Do you let other people ride your bike?
 

I'm curious more as a matter of etiquette, than anything else.

Probably none of us would let a stranger ride our bike. Would you swap with a friend on a ride? With an acquaintance on a group ride? A non-cyclist friend you meet at the park?

This doesn't come up very often for me anymore, since I got clipless pedals.

NOPE!:D

NOPE!:D

NOPE!:D

This doesn't come up very often for me anymore, since I got clipless pedals.[/QUOTE]

I dunno about etiquette but I won't ride another person's bike and I won't allow anyone to ride mine. Even if mine is $50 and their bike is $10,000. ;)

Don't know why you might switch bikes, but I have let other people ride my bike.

My 18 year old neice stayed with us some years ago and got a job 3 or 4 miles away, so I lent her my hybrid so she could get to and from work. It was better than lending her my car.

Last year, my wife's entire family went on a little group ride and I lent them both my hybrid and my vintage touring bike. I must admit I was a little nervous about the touring bike, since that person wasn't familiar with downtube friction shifters, but she and the bike survived the ride unscathed.

This year again, my wife's family came for a visit and we went for a ride, and I again lent out my hybrid.

No way!

I let my brother in law ride my comfort bike and some how within 15 minutes of riding he popped the chain, scratched up the chain stay and jammed the chain in between the chain stay and the tire...and this is why I don't play nice and share :)

I have swapped around between myself and my kids a few times. We all wear size 13 shoes and have very similar PBH so saddles don't need to be adjusted. I've also loaned a comfort bike out a time or two to a girlfriend of my older son but that just required a quick saddle height adjustment and the poor fit didn't matter because she didn't know any better. That's about as far as I'll go.

When you consider the differences in frame sizes and adjustments we make to get a bike to fit us well (not to mention saddles), it would probably be uncommon for someone to actually fit on someone else's bike well enough to ride very far comfortably even if they had the right cleats on their shoes.

I know a guy that got upset cause a woman he knew would not let his newb daughter borrow her bike ($1500 bike)!:eek:...He was ranting about it so I told him he'd be better off never..... ever....... even think about asking us to lend him one of ours for a first time rider, any rider. :D

Sure, why not.

No. No, and no. Last time I lent out my bike, it was crashed. Junked the seat and got kinda scratched up. That was my old mountain bike. If it was my nice touring bike I would have cried. I decided never to lend again after that.

I let people ride my bikes and use my wheels all the time. I just have a "you bend, you mend policy." You don't want to know what my bikes cost... ;)

Completely agree with the you break it, your buying me another bike approach. I let my brother ride one of my bikes, but that is coming to end because I got it back to ride and the derailleur is way out of whack.

Sure. I am a nice guy....


That said, you break it you are going to need to make it right. However truth be told, not many folks have ever asked.

I have no problem with letting someone else ride mine, as long as they don't alter the setup (unless it's a long-term thing, which I've done on a couple of occasions).

Nuh uh. EVAR.

Seems like the common theme is by "people" you mean non-family members then people have a better chance. I have to say it depends on who it is and what bike. I have one out on loan right now. The person is new to biking and wants to get a bike, but I'm letting him borrow a bike so he can get in shape while he looks for a bike. I did make a mistake of letting my riding partner ride my bike one day, he was unsure about riding it in the first place. And of course the inevitable happened he rode my bike, now he is dieing to upgrade his bike.

I don't loan out my "nice' bike, but I will let someone ride it for a short ride. Loaning out the other bikes I have is an option. I look at as an opportunity to grow the sport which I love. If I can get someone else interested in cycling I think it is a win - win.

Maybe a soft swap - but not a full swap. No way.

No way..

I swap bikes with friends. That's how I discovered the joy of fixed gear and how my friend found clipless pedals

20 years ago my daughter would sometimes borrow my bike. This summer she came over with her family and I bought platform pedals so she could ride with her daughter, but she never did. I took a few rides with my grand daughter. Then I will be borrowing my daughter's Rockhopper when I am in UK next month.

A number of years ago I borrowed a set of HED racing wheels for a race from a friend. After the race I put the bike in the back of the truck and left the front wheel leaning against the side. Would you believe I ran it over??? :eek: Bummer. Deals work both ways. My friend loaned me a used set of wheels and got a brand new front wheel back. Not that bad of a deal...for him. ;) He wasn't made at all. In fact he asked if I needed to borrow the rear one again...:roflmao2:

I let my brother-in-law take my new bike for a ride around the block, and I also let my best friend take a short ride on it, but that was only because I wanted to show off the belt drive. These are both guys that I would trust to replace anything they damaged so it was no biggie for me.

I loan out any and all of my bikes. I loaned a mountain bike to my son's girlfriend and it was stolen within a week. I figure the thieves could have come over for a better selection at my place, so I got off easy. A friend loaned my partner his #3 road bike one summer (partner's bike in for warranty repair). By the time my partner's bike came back the seat tube had failed at the bottom bracket on the borrowed bike. My friend insisted on not accepting any compensation. Stuff happens, but it is rarely a total loss. Just tonight I took a bike to a woman who is visiting from France for a few weeks. I'm sure she would do the same for me if I was in her city.

Lessee...

My fixie is a 64cm with about 6.5" of post showing, and a nice tall B17 perched atop.
My brevet bike is a 62cm CX frame (higher posture) with about 7" of post showing and a B17 Imperial
My utility cruiser is a 25" MTB frame on 2.2" tires (adds another 2" of standover) with a humongous post and B17

If anyone thinks they can swing a leg over one of my bikes without crushing their marbles, they're welcome to give one a try.

That sounds like a challenge Clifton! I'll bring a cup.

I'm not as big as you, but my bikes are also on the large side so the pool of potential loanees is pretty small. But why wouldn't I let someone borrow one, if it fit them? I have a cycling buddy who is about my size and we quite often try one anther's latest purchases, or ride one anothers bikes when visiting - saves bringing our own.

No, since it takes to long to alter the fit. My bikes are 'customized' for my screwy structure.