Washington D.C. Area: Beginner Questions

[Steve]

My area has a bike shop that sells many recumbent bikes.

I test drove my first two bikes yesterday. I love them.

I can afford the steep price, but I don't want to lay out the money
until I am convinced it is something I will use all of the time.

Does anyone know any place in the Washington D.C. area that rents or
leases recumbent bicycles.

The bike shop people did not know ( surprise ), nor did they have any
test models for the one bike under $1000. On the later point I found
an old web site article saying that company went out of business
( bikeE ).

Thanks in advance, please reply to the list as I don't monitor this
email account.

 

[DougC]

Steve wrote:
> My area has a bike shop that sells many recumbent bikes.
>
> I test drove my first two bikes yesterday. I love them.
>
> I can afford the steep price, but I don't want to lay out the money
> until I am convinced it is something I will use all of the time.
>
> Does anyone know any place in the Washington D.C. area that rents or
> leases recumbent bicycles.
>
> The bike shop people did not know ( surprise ), nor did they have any
> test models for the one bike under $1000. On the later point I found
> an old web site article saying that company went out of business
> ( bikeE ).
>
> Thanks in advance, please reply to the list as I don't monitor this
> email account.
>

BikeE did in fact close down in 2002, I think. Typical BikeE's trade
used for $~200 for a well-used one, to maybe $500 for one in like-new
condition. Make sure the frame and seat are in good shape, and all the
other parts you can still get from other sources.
------
Can't help ya with the DC rental thing. There's two big bike shops in
the US that always have a lot of floor demos, in Wisconsin (Hostel
Shoppe) and New York (Bicycleman). A lot of people make pilgrimages just
for the opportunity to test-ride. Alternately you could ask on
BentriderOnline if anyone in your area has a bike you're interested in,
and if they would allow a test-ride.

And often, the first recumbent you buy is not the one you will end up
liking the most. They are VASTLY different than upright bikes, even from
one recumbent to the next, and it's difficult to make any guesses. Dive
on it!
~

 

[Jon]

"Steve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> My area has a bike shop that sells many recumbent bikes.
>
> I test drove my first two bikes yesterday. I love them.
>
> I can afford the steep price, but I don't want to lay out the money
> until I am convinced it is something I will use all of the time.
>

One option is to check the online classified listings for used recumbent
bikes. Even if you can afford "new", if you can find a used bike, perhaps
within driving distance, you can save money on the purchase and perhaps
feel less preassure to find the "perfect" bike the first time. You can
also estimate how much you might expect to get if you decide to sell a
recumbent bike (bought new or used) and if you monitor the ads, how
quickly some models move.

www.bentrideronline.com and www.hostelshoppe.com are two websites
that have for sale listings (there are others, including local ones).

If the LBS you visited still has new old stock (NOS) BikeEs in stock,
they should have been up front with you that BikeE has been out of business
for almost 5 years! Depending on what sort of riding you want to do,
a BikeE could be a very fine bike for you. For short trips, or exercise,
for non-paved surfaces, I find my BikeE performs very well.

It might help to tell us what sort of riding you currently do, and what
sort of riding you expect to do. Do you want to go fast? Go far?

By the way, nothing says you can't have more than one recumbent! %^)
Well, storage might be an issue... So you don't have to get just "one"
that you use all the time!

Jon Meinecke

 

[Roger Zoul]

Steve wrote:
:: My area has a bike shop that sells many recumbent bikes.
::
:: I test drove my first two bikes yesterday. I love them.
::
:: I can afford the steep price, but I don't want to lay out the money
:: until I am convinced it is something I will use all of the time.

??

This is confusing. You love them, yet, you aren't convinced you will use it
all of the time?

So what if you don't use it all the time? You'll use it when you want to and
you'll love it then. If you enjoy cycling, then you'll look for nearby
cycling events (or not so nearby) to particpate in. These are fun. Or,
you'll join a club or start one. You'll find a riding buddy...You'll ride
alone if need be.

Bottom line: nothing you can do in advance will ensure that you'll ride your
bike all the time. You get from it what you put into it.

Ps...you can consider buying a used bike. If you later decided you don't
like riding, sell it.

 

[tla85258]

On May 31, 2:26 pm, Steve <[email protected]> wrote:
> Does anyone know any place in the Washington D.C. area that rents or
> leases recumbent bicycles.

Bikes@Vienna rents recumbents. http://www.bikesatvienna.com/rentals
Mt Airy & College Park Bikes rent recumbents. http://www.bike123.com/shipping_bike.htm

tla

 

[Freewheeling]

tla85258 wrote:
> On May 31, 2:26 pm, Steve <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Does anyone know any place in the Washington D.C. area that rents or
>> leases recumbent bicycles.
>
> Bikes@Vienna rents recumbents. http://www.bikesatvienna.com/rentals
> Mt Airy & College Park Bikes rent recumbents. http://www.bike123.com/shipping_bike.htm
>
> tla
>
When I was shopping Larry Black, at Mt. Airy/College Park, loaned me a
P38 for a week. Ultimately I bought a RANS VREX from him. Nowadays you
could also contact some of the folks at WHIRL, and someone will surely
have a recumbent you could borrow. (They meet at Rock Creek Park every
Sunday at 8:00AM during the summer and 9:00AM thereafter. See below for
location.) Or you could contact Bill Cook, who's the designer of
Barcroft Cycles. He's almost always at the WHIRL ride, so will usually
bring a bike with him that you can ride.

WHIRL: Ride at 8:00 AM at http://www.recumbents.com/whirl/location.htm
Barcroft: http://www.barcroftcycles.com/contacts.html