Expedition/touring bike hire
mk1rich
Posts: 14
Hi i have no idea if this is the right section for this but if it needs moving i am sure admin will sort it.
A few years back i made a few posts about cycling around the world and then my girlfriend at the time, now my wife decided to join me last min so off we set and did the trip with a slightly modified route than originally posted but we were off for around 11 months and loved every min of it, at the time we were using the modified for trekking steel framed mountain bikes that i specced up and built for the job and they performed exceptionally well with a handful of breakdowns and a few nights in hotel rooms converted into overnight workshops but mostly wild camping along the route.
Since our return a few friends have asked for a bit of advice and friends of friends etc, so on occasion i find myself giving information and a few stories about the road ahead, but always end with you have to try if for yourself which has led to me to letting a few good friends take off on our bikes for a week or two hoping that they remember to fit the locks and remove the panniers at night.
So onto my point with lots of people wanting to do a one month trip or a couple of weeks in france but not skimp on quality gear as many of you know bad gear can put you off a great hobby for life, and with the cost of good gear being prohibitive for shorter tours we are thinking of hiring out a couple of Koga Miyata's either as just bikes with empty panniers or fully loaded with top quality camping equipment with everything needed apart from a toothbrush and soap to tour for a week a month or even longer with a one to one run through on how everything works and packs etc.
Don't look at this as me trying to plug a business as its just an idea at the moment that we have and really enjoy helping others get out and on the open road.
Feedback and opinions most welcome.
Thanks for taking the time to read
Rich
A few years back i made a few posts about cycling around the world and then my girlfriend at the time, now my wife decided to join me last min so off we set and did the trip with a slightly modified route than originally posted but we were off for around 11 months and loved every min of it, at the time we were using the modified for trekking steel framed mountain bikes that i specced up and built for the job and they performed exceptionally well with a handful of breakdowns and a few nights in hotel rooms converted into overnight workshops but mostly wild camping along the route.
Since our return a few friends have asked for a bit of advice and friends of friends etc, so on occasion i find myself giving information and a few stories about the road ahead, but always end with you have to try if for yourself which has led to me to letting a few good friends take off on our bikes for a week or two hoping that they remember to fit the locks and remove the panniers at night.
So onto my point with lots of people wanting to do a one month trip or a couple of weeks in france but not skimp on quality gear as many of you know bad gear can put you off a great hobby for life, and with the cost of good gear being prohibitive for shorter tours we are thinking of hiring out a couple of Koga Miyata's either as just bikes with empty panniers or fully loaded with top quality camping equipment with everything needed apart from a toothbrush and soap to tour for a week a month or even longer with a one to one run through on how everything works and packs etc.
Don't look at this as me trying to plug a business as its just an idea at the moment that we have and really enjoy helping others get out and on the open road.
Feedback and opinions most welcome.
Thanks for taking the time to read
Rich
0
Comments
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A useful concept but is it a viable mini- business model.
The hire rates for bog std hybrids are 50-60/week
Assuming they are bought at wholesale, not retail, you cover the purchase after about 2-3 weeks.
A fully specced Koga is a lot of cash up front, can you cover that with monthly rentals?
Bike tour companies often rent out bikes through-out "the season" and negotiate good deals on their purchases.0 -
Hi, good points but when as you say a basic hybrid is £50 a week and it's say a £400 bike then yes you make your money back fairly quick, but if a £400ish bike would suit the requirements of bicycle touring then high end bikes such as the koga/santos etc would hardly sell any units, the angle I am looking at is if you just want to take a bike to do a day trip then a second hand mountain bike or a £25 hire at the destination is a good idea, but if your planning 4 weeks away and want to do it with top notch gear it's going to set you back a bare minimum of £2500/£3000 on gear before spending on the actual trip. So a more expensive rental that is all top notch would be cheaper to rent than the amount you would lose if you bought the equipment with a view to selling after the trip. I already have koga randonneur and a world traveller with ortliebs, terra nova tents etc so was just thinking of letting other people hire them, like you say it's more a useful concept than a business but it would be nice to rent them out from time to time to the right people. If this was an idea without already owning the gear I would agree it would take some time to see a return.
Rich0
