Road Race Newbie...where To Look For Bikes?!

[shoebie500]

Hi all,

I will be riding the Best Buddies Hyannis Port Challenge on May 30 for Best Buddies. Super excited to do this for best buddies and in memory of my Best Buddy. I have started looking at training programs (although any suggestions would be great...using "fitforcycling.com"). . However, one major thing is I don't own a bike...

Really not sure where to start, I wasn't planning on purchasing a bike for this race (broke grad student)...are there any reasonably priced alternatives to purchasing a road bike for training and the actual race?? Any sort of bike exchange or loan program. Or any advice where to look for affordable "lightly used" road bikes. Any advice would be a huge help!!

I really look forward to this race, it's an amazing cause

Thanks again!

 

[RapDaddyo]

To minimize your total cost, my suggestion is to do your training in a gym on a stationery bike. You can probably find a gym membership for ~$25/month with stationery bikes available. That will get you fit for the ride. For the actual ride, you can do one of two things. First, many bike shops rent high-end road bikes. If you do a Google search for racing bike rental in Boston, you'll find several alternatives. The going rate seems to be $75-$100 per 24-hour period. You could probably cut a deal for a one-week period at less than 7x the daily rate. Riding the bike every day for about a week in advance of your ride will be plenty of time to learn how to handle the bike, and if you have developed your cycling fitness from the gym you should have no trouble on the ride. Plan B would be to find a bike on eBay or Craig's List or other trading site and resell the bike after the event. Plan B is obviously more work, but may be cheaper if you can sell for close to your buy price. Of course, you will still need the right shoes, cleats, helmet and clothes. Can't think of a good way around that.

 

[An old Guy]

It is really not a race. 20 miles is a lot different than 100 miles.

Find a local bike club. Everyone has more than 1 bike. You might be able to borrow one.

 

[LadyofAxe]

If you are a grad student, then you should look to see if there are any cycling groups on campus. I know the cycling group on my campus fixes bikes and then sells them at a discounted price. You can also look into renting a bike from your local bike shop for the event. However, I like to train for events on the bike I am going to use. That way I know the bike is a good fit for me and I can make any adjustments as necessary.

 

[brightstar123]

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