Cycling Abroad

db76

Hi guys,
I was wondering of any of you have any experience of cycling abroad as I am going on hols to Lanzarote in early July and would like to do a bit while there. I'm not sure if I would be better renting a bike locally or bringing my own one. If any of you have done this or have any advice I would be grateful.

on_the_nickel

I've done both. If you can, bring your own. I've brought mine in a hard bike box, a bike bag and inside a big plastic bag.

Bike box was the worst experience, it got stuck in the carousel in O'Hare airport and was "lost" for an hour or two.

Bike bag was fine, though was travelling with family and it was a bit of luck that it fitted into the rental car.

Bike in a plastic bag was easy, did it with 2 other lads - rode up to Cork airport, took off pedals, let down tires and stuck it through outsized baggage. It was on a half-full flight to Barcelona with AerLingus, had no problems.

comete

Honestly, just rent one over there, save yourself the hassle of dragging a bike around the airport, it will cost roughly the same to transport a bike as it would for 4 days rental .

I've done both and unless I was driving somewhere and it was no hassle to stick the bike in the boot, I'd choose rentals every time.

Wishbone Ash

I always bring my own bike (unless it's a city type break where I won't be doing long distances or if the weather is prone to frost/snow and don't want to risk the expense of bringing my own to have no opportunity to cycle).

on_the_nickel wrote: »

... though was travelling with family and it was a bit of luck that it fitted into the rental car...

+ 1 on this. If your other half is booking the rental, make sure she knows it takes a reasonably sized one to accommodate a bike box).

gambeta_fc

I've rented from Revolution Bikes in Lanzarote (Puerto Del Carmen), good service and would use them again:
http://revolutionlanzarote.com/

If you like climbs I'd recommend giving Tabayesco a go. It's in the north of the island, about 10km in length, goes to around 600m but nothing too steep, very gradual climb with nice switchbacks. I did it around November time though, I might feel differently about it if I attempted it in the July sun!

meercat

Lanzarotebikes.com

In playa Blanca harbour. Top man(roy)from Liverpool. Will give you loads of routes and advice. Good bikes set up for the hills.
Hire one in Lanzarote is my advice too.

mossym

loads of previous threads on cycling in lanzarote if you did a serach.

renners bikes usually gets top marks, PDC, have rented from them twice and never had an issue. will likely bring my own bike in Oct when going back but that's if i'm going over to race. otherwise would rent.

if you;re jsut going for casual cycling rent. you can get carbon with full ultegra from renner, probably nicer or as good as your own bike

db76

Cheers for the advice, think I will rent as not planning on hiring a car so may be easier all round.😆

Eamonnator

Taking a bike to Lanzarote with Ryanair now costs 60 euro each way.
If you're going for a week or less, its definitely not worth bringing your own bike.
It costs about 100 euro to rent a carbon bike with Shimano 105 for a week.
I go to Lanzarote once a year for 2 weeks. I always bring my own bike. I use a semi hard case. Dublin airport is fine for bikes, as is Arrecife Airport, in Lanzarote.
If you're staying in PDC, it will cost about 15 euro or so to get a taxi from airport. There are always plenty of taxis, that can take a bike box.
If you're renting, Renners is great. Flistons is also good.
There is another on the outskirts of PDC, on the seafront, that rents BH bikes. Its also great. There are also bike rental shops in Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca andLa Santa.
The roads in Lanzarote are great for cycling, once you get away from coast, roads are reasonably quiet and well surfaced. Motorised traffic is, for the most part, very well behaved.
There are some great cycling routes and some lovely climbs. As already mentioned, Tabayesco is great, steady climb, good surface, lovely views. There is a very steep climb to Femes from Playa Blanca. The roads, through the vineyards are lovely, with some reasonable climbs.
All of the bike shops will give you advice about routes.
Beware of the wind, usually from the north.

Boscoirl

If you rent you might get to rent a better bike than you have at home, then when you get home you can upgrade.

Civilian_Target

Agree with Comete. Flying your bike is a tedious and sometimes expensive operation, especially if the airline damages your bike. You should be able to rent a decent bike over there.

triggermortis

I've been to Lanzarote a few times and always rented (my bike at home isn't that good so its nice to ride a decent one for a while!!).
Take your pedals in case the shop you use doesn't have any.
There's some good hills (and wind) and the roads are good - well surfaced and not too much traffic.
Enjoy

mossym

triggermortis wrote: »

Take your pedals in case the shop you use doesn't have any.

pedals, shoes, water bottles, clothes, helmet(kind of optional but i prefer wearing my own), garmin.

if you rent bike will usually have flat kit, lock and a basic computer, or at least renners do (hence the stupid pictures of me racing a triathlon in Lanzarote with a lock around the saddle post. fail )

nak

It depends, I am quite small, so rental bike was a nightmare for me - took my own saddle and pedals, but none of the bikes were set-up with people my size in mind. Sadly the bike I was given was way nicer than mine at the time, but didn't get to enjoy it as I was so uncomfortable. Realise this is not an issue for everyone.

I always take my own bike now in a bike box, have been lucky so far, bike got bashed in a bag, so no longer use that. It is added hassle and expense, but for me it's worth it to be on my own bike.

gambeta_fc

GCN posted a useful video recently on how to measure your current bike fit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psbu9OH69sI

If you go down the rental route measure the saddle height, saddle setback, stack and reach on your current bike. Send these details on to the rental shop in advance and if they follow these you should be bang on with a good match to your current setup.

nak

gambeta_fc wrote: »

If you go down the rental route measure the saddle height, saddle setback, stack and reach on your current bike. Send these details on to the rental shop in advance and if they follow these you should be bang on with a good match to your current setup.

It's a great idea, but for me to get the right set-up they would need to have bought in new handlebars and a stem.

nilhg

I rented a lovely BH bike for their shop the airport end of PDC,

http://www.proactionbh.com/

And like the others would say that the climb up Tabayesco is a must, for the view if nothing else.

mossym

you guys did tabayesco for the view? what about the leg burning/lung gasping climb?

db76

Have been doing some looking around and there seens to be some pretty decent deals on rentals. Now just sit back relax, plan and wait😊

Plastik

I've rented from Revolution Bikes also. Not much else to add to that apart from it being a painless experience and I would tend to rent when I'm away rather than have the hassle and worry about my own bike in transit.

ashleey

http://www.cyclinglocations.com/lanzarote-climbs/

db76

ashleey wrote: »

http://www.cyclinglocations.com/lanzarote-climbs/

They look amazing - will definitely attempt some of them

ashleey

I'm there next week so will let you know. It's not the steepness there but the wind that's the killer

db76

ashleey wrote: »

I'm there next week so will let you know. It's not the steepness there but the wind that's the killer

Cheers look forward to it.

Wishbone Ash

mossym wrote: »

pedals, shoes, water bottles, clothes, helmet(kind of optional but i prefer wearing my own), garmin...

Saddle, mini-pump and tool kit too!

(Perhaps I'm paranoid but the few times I've rented, I've punctured).

mossym

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Saddle, mini-pump and tool kit too!

(Perhaps I'm paranoid but the few times I've rented, I've punctured).

lucky enough seem to be okay on most saddles so never needed that

Renners bikes at least come with flat kit and tools. Never needed them in lanza though.