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Bike Rental for Ironman

I have a question as I see that Ironman has teamed up with FBR Rentals for events in Europe. Since I am doing a race in Europe and can be a hassle with transporting my bike, just wondering what thoughts are on renting a bike for Ironman?

I can rent a Ventum One which can be fitted and picked up at expo opening so will have at least 3 full days to get accustomed to setup. I am pretty easy to setup since I have a standard build and will bring by bike fit measurements.

This will be more of an experience for me as it has been over 10 years since my last Ironman and just want to enjoy race.

Thoughts?

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Comments

  • edited November 12, 2019 2:55AM

    Sounds very convenient if you don't mind not riding your own bike. I would fret over the tires since I

    have a thing about riding fresh rubber for destination events.

  • I've never done this, but here would be things I'd want to control...

    I'd only do it with the same model bike I already have. In addition to obvious geometry issues like seat tube and head tube angles, there are also myriad other potential dissimilarities: bottom bracket height. Crank length. Chain-stay length. Aerobar placement - so many little tweaks possible! As Paul notes, wheels and tires may also affect your sense of how the bike fits you and rides.

    I'm not saying you should not do this; I'm saying I would be willing to spend (and have spent) $700 to ship my own bike there and back, to avoid any possibility I might not be comfortable for six hours, or worse. At a minimum, if you don't own the bike in question, see if you can ride it for an hour or more at home before committing.

  • My 2 pennies, it depends on your goals for the race. If performance or results is not a major factor and you're looking to save money, renting makes sense. If this is an "A" race and you're planning for a best performance, I wouldn't risk everything on a bike I rode only one or two times for 20 - 30 miles. The issues Al mentioned can lead to new muscle soreness or fatigue somewhere on your body that you might not feel until the 3rd or 4th hour. Worse case is it affects your leg/running muscles making the marathon that much harder.

    TriBike Transport and Bike Flights are two other options than flying with your bike.

  • edited November 12, 2019 4:28PM

    I did rent a bike for IMLP a few years ago. Issue for me was one that Al mentions above.

    I trained on a Light Speed Saber then showed up at IMLP and rented a FELT IA.

    Slightly different positioning over 112 miles gave me some nice cramps to deal with on the run leg.

    If you own a Ventum, train with a Ventum, then rent a Ventum for the race, sounds like a winner to me. Otherwise you may want to reconsider using TBT. The pricing difference between ~$450 TBT and renting a Ventum on race day is probably not worth the risk of cramping for 26.2 miles....

    Fast forward a few years and I bought a 2015 FELT IA.......😉

  • Agreed, found out that TriBike Transport has services for my IM location and bike arrives in tact. Same cost if I rent a bike and also save on rental car.

  • @Jesse Saldana - which IM are you doing and will you be touring in the vicinity of the race or travelling around the continent afterward?

  • edited November 12, 2019 9:02PM

    Paul - Doing IM Kalmar in 2020. Flying into Copenhagen and spending a couple of days there before going to Kalmar. After we may go to Malmo then back to Copenhagen. My wife does business in Sweden so will be visiting. Be nice not to have to haul a bike case around.

    I was also able to find your report and sounds like a great race. Hopefully the wind will not be to bad.

  • @Jesse Saldana - yeah, I recall your other post on this. I took my bike case with me to Copenhagen and picked a hotel right by the central train station across from Tivoli Gardens. We stayed there a few days then caught the train to Kalmar. On the way back, I stayed at the Copenhagen Airport Hilton (now Clarion) and just walked directly into the airport the next day. I wasn't doing business, so it was pretty simple with the case. I raced ITU Long Course in Motala, Sweden (2015) and also took my case. After the race we spent 4 days in downtown Stockholm, then took the bullet train out to the airport.

  • Paul- Any issues with taking the bike on the train and what type of case did you use?

  • No issues. At the time I was using a Pika Packworks softside (a fantastic case). When we left downtown Copenhagen, the train stopped again at the airport on the way to Kalmar and picked up a half-dozen more IM athletes and their bike bags. So our part of the train was full of bikes. When we passed through the first stop in Sweden (Malmo) some police/customs inspectors got on board with a dog. They did ask what was in the all the bike cases, let the dog sniff them, and then went on their way.

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