‘At Ride and Seek we understand the importance of a good bike beneath you.’
We are always happy to facilitate you bringing your own bike. However, we appreciate that for convenience, this is not always possible, so we’ve endeavoured to give you the option of high-end bike hire.
For specs and pricing of our rental bikes, see below.
EUROPEAN TOURS
Our recommendation for the tours we run in Europe is titanium bikes that make up the fleet at our base in Provence, France. Our brand of choice is Van Nicholas. We can always source other brands, but these are generally available at a premium as we need to outsource them. We have no hesitation in recommending our titanium fleet bikes as the ideal steed for our tours.
With regards to e-road bikes, which have become increasingly popular, we also have these available. Our European fleet of e-bikes is provided by Merida, and we offer a selection of flat-bar and road e-bikes.
JAPAN & REST OF WORLD TOURS
For bike rentals outside of Europe, our options are a bit more ad hoc, but generally follow the same pricing model as outlined below. We use local suppliers in countries where we can’t deliver our fleet bikes and seek out bikes with specs similar to those we offer in Europe.
Our remit for them is that the bikes have carbon or new-style lightweight aluminium frames, ideally with disc brakes, and a sympathetic gear ratio. The standard is compact 11/32 or 34, which works great for the terrain of our tours. The bikes we select all have a relaxed geometry, which makes fitting easier. The same approach applies to the e-bikes that we source.
European Bike Fleet
Van Nicholas – Skeiron (available in Europe only)
Frame Type: Titanium
Fork: Carbon
Wheel Size: 700c
Handlebar: Drop Bars
Drive Train: Shimano 105 di2 – 2x12s
Shifting: di2 Electronic
Chainrings: 50 x 34 Compact
Cassette: 11-34
Pedals: Flat Pedals standard. Bring your own pedals if you prefer and we’ll mount them.
Wheels: Mavic Ksyrium
Tires: 700×30
Brakes: Disc
Brake set-up: Left brake lever = front brake, Right brake lever = rear brake. Same as the US
Saddle: Options available (male and female specific) or bring your own
Approx. Weight: 8.2Kg
Titanium Hybrid
Frame Type: Titanium
Fork: Carbon
Wheel Size: 700c
Handlebar: Flat
Pedals: Flat Pedals standard. Bring your own pedals if you prefer and we’ll mount them.
Chainring: 30x42x52 (triple)
Cassette: 11-32T
Tires: 700 x 28c
Brakes: Rim brakes
Brake set-up: Left brake lever = front brake, Right brake lever = rear brake. Same as the US
Saddle: Options available (male and female specific) or bring your own
Approx. Weight: 10.5 Kg
Merida eSCULTURA 400 – Or similar
Frame Type: Aluminium
Fork: Carbon
Wheel Size: 700c
Handlebar: Drop Bars
Drive Train: Shimano 105 2/11s
Chainrings: 50 x 34
Cassette: 11-34
Pedals: Flat Pedals standard. Bring your own pedals if you prefer and we’ll mount them.
Wheels: Merida
Tires: 700×32 (or more)
Brakes: Disc Brakes
Brake set-up: Left brake lever = front brake, Right brake lever = rear brake. Same as the US
Saddle: Merida or bring your own
Approx. Weight: 13Kg
Motor: Mahle Motor X35 with 250wh internal battery + 216wh external battery
European Bike Rental Pricing
| Bike | 1-10 days | 11-20 days | 21-30 days | 31-40 days | 40+ days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Nicholas Skeiron | €50 per day | €45 per day | €40 per day | €36 per day | €34 per day |
| Titanium Hybrid | €30 per day | €25 per day | €22 per day | €19 per day | €16 per day |
| E Road bike | €50 per day | €50 per day | €50 per day | €50 per day | €50 per day |
All of our bikes are in fantastic condition and undergo a thorough service before delivery to you. All on-tour maintenance is included when required.
Japan Bike Fleet
Merida SILEX 4000 – Available in Japan only
Frame Type: Carbon
Fork: Carbon
Wheel Size: 700c
Handlebar: Drop Bars
Pedals: Flat Pedals standard. Bring your own pedals if you prefer and we’ll mount them.
Chainrings: 46-30 teeth
Cassette: 11-36T
Tires: 700 x 32 Slick
Brakes: Disk brakes
Brake set-up: Right brake lever = front brake, Left brake lever = rear brake. Same as UK/Australia
Saddle: Merida Comp SL – V-mount or bring your own
Approx. Weight: 9Kg
Specialized Creo SL E5 Comp – Available in Japan only
Frame Type: Aluminium
Fork: Carbon
Wheel Size: 700c
Handlebar: Drop Bars
Drive Train: SRAM Apex Eagle, 12-speed
Chainring: 40T
Cassette: 11-50T wide-range cassette
Pedals: Flat Pedals standard. Bring your own pedals if you prefer and we’ll mount them.
Wheels: DT G540 Disc ASVN
Tires: 700×38 (or more)
Brakes: Disc Brakes –
Brake set-up: Right brake lever = front brake, Left brake lever = rear brake. Same as UK/Australia
Saddle: Specialized or bring your own
Approx. Weight: 14Kg
Motor: 320Wh internal battery + 170wh recharge option at lunch
Japan Bike Rental Pricing
| Bike | 1-10 days | 11-20 days | 21-30 days | 31-40 days | 40+ days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merida Silex – Japan Only | US$50 per day | US$45 per day | US$40 per day | US$40 per day | US$40 per day |
| Specialized Creo SL E5 Comp | US$50 per day | US$50 per day | US$50 per day | US$50 per day | US$50 per day |
All our bikes are in fantastic condition and they undergo a thorough service before their delivery to you. All on-tour maintenance is included when required.
NOTE:
We have a smaller fleet of bikes in Japan. If we cannot provide one of our fleet bikes, we work with local suppliers to meet our bike rental requirements. The bikes we rent are from a pool of quality bike manufacturers. Our remit for them is that the bikes have carbon or new-style lightweight aluminium frames, ideally with disc brakes, and a sympathetic gear ratio. The standard is compact 11/32, which works great for the terrain on this tour. The bikes we select all have a relaxed geometry, which makes fitting easier. The same approach applies to the e-bikes that we source.
BIKE FITTING
To ensure a comfortable fit, we will ask for your height in centimetres. We’ll also ask the make, model and size of the bike you ride at home for comparison. Specifically, we require the Seat Tube measurement (A) (The distance from the middle of the bottom bracket to the top of the saddle) and the ‘cockpit depth’ (B) (The distance from the tip of the saddle to the handlebars)
