For a lot of us it might sound like a waste of money that would be better spent maintaining your daily driver but hear me out my MTB enthusiast friend, it might just make economic sense.
Let’s say you live near a bike park, one that is notorious for tearing up bikes, or you travel to ride parks. Springing for your own park bike has some merit. Let’s break this down…
Your current mountain bike is a do it all wonder of technological advancement. A longish trail or enduro bike with an efficient suspension, meaty tubeless tires; it can handle 90% of what you throw at it, including occasional forays to bike parks. But those forays come at a cost. Brake pads and rotors get eaten up, tires get abused along with rims, shocks will need servicing sooner, and the crashes can be costly in terms of repairs and riding time. If you wince at exposing your baby to this abuse, and the above excuses resonate there are options.
Renting a bike at a park has its upsides. Your bike stays home, safe and sound, waiting patiently for you to get your ya-ya’s out in the gravity game. Riding a rental means that you’ll be on a sled that is built and spec’d for the location you’re riding. The tires have some girth, it’s serviced on a regular basis, the shocks and brakes are adjusted and replaced as needed for optimum performance, and assuming you purchased insurance – pro tip: always purchase the insurance – when you crash it you are covered!
Downside: rentals aren’t cheap at upwards of $150/day depending on the level of bike you choose and where you are riding. That can make for a wallet wringing experience on the level of alpine skiing when you add in the pass, food, etc. Two hundred clams for a bike you may only be on for a few hours might make your accountant choke on their danish.
How can you minimize the economic impact of the rental park bike? The idea came to me on a trip to Whistler a few years ago: What if I could find a decent used bike for the cost of a weekly rental? My ride at the time was a Scott Genius 920, a very capable bike in its own right, but it was pushed to its limits on the jumps, drops, and tech lines of the park. I brought a knife to a gunfight and survived, but got nicked up pretty bad. I bit the bullet and on the last day plunked down $150 CDN for a proper ride. BIG confidence booster that allowed me to up my game, relax and have way more fun.
Now, let’s entertain the purchase of a park bike. Yeah, it’s limited in its terrain range – parks and dedicated shuttle rides – but when you need a park bike, you need a park bike, and if you are spending a week at say, Whistler, the idea begins to make sense. Owning a whip that will handle the abuse of big air, steep tech, high speed, and the inevitable bailouts and crashes that come with that environment is feasible and has value because it can be resold when you are done with it.
When you add it all up and are ready to get one, the first place to inquire is your LBS. Ask them to dig deep and see if their distributors might have previous years bikes gathering dust in the warehouse. The shop guys themselves may know of one too. Hunt for demo’s at your local shops. Check Craigslist, Pinkbike, or social media marketplaces; there may be a gem out there to be had. Will you get one for $1000? It’s possible, or perhaps you might have to stretch your budget a bit, however, the longer you have it, the more times you use it, the more economical it might be.
Look at your circumstances and do the math, it might just be crazy enough to make sense.
Next Post