Bike Hire Ventoux

meursault

Any recommendations for road bike hire?

For a Cingles challenge (Ultra slow, ultra massive back cog)

tourdriving

All after where you are staying https://www.provence-cycles.com/copie-de-les-velos-1 84340 Malaucène (ROAD-MTB-E-BIKE) & www.ventoux-bikes.fr/location/2-0.html 84340 Malaucène (ROAD) and http://www.bedoin-location.fr/fr/liste_velos.htm 84410 Bédoin (ROAD-MTB-HYBRID-E-BIKE-TANDEM) for more see https://tourdriving.wordpress.com/france/ find photo of bike go down to Vaucluce (84)

meursault

Merci.

Wayne.27403

my wife and i had a great experience working with Huber Flechais, owner of Luberon Biking - last May 2017
Hubert is based in Velleron, easy to get to from Avignon TGV station.

We rented touring bikes, but Hubert will likely have a bike to meet your needs as he has a very wide set of offerings of different frames, etc. for different types of cycling.

http://luberon-biking.fr/

meursault

Wayne.27403 wrote:

my wife and i had a great experience working with Huber Flechais, owner of Luberon Biking - last May 2017
Hubert is based in Velleron, easy to get to from Avignon TGV station.

We rented touring bikes, but Hubert will likely have a bike to meet your needs as he has a very wide set of offerings of different frames, etc. for different types of cycling.

http://luberon-biking.fr/

Thanks I'll have a look. I'm leaning towards Albion bikes in Sault. Gets good reviews and not bad pricing.

vwillrocku

Yes, I visited Albion bikes this year and there were quite a lot of very good condition road bikes such as Giant Defy or something like that. I didn't rent it as I had my own bike, but a pair of customers were so happy about their rental bikes and even asked the shop owner about the selling price.

meursault

vwillrocku wrote:

Yes, I visited Albion bikes this year and there were quite a lot of very good condition road bikes such as Giant Defy or something like that. I didn't rent it as I had my own bike, but a pair of customers were so happy about their rental bikes and even asked the shop owner about the selling price.

Much appreciated thanks, yes I think they are Giants from looking at the website. Back cog says 32 too, so will cater for our very slow ascents!

InSituTravel

There are two shops in Bédoin, essentially right at the roundabout at the top of town, just meters from the start line for the Ventoux ascent. My preference is "La Route Du Ventoux". Jean-Michel handles most of the rentals. He's a super nice guy and speaks perfect english. They offer free delivery and pick-up of the bike within a short distance of Bédoin, and then just a small fee for delivery beyond that. Their website is: http://www.francebikerentals.com

meursault

InSituTravel wrote:

There are two shops in Bédoin, essentially right at the roundabout at the top of town, just meters from the start line for the Ventoux ascent. My preference is "La Route Du Ventoux". Jean-Michel handles most of the rentals. He's a super nice guy and speaks perfect english. They offer free delivery and pick-up of the bike within a short distance of Bédoin, and then just a small fee for delivery beyond that. Their website is: http://www.francebikerentals.com

Thanks. I'm a little bit put off that bike rental place due to trip advisor reviews. They are less than complimentary.

InSituTravel

Hmmm... I had never looked at the Trip Advisor reviews, before you mentioned it. My recommendation was just from personal experience. In the many years of using the shop, I've had nothing but amazing service. In particular the bike fittings have been spot on and the quality of the bikes & parts have been good. However when I did look it up, I can see that it looks like many of the recent reviews are not very good. Perhaps things are starting to change. I can understand your hesitation.

Well the other shop in Bédoin is "Bédoin Location" http://www.bedoin-location.fr
I didn't see a Trip Advisor review for this shop, but they seem nice enough when I've stopped in for other bike related things. They were also listed in a previous post above. Additionally, I've heard good things about Ventoux Bikes in Malaucène (also listed above in a previous post).

Just as a side note: I noticed a few of the negative reviews talked about how rental bikes were more expensive than in Mallorca. I personally think that is not a fair comparison. Every region and rental market is going to be different depending on the supply and demand, Mallorca is inundated with bike rental providers so it keeps the prices super low.

Also, you mentioned that you want a really big cog on your rear cassette. Keep in mind that certain rental bikes are not going to be set up like that initially and it might be difficult for the shop to change them out so that they are compatible with the rear derailleur that's already installed. You should be able to get a compact chainring setup in the front with a 32 tooth cog in the back, pretty easily. But if you want to go bigger, that might limit your choices for bike make/model. At a minimum, you'd want to let the shop know upfront that a really large rear cog is important to you.

Good luck!