john o'groats to lands end
09phillt
Posts: 17
Hi, next summer I will be cycling from John O'Groats at the top of Scotland to Lands End, and I was wondering how to get hold of a road bike as I only have a mountain bike as I usually only ride off-road. Do you think a shop or hire place would rent one out for a few weeks, and what price do you think? It will be a charity ride so hopefully that will be taken into consideration as I can't afford to spend too much, otherwise I will just put some slicks on my mtb. What do you guys think?
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It wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to get down to your local tip and find some old school road bike that requires some fixing.
I picked up a British Eagle for £20 with some reallty good components. Couple of hours of maintenance and its brilliant!0 -
Hi there - good luck - I'm looking to do it some time in the next couple of years too!
I was wondering the same thing as you and that's how I stumbled across your thread! I have a road bike that I just purchased on eBay - there're some pretty good bargains to be had if you're patient.
But the bike I've bought is an out and out racer and not a comfortable option for JOGLE. That's why I am looking at hiring a bike for it - I don't want a MTB, road bike AND tourer (my shed only has limited room!).
Unfortunately the only people I can find so far that hire out bikes specifically for JOGLE are companies operating guided group rides of the route with all accommodation booked etc. This doesn't suit me as I want control over the planning, pace etc and the self sufficiency is all part of the challenge IMHO.
If you've got enough spare cash, perhaps buy a decent bike on eBay, do JOGLE on it and then stick it straight back on eBay?! That'd be like free hire! Hang on... that's a really good idea I just had - that's what I'm gonna do!0 -
A road bike will be ideal for LEJOG or JOGLE if you don't need to carry much luggage. Contrary to popular belief a road bike can be very comfortable. My LEJOG was a rapid one averaging about 300km per day and I did it on a road bike (Kuota Kharma) with no comfort issues at all. Carried my own stuff as well using a seatpost rack.
If you put the training miles in on your bike and tinker with the position (you might need to change for a longer/shorter stem) then no reason at all why you can't use it.
FWIW I think hiring a bike is a daft idea as the chances of getting a bike that is perfectly set up for you will be remote. You should be able to pick up a decent used bike on ebay, which as StueyEd says you could resell straight after the ride and get most if not all of your money back.More problems but still living....0 -
By now I'm looking at a second-hand Specialized Vita for £400, will take a bit of saving but I think I can manage it, does anyone know of any places I should visit on my way down? It's going to be a bit of a tour, not a blast down the country.0
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best bit for me was Glen Coe - utterly epic0
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You will want to do some training on the bike as well as the event. A road bike that can accept rear mudguards and a rear luggage rack is a whole lot more useful than a race-only bike. You may also benefit from lower gear ratios
The Vita is a lightweight sporty hybrid bike that will do the job well but may benefit from some extra handholds, either bar ends, aerobars or replacement butterfly bars.0 -
The Vita is WSD, check the geometry to see if its right for you.
The wife has one, she loves it. Its a nice piece of kit.0
