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Place(s) to rent a DH bike in Whistler in Sept???

slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,337
5,095
Ottawa, Canada
Hey guys,

I'm going to be in Whistler for a week with a bunch of buddies, but it's going to be an xc/am trip. We are, however, going to hit the park for a day or two... We'll be looking to rent bikes. My recollection is that by Sept. most shops are selling their rentals by Sept. I have a '08 Demo 8, and would really like to rent a Demo 8 to keep things familiar. Anyone have any insight on which shops rent Demos?

Also, any hot tips on wicked valley trails, or trails in Squamish and Pembi would be much appreciated...:thumb:

thanks yaw'll....
 
Bikael Molton

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,028
1,165
El Lay
Evolution has pleasant service on their Demos too. A guy in our crew had a positive experience renting from them this year.
Some other shops in the village can be total jerks when it comes to swapping brakes for moto-style riders, replacing bald tires, getting proper sag on suspension, bleeding brakes, etc.
 
buildyourown

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
I took my buddy up in Oct last year and found decent rentals. I was surprised. They seemed in better shape that previous years. I think shops have figured out that they can't rent beat bikes and get repeat business.
Summit is where we went.
 
slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,337
5,095
Ottawa, Canada
Great, thanks guys. I ended up reserving a Demo at Evolution. I'll be bringing my own Enduro, so rocking the climbs won't be a problem. Oh, and keep the trail suggestions coming... Connor seems to be a bit of a masochist, but that's the sort of thing we're after!
 
FlipFantasia

FlipFantasia

Turbo Monkey
Oct 4, 2001
1,666
500
Sea to Sky BC
slyfink said:
Great, thanks guys. I ended up reserving a Demo at Evolution. I'll be bringing my own Enduro, so rocking the climbs won't be a problem. Oh, and keep the trail suggestions coming... Connor seems to be a bit of a masochist, but that's the sort of thing we're after!
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I did that race too, there's plenty more where that came from around here! heh heh
 
S

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
buildyourown said:
I took my buddy up in Oct last year and found decent rentals. I was surprised. They seemed in better shape that previous years. I think shops have figured out that they can't rent beat bikes and get repeat business.
Summit is where we went.
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I worked at Evo this summer, and I can attest to their rentals being extremely thoroughly maintained. Every day they're ridden they get checked over and whatever needs servicing gets fixed on the spot. The rental bikes there (and I'm sure the same applies everywhere else in Whistler) are actually better-maintained than almost any privately owned bikes. We were pretty lucky to have a rental fleet of Demos though, those things are really bombproof frames and the parts on them are surprisingly solid - saved us a LOT of maintenance (such as replacing DU bushings) that is required on most other bikes.

Slyfink - highly HIGHLY recommend you find and ride Khyber Pass to Babylon by Bike. It is pretty much the definition of "epic". Can take peak chair up (if you're with a guide) or push/ride up Highway 86 for an hour and a bit from Freight Train/No Joke. Doesn't get as much traffic as most other trails due to its inaccessibility either, everything is in mint condition.
 
C

connor

Chimp
Mar 7, 2008
69
0
Socket said:
I worked at Evo this summer, and I can attest to their rentals being extremely thoroughly maintained. Every day they're ridden they get checked over and whatever needs servicing gets fixed on the spot. The rental bikes there (and I'm sure the same applies everywhere else in Whistler) are actually better-maintained than almost any privately owned bikes. We were pretty lucky to have a rental fleet of Demos though, those things are really bombproof frames and the parts on them are surprisingly solid - saved us a LOT of maintenance (such as replacing DU bushings) that is required on most other bikes.

Slyfink - highly HIGHLY recommend you find and ride Khyber Pass to Babylon by Bike. It is pretty much the definition of "epic". Can take peak chair up (if you're with a guide) or push/ride up Highway 86 for an hour and a bit from Freight Train/No Joke. Doesn't get as much traffic as most other trails due to its inaccessibility either, everything is in mint condition.
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Kashmir...

or this:

http://www.worca.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/pemberton-tragedy.pdf

At 17km you will swear a lot, but you will have something to tell your friends about, and a brown streak in your shorts.
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
i can't help with where to rent but in terms of trails i would pick up the guide book and talk to as many people as you can...Whistler valley to me sorta defines whistler, all the AM trails around are incredible if you are ok with working to get to the top (makes for a better day IMO)...

You can ride the park on a 6 & 6 but get as many of those trails in as you can.
 
slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,337
5,095
Ottawa, Canada
thanks for all the replies guys... but... things have changed. My 36 Talas is temporarily pooched. FIT cartridge is pooched and won't be repaired on time. So I'll be bringing my own Demo, and renting a "little" bike for a couple of days.

I've been jonesing to try a DW bike, and this could be a good opportunity. Are there any shops that rent Ibis' or Pivots in Whistler? Or even Evil? I think Evil has a 5x5 or 6x6 in their line-up don't they?
 
F

FarkinRyan

Monkey
Dec 15, 2003
611
192
Pemberton, BC
slyfink said:
thanks for all the replies guys... but... things have changed. My 36 Talas is temporarily pooched. FIT cartridge is pooched and won't be repaired on time. So I'll be bringing my own Demo, and renting a "little" bike for a couple of days.

I've been jonesing to try a DW bike, and this could be a good opportunity. Are there any shops that rent Ibis' or Pivots in Whistler? Or even Evil? I think Evil has a 5x5 or 6x6 in their line-up don't they?
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Pretty sure that Fanatykco carry Ibis frames, don't know if they rent them out though.
 
bwolmarans

bwolmarans

Monkey
Aug 23, 2006
142
0
The Angels, Kalifornia
kootenaytallboy said:
Check out the Demo centre

http://www.whistlerbike.com/rentals/democentre/index.htm

They have Giants, Santa Cruz, Devincis, Treks etc, and you can switch between them. Bikes look mint btw.
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OK I called them, it does seem like the best deal, almost like too good to be true deal. 5 days rental would be $525 including tax AND bike damage insurance.

But without a personal review from somebody it's all guesswork.

Has anybody rented from these guys? Good experience, bad experience? Please say good.

But so far I'm leaning towards evolution because between Monkey and PB I'm seeing lots of good things about them.
 
tacubaya

tacubaya

Monkey
Dec 19, 2009
720
89
Mexico City
525 for 5 days and insurance?

It says 300 on website for 4 days plus 50 for insurance and it seems every additional day is 50. So that would be 350+50 insurance=400 plus tax is 448. What's going on? Tax is 12% right?
 
tacubaya

tacubaya

Monkey
Dec 19, 2009
720
89
Mexico City
bwolmarans said:
they told me $25/day for insurance.
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Oh. Alright.

Renting a bike is very cool cuz of the comfort of traveling with no bike.. just getting to the mountain, renting one and riding. No risk of night theft, broken parts on your bike or carrying around your bike in the airport.

Cons (at least for me) is price and setup. My bike is dialed for my weight in every aspect. I remember when I went to WBP I rented a Rocky Mountain Switch and I almost went OTB in the first Freight Train tabletop cuz I wasn't used to the bike.
 
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