Anyone on here regularly hire rather than own bikes of a specific type?

I'm considering a Heckler or Orange 5, but I'm thinking that hiring rather than buying may be the way to go.

I have a road bike and hardtail for most of my riding, but I've got the taste for a bit of bounce. Realistically though, I'm not going to get out on one for more than about 10 times a year.

Given that a demo is about £40 a day, I'm struggling to see the sense in having £2k+ tied up in a bike.

Plus Side: No capital outlay, get to swap bikes, latest kit always available, no maintenance costs,
Down Side: Faffing around trying to get it set up every time, cash spent on rental, less ability to be spontaneous.

Add to the fact that I would ride it mainly at Laggan, Aviemore and the Lake District where decent demo bikes are readily available, and it begins to make a lot of sense.

Whaddya think?

Sounds like you have made your mind up.

Why not try it and let us know how it goes.

Realistically though, I'm not going to get out on one for more than about 10 times a year.

I think this is a very, very sound argument for just sticking to the hardtail and not spending more money actually! 🙂

Personally, it takes me a while to get the hang of a new bike, and I only run hardtails. The idea of climbing aboard a different badly-adjusted full-sus bike for a day a month strikes me as a recipe for irritation.

>Whaddya think?<

Hiring would be one big hassle for me, I'd never get it back in time for starters 😉

Heckler / O5 are very much in the do it all category so flog the Hardtail and buy either of these – simple.

tbh i thought about doing this for the last couple of years,,i don't get to wales much,(my fav playground)and i was spending more time in the gym,playing squash etc,so i sold my best bike in autumn last year with a plan to hire exotica whenever i fancied it with the sensible lack of ownership issues you mentioned…….here we are in spring and i've just dropped 3 k on my dream build,
for me building them up and riding them and looking after them means more than i realised! ,
each to his own i suppose.

I agree with Bigdummy.

I have been riding my HT exclusively for the last 4 months, i then went to Afan a few weeks back on my full suss and rode like a tool on it, even had an off and a couple of near misses , it didn't feel right at all even though it is set up for me and was my regular and only bike.

I guess its down to the fact that i hadn,t ridden it in ages . I suspect you may end up in the same boat which will spoil a day on the trails really.

I thought that, and it does kinda make sense.

But then a 2nd hand bike is 'yours', always there when you want it, doesn't depreciate much, etc etc

I agree with BD, depends what you want to get out of the riding time. I think if you're at home on your bike you'll get more out of it than on an unfamiliar one, even if it's properly set up for you. Whether that's worth the extra cash involved in owning and maintaining one is something only you can decide!

EDIT So, what bigbloke said really.