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Bikes To Borrow

Bicycle rentals in the Washington DC area
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 SPD SL Plastic Cleat on the left and SPD metal cleat on the yellow sole on the right.

 SPD SL Plastic Cleat on the left and SPD metal cleat on the yellow sole on the right.

Pedal Choices

April 20, 2017

The choice is yours to get more out of bicycling. One of the easiest ways to do this is to connect to the bike via your shoes. Bike shoes that are harder than average shoes, effectively converting the shoe into the pedal itself, since the point of connection is made of very small relatively speaking.

People tend to confuse the names and the difficulty of using these mechanisms. So, we'll try to deconstruct your options.

First thing to be aware of this that anything can be customized on a bike. And we are a small bicycle rental business, not a bike shop. We are known to all of the retail shops in the metropolitan area, mainly because they do NOT rent. This makes for good partnership. So, if you need something you don't see online here, then contact a shop.

We have 2 types of clipless pedals. SPD mountain & SPD SL for road. To clarify, we describe them by their cleat materials: metal & plastic. Road bikes & carbon hybrids do not include pedals as a standard, so we give those renters a choice of 4 pedal types. The other 2 options are standard pedals or pedals with clips and straps, seen below.

If you use this pedal, then you also use a plastic cleat.

If you use this pedal, then you also use a plastic cleat.

So, to restate, we have 4 pedal options we can bring for your road bike experience or carbon hybrid rental. The other option is to bring your own. You may want to bring the tool to install them or you can rely on us to install them. 

Working with this pedal? Then your cleat is metal, so take care on wood floors.

Working with this pedal? Then your cleat is metal, so take care on wood floors.

We want your experience to be great. However, there are limits to rental customization. So, If you need more than one of the 4 pedal options or adjusting the seat height, we may need to refer you to one of our retail bike shops for what to purchase.

WE DO NOT change pedals on our standard hybrids which come with standard pedals. WE DO NOT change, swap, or adjust stems on any rentals nor do we allow renters to do so.

Remember the terms:

     CLIPLESS refers to the two pedal images at the top. SPD SL road (plastic) or mountain (metal).

     CLIP-INS sometimes refers to all types of pedals so it isn't really descriptive.

     TOE CLIPS refers to the third picture which holds your regular shoe securely by the toes.

     STRAPS refers to the device that tightens the toe clip onto your shoe.

 

In pedal Tags spd, clipless, toe clips, pedals
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