikes are all the same geometry (should be close to your CAAD10.) If you're doing longer days in the saddle I'd get the R3. Shorter (<3 hour) rides it might be fun to try out the S5 but beware that aero bikes have a harsher ride.

Long Tom

I'm surprised we cannot say ****** on the 41.

It would be such a useful little bastard of a word.

Long Tom

I'm surprised we can say bastard!

Maybe that makes me a ******.

Nachoman

I agree, but a bandana or cycling cap would help eliminate the ick factor in that regard.

Also, shoes, pedals and saddle, for any serious riding.

Looigi

Always saddle, pedals, shoes, helmet, glasses, gloves, shorts, jerseys, socks. Sometimes water bottles, blinkie, headlight, cool or rainy wx gear, tool, etc...

fietsbob

No Clue .. LBS Here rents coaster brake Beach cruisers ..

sells them in the fall, them gets new ones in the spring.

BillyD

:gasp:

:gasp: Oh my!

thedon

Thanks for all the help.

To clarify some confusion, my careful contemplation of what to travel with is because suitcase space is very limited - 2 people and two 22" suitcases with two small carry-ons.

In the end, I've rented a Cervelo R3 and decided to bring:
Helmet
Pedals
Shoes
Saddle
Gloves & other clothing
Sunglasses
Multitool (bringing it because I particularly like mine)
Topeak digital PSI gauge (for $25 on Amazon, it's a great little item)
GoPro Hero3 and K-Edge Pro handlebar mount

Dudelsack 

Well *******. I would just ****** the ***** unless ******* started to *******.

But that's just my own ******* opinion.

milkbaby

Throwing in my two cents too late, I would've voted for which ever bike was most likely to be your n+1, i.e. your most likely next bike purchase. Have fun!