| I would say that there are two sides to Hiring.
A lot does depend on the conditions of hire, especially how much you are liable for if the thing ends up on the floor. It is possible to hire rally cars worth hundreds of thousands and you can get insurance to cover if need be. You could equally get insurance to cover your own bike from a specialist broker??
Plus points for hiring.
No risk to yer road bike depending on the above.
No bike prep needed, just turn up and ride. Believe me a full focus on yer riding rather than have I fully tightened those calipers thoughts is a good thing.
It can be cheaper when you take all the costs into consideration.
No re prep needed to return the road bike to spec.
You have the experience and expertise of the hirer to call upon on setup and generally what happens next at a race meet.
You can walk away at the end of the day with the t shirt been there done that.
minus points for hiring.
You might not be as confident on the bike as you "don't know it as well" (a test on the bike just before the meet can help)
Can be more expensive if you take all the costs into account especially if you get get bitten by the bug.
Thats all I can think of for now.
Just because the list for plus is longer doesn't mean it's the best choice.
It's your call.
If you do go the hire route make sure you know exactly where you stand on what they are going to provide, i.e. Bike, tyres, fuel, costs, support, damage, refunds if there is a mechanical failure etc preferably in writing before you proceed.
Ray.
[Edited on 15-4-2005 by Ray]  |