Peer-to-peer bike rental SF

February 1, 2013 4:35 PM

Oh no! Liquid went down for a winter break! Just as I arrived in SF and was hoping to put in a few rides next week... is there another way to ride a decent (does not have to be pro) road bike for less than $60/day? Have helmet, safe night storage, but no lock, no lights. Rides planned for Tue/Wed/Thu next week. Any suggestions? TIA!
posted by gijsvs to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (11 answers total)

I'm not seeing it with a cursory browse right now, but last time I went looking Mike's Bikes in Petaluma had reasonable rentals. I'd call them and see which store is closest to where you want to ride from. Just checked, Bici Sport in Petaluma is $75 (on up) a day.

Are you north of the city? What are your other transportation options (ie: how far can you roam to pick it up)? And what size bike are you looking for?
posted by straw at 4:44 PM on February 1, 2013

Response by poster: I am in downtown, my only other option is public transport, so Petaluma is kind of out of the way.
Like you say, Mike's Bikes website does not mention rentals. There's a store on Howard St, will give them a call to check.
posted by gijsvs at 4:53 PM on February 1, 2013

I can't vouch for them, but Blazing Saddles seems to have options in your price range. They're mostly geared towards tourists and sight-seeing.
posted by politikitty at 4:57 PM on February 1, 2013

And what size bike are you looking for?

This would be helpful, as there are a lot of SF and SF/Bay Area MeFites with bikes that might be willing to simply lend you something for a few days. Do you have biking shoes with you? If so, which style cleats, etc.

I know your intention was not to beg for a bike to borrow, but you might as well include your particulars in case someone wants to offer you one...
posted by mosk at 5:01 PM on February 1, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Umm, sorry to be unclear: I meant more like liquid/p2p rates of $20-25/day (where >$60 is what commercial rates would be)

I am 6'2, around 55-58 cm should suit me fine. I have bike shoes with SPD-M cleats. Thanks.
posted by gijsvs at 5:02 PM on February 1, 2013

Yeah, commute direction the bus ride is about an hour to/from Petaluma, but off-commute it's closer to two hours each way. Anyway, you've probably already seen MeMail with details of my road bike.

Marin County Bicycle Coalition has a list of bike rental places in Marin, Summit in San Rafael is very bus-able and is only a little bit above your price range.
posted by straw at 5:06 PM on February 1, 2013

Sports Basement in the Presidio has bike rentals (road bikes are $40/day). I've had friends rent from there who have been satisfied with the bikes they got.
posted by kdar at 5:46 PM on February 1, 2013

Talbot's Cyclery rents Raleigh bikes. They're in San Mateo. It's kind of far, but it is near a Caltrain stop. I've never rented from them, but I almost did (their rental car racks wouldn't fit my car so I passed).
posted by aloysius on the mixing boards at 9:20 PM on February 1, 2013

I don't mean to be rude, I just wanted to know if you checked Yelp. There seem to be a fair number of options (and a cursory glance shows that at least a few actually are relevant to the search terms, unlike a lot of Yelp searches!).
posted by radioamy at 12:01 AM on February 2, 2013

radioamy, a careful read shows that gijsvs is really looking for individual-to-individual rental.

I've offered my road bike, but by public transit I'm a long way from SF (although right in the middle of awesome riding).
posted by straw at 8:25 AM on February 2, 2013

Response by poster: Just for completeness: I found a nice road bike at the Bike Hut, which was cheap, good quality and condition and decent fit. And the folks there are awesome.
Thanks all.
posted by gijsvs at 12:20 PM on March 10, 2013 [1 favorite]