[sambs827]

Hey all,

My college riding club is planning a pilgrimage to Fruita and Moab this April. We'll be driving out from central New York, staying in GJ, riding 4 days in Fruita and 2 in Moab.

Two of our members (the ladies) don't really have suitable bikes for the trip. Who out there rents? Who is cool? We're hoping to rent 2 bikes for the full week we're there. To give you an idea of what the rest of us have:

2 Remedies
1 Fuel EX
1 Stumpjumper @ 140
1 Chumba XCL
1 Speshy Enduro
1 Intense Tracer (Our friend and guide, JPE from Moab)

Four of our riders have experience in those parts, including John, who is a guide in Moab. We're looking for bikes in the 5-6 inch range from reasonable shops. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

Sam Brown-Shaklee
President, Oneonta State College Mountain Biking

 

[mdgtracer]

Rentals

Fruita / Grand Junction Rentals

Brown Cycles rents Trek's 970-245-7939
Over the Edge rents Rocky Mtn 970-858-7220
The Bike Shop rents Niners 970-243-0807

 

[dustyrider]

Rapid Creek Cycles rents Niners too 970 464 9266

 

[Heckled]

Over the Edge has demos too, BlurLt, Mojo's, Knolly's

 

[screampint]

Another question... How tall are these women? I'm 5'3" and few shops in town would have something that I would feel comfortable on. OTE usually has small rentals, and sometimes small demos. What do Brown's and Rapid Creek have for shorter folks? The Bike Shop doesn't have anything that I would l feel comfortable on (sorry guys, I like your shop, but it's true, it's all too big). If Rapid Creek only has Niner's that would be iffy. Of course, if the women are 5'5" or taller, then you might not have a problem.

Before someone says that they are short and ride a 29er and love it, understand that it's a matter of personal comfort and fit. To make a rental work, it has to be within range. If you can change all the "fit" elements out (stems, cranks, seats, suspension etc.) like you were buying the bike, then it's not a problem.

 

[wandr]

Sam, before I moved to colorado, I used to come out to fruita to ride every couple of years. I can't say that I chose OTE to rent from; they were just the only shop that I knew about.

That being said, I've never had better rental service or better tuned rental bikes than from that shop (and I've traveled and rented bikes quite a bit). One time, I even managed to tear a derailleur off on the horsethief bench drop in, and when I brought the bike (a Nomad) back to them, they didn't charge me or anything. I seriously thought I was buying a new derailleur after walking in to the shop that afternoon, pointing to the mangled metal, and saying "oops?"

Instead, I got more of a "that's too bad, don't worry about it" vibe. Ever since then, that's been my go-to Fruita shop.

Bonus: OTE is a half block from the Hot Tomato Cafe, home of the best pizza west of the Delaware River.

 

[Berkley]

Rapid Creek is a bit far out of the way, and last I had checked, Brown Cycles has one Fuel EX WSD, and a couple Remedys. Wish I remembered the sizes...

 

[Heckled]

OTE will now have Trek for demo also, I was checking out one of the Remedy demos this morning, Sweet bike.

 

[SkaredShtles]

OTE will now have Trek for demo also, I was checking out one of the Remedy demos this morning, Sweet bike.

So what's the story? Looks like a pretty standard single-pivot?

 

[singletrack]

Rapid Creek is a bit far out of the way

I've gotta point out that we are on I-70, directly in the path of 90% of the riders that come to the valley. The OP will need to drive past us to get to any of the other shops mentioned. So not really out the way at all. :thumbsup:

 

[Berkley]

I've gotta point out that we are on I-70, directly in the path of 90% of the riders that come to the valley. The OP will need to drive past us to get to any of the other shops mentioned. So not really out the way at all. :thumbsup:

Yes, but if we drive to GJ, then need to drive to Palisade, then need to drive to Fruita, it starts to add up.

 

[sambs827]

Thanks for the replies, folks. This really helps a lot for someone who is a foreigner to the lands. It's looking like we might go for OTE and one of those sweet 5.5" rides they have there.

SkaredShtles: I ride a 2010 Remedy 8 frame with the RP2 and a 36 up front. All I can say is that it is pure bliss. Easy to pedal up the steeps, easy to get up to speed, and a pure rocket once you get going and have your groove on.

 

[BeanMan]

Palisade isn't really out of the way for someone coming from east of the divide. On your way through you could pick up a bike in Palisade, continue west towards GJ, Fruita, and Moab etc. Once heading back east you can drop off the bike. No extra miles involved. You might want to check out some of Palisades little known trails anyway.