Prescott, AZ

[J_R_Schultz]

Hello Guys and Gals,
I'll be visiting Prescott, AZ in early August with my wife's family.
Needless to say I'll need some two wheeled serenity.

I'm mostly a road rider who dabbles into single track mountain biking.
There's a lot of options for renting electric or mountain bikes.

I can't find a shop that rents road bikes.
Any suggestions?
I'd like to do the route from Prescott to Wilhoit.

[Jesper]

I would love to help you Justin, but I have only spent about 1 week in AZ, in Phoenix. That was nearly 15 yrs ago and no time for cycling.

I would just suggest a basic search for bike rentals and/or call/visit a few local bike shops since they might have rentals or loaners like my co-op did. I would assume that there would be ebikes and mtbs, and possibly cruisers available as you stated; but not so much road bikes.

If I was in your shoes I would feign interest in buying a used bike from a shop and ask them if you can take it on a suitably long test ride (2hrs+) to determine comfort, fit, and feel. That might get you one good ride in which may be enough if not staying very long. I would offer a reasonable downpayment (refundable, assuming no damage/loss) in order to provide security for them since I doubt they would let you just take without one (except for around the block test ride).

Or you can do what I did though luck is involved. Go to some thrift shops, second hand stores, Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc. and see if they have a road bike (hybrid or gravel might be fine also) close to your size for sale. I doubt it would cost you more than $50. I did this when out of town, luckily I also had some basic tools and all I did was repack the hubs, bought some cheap brake pads at walmart and away I went for a total cost of $20 (bike was $10, pads and grease $10). Oiled the chain by dripping oil from my truck's dip stick on it. I used that bike for over 6 weeks and when leaving I brought it back to the same shop (donated it of course) and told them now you can sell it for $20 since it was pretty much serviced and completely adjusted. The bike was a little small and cheap, but served its purpose and I had a blast on it with a story to tell.

Maybe you wife's family knows of an acquaintance that either has an idle bike or has one you can borrow.

Maybe someone on this site could lend you something if near that area, or put out a social media call on FB. You never know.

One other thing, since you have a little lead time, is to check out Craigslist for something inexpensive that you can put a leg over. I see the bikes you ride, but beggers can't be choosers. My bargain bike was essentially a no name (and a step-through frame to boot), but it did everything it needed to do. If you plan on visiting multiple times a year then maybe investing in a decent Craigslist bike or other used bike would be wise and thus you'd be all set for the next visit.

I would say that of you were in my part of Florida I could probably hook you up with a close enough classic steel framed bike (nothing cheap!) to borrow at will since I have stuff from about 50cm to 60cm built-up or that could be built in a day or two.

Good luck!