Planes, Bikes, and Automobiles

July 24, 2007 10:14 AM

I'm looking to rent a car, truck, or SUV and four bikes in Seattle and drive them down to Portland and back again. Rental questions inside.

Is there a one-stop-shop in Seattle where I can rent a car, bikes, and a way to join the two together happily?

Are there any car rental companies offer a bike rack with the car? Or any bike rental companies that offer a rack with the bikes? Should I just buy a rack in Seattle?

How many bikes fit inside the "trunk" of a rented SUV? Is there a rule of thumb for this? Is there anyway to find this out in advance?

Finally, who has cheap but solid hybrid bike rentals in Seattle?

Thanks a million.

posted by Eringatang to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total)

Here's a list of places that rent bicycles. I bet some of them will rent you a rack, too.
posted by hades at 12:11 PM on July 24, 2007

But, to answer the direct question, I doubt there's anywhere in town where you can rent all three components. A car and a rack together, maybe, and definitely bikes and a rack together, but probably not all three.

How cheap is cheap, for bike rental? The places I'm looking at quote between around $20 and $40 a day, depending on what kind of bike you want and how long you want to rent them for.
posted by hades at 12:19 PM on July 24, 2007

I wouldn't count on fitting more than two bikes in the trunk and even then you'll have to remove the wheels.
posted by JPDD at 12:50 PM on July 24, 2007

That's a great list, hades. I want a ten-day rental, and some rent by the week so that works.
posted by Eringatang at 1:28 PM on July 24, 2007