the closest *place I know is Exhale Cycles in Phoenix. The cost of renting a good bike adds up and exceeds the cost of owning very quickly. If you do rent a bike try to find a store that is near a bike trail otherwise you will have to transport it. *
Used bikes for sale at almost every garage sale, and in season, there's 20 per week. Also check out the local papers in the want ads, might find a better bike there for sale.
I have bought 3 bikes off Craigs List....and have passed on many that I sensed were stolen. Unless they have a paperwork trail I won't look at them. There are *bike shops that sell good used bikes. you might be able to make a deal with them that would allow you to sell it back.* Understand that fit, type of bike are very critical factors for some cyclists. That can make hunting garage sales difficult.*
I wonder if there would be money to be made in Sun City renting bicycles and gas/electric golf carts. It would probably be the liability insurance that would eat into the profit, but there sure seems to be a demand for these modes of transportation on a rental basis.
Several cities have had varying success with utilitarian one size fits all self service bike rentals...Swiping a card releases the bike....used mainly by out of town visitors on a short term basis.* it might work in SC but on a very small scale....the problem is the bikes and facilities need regular maintenance ... For a bike shop renting requires a large inventory of sizes and styles resulting in high hourly and daily charges. My rental in Mpls last week was $36 for a 3 hour rental. The daily rate on that bike is $60. Not conducive to regular renting. The 3 hr bike rental was almost double my daily car rental rate.*
I meant to add that the self service bike rental facilities offer low monthly rates to encourage regular use. Often the bikes carry advertising signage..in Seattle Alaska Airlines is very prominent on the rear wheel covers.*
Wow, that's a steep price to pay for a rental. I suspect you guys are talking about way more than my no speed Schwin bike with the balloon tires eh?
Yes Bill...that's more in line with the type of bike I was thinking of as rentals. Sturdy no-frills bikes or even a couple 3-wheelers. Of course they'd have to have the required safety equipment and if they had a basket, it would be a plus!
For a bike shop to stock enough rentals to satisfy a wide range of customers the cost of that inventory is recovered by high rental rates. On the other hand the "one size fits all self serve" *rentals run about $8 a day.....Seattle's has a $8 per month "membership". subsidized by the City and Alaska Airlines. To address Aggies point if someone or the RCSC were to pursue bike rentals the* only *real option would be to look at what cities like Seattle, Mpls, Wash DC etc are doing with their rental programs. I do know Seattle lost big money on theirs, tourists don't like the *downtown hills... BP I rented a balloon tire single speed beach cruiser last May in Key West ...almost got hit by a car...Forgot the brake was reversing the pedal...haven't done that in 60 years....think the bike was older than I am....
