Mountain bike hire or buy

[Munroman66]

Hi
I was just wondering about my next few hikes planed ....they say that they are bike and hikes .... Eg Ben Alder and stuff only problem. Is i didn't. have a bike and the prices range from a few hundred. To thousands. Iam not really a biking person so looking for a good cheaper one or maybe hire for a few days.... Thanks

[Fiona Reid]

Hiring might work out cheaper if it's just the odd day or you can group several walks needing bike together but I suspect you may have to collect the bike one day, do the walk and return the next day unless you can find somewhere v. close to the hills you want the bike for.

In Edinburgh we have the BikeStation which is a charity that repairs and sells second hand bikes, Perhaps there's something similar where you live? Maybe you've someplace local that sells second hand bikes?

For cheap(ish) new bikes, Decathlon, Halfords, GoOutdoors etc are all worth a look. I'd expect you'll need to pay about £150 or thereabouts.

For second hand Gumtree is well worth a look or Freegle/Freecycle just in case anyone is giving one away.

[Fairweather Softie]

Bike for good, just round from Kelvingrove.

Cut and paste from site

Our hire bikes are suitable for roads, cycle paths, road touring etc. We also provide the extra kit you might need for your trip.

Half Day Hire (4 hours) – £15
Full Day Hire – £20
Extra Full Day Hire – £15
Weekly Hire – £70
Weekend Hire – £35
Helmet & Lock – Included
Lights – £2/day or £10/week
Panniers – £5/day or £30/week

Booking & payment by credit card in store or by calling in advance on 0141 248 5409.
On rental day you must leave your Drivers Licence or Passport as a deposit. We will also take a copy of your credit

[mmill]

There must be a place like the bike station in Glasgow. Bike station Perth is great, you can usually get something to buy that would be OK for similar price to a weeks hire cost.

[davekeiller]

Bike for good as mentioned above was formerly known as Glasgow Bike Station. They specialise in recycling old bikes, so if you're Glasgow based I'd have a look at them. You can either hire or buy as you prefer.

[Border Reiver]

My bike is an ex hire bike. at the time, our local Mountain Bike hire place sold their bikes once they had got to a couple of years old. They always had good quality bikes and fully serviced them before selling them. Mine cost me seventy pounds, but it retailed at around 300 pounds when new.

[Sunset tripper]

It would be cheaper to buy a bike and you could always sell it afterwards if you don't need it.
Why not just walk in to Culra. If you are not a bike person cycling would prob only save you 3 or 4 hours anyway in and out to the bothy.
If you do cycle in take the shortcut before Loch Pattack - the walkhighlands route https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/maps/map2_31cg.shtml instead of going down near the Loch and over the shoogly bridge which is longer and harder work.
All the best.

[boriselbrus]

I'm the workshop manager at Bike Station in Perth. If you send me a PM, I can probably sort something out for you.

[al78]

It would be cheaper to buy a bike and you could always sell it afterwards if you don't need it.
Why not just walk in to Culra. If you are not a bike person cycling would prob only save you 3 or 4 hours anyway in and out to the bothy.
If you do cycle in take the shortcut before Loch Pattack - the walkhighlands route https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/maps/map2_31cg.shtml instead of going down near the Loch and over the shoogly bridge which is longer and harder work.
All the best.

I'm, looking at doing the Ben Alder munros next year. It looks to me like the track along loch Erict, whilst easy walking, is a long and relentless slog, and a mountain bike is the obvious choice for getting it out of the way. Saving 3-4 hours is not an insignificant amount of time to save, particularly if that time is spent on the least interesting section. If I were doing it on foot, I would be very tempted to go up the Fara en-route to get some nice views, then follow the wide ridge towards Loch Pattack

[Ben Nachie]

It's not just the time saving.

I found when doing Ben Alder with the aid of a bike that although the cycle in was tiring I was quickly ready for the walk and felt very fresh once I started. Similarly after the walk I was tired and my feet were tired, however I was then fresh for the cycle back. Different muscles, my feet getting a break, whatever it was I found that I was very glad to have chosen to bike in.

I had previously done it on foot, but that was over several days, camping at Culra.

[al78]

It's not just the time saving.

I found when doing Ben Alder with the aid of a bike that although the cycle in was tiring I was quickly ready for the walk and felt very fresh once I started. Similarly after the walk I was tired and my feet were tired, however I was then fresh for the cycle back. Different muscles, my feet getting a break, whatever it was I found that I was very glad to have chosen to bike in.

I had previously done it on foot, but that was over several days, camping at Culra.

I had a similar experience when I did the Glen Feshie munros which involved cycling to the car park near Auchlean from Aviemore. My legs were pretty hammered on the last three miles along glen Feshie, but when I started cycling back to Aviemore it was not nearly as bad as expected. Walking and cycling hit different leg muscles hardest, and it helps that the bike supports your body weight when cycling.