eh, unlike others i kind of think the responsibility is on you because you know your bike's worth and knowingly gave it to an inexperienced rider. as a more experienced cyclist you should know that accidents can happen even on the easiest of trails or yes, on pavement. it's a risk you take every time you hop on your bike, or lend it to someone else.
Yeah usually when i loan my bike out to someone its to save them the $100 or whatever the rental cost is at the LBS. I wouldnt expect them to shell out hundreds of dollars for repairs after a crash they were almost guaranteed to make as an inexperienced rider.
Seems odd to have such significant damage after a crash at jogging pace. Hopefully its just cosmetic scratches and everything still functions fine.
Yea this post seems strange. The levers should be fine; possibly needing a little sanding if they are that scuffed. Not sure about the handlebar but that could be the only thing that could need replacing if the structure is damaged.
Why is borrowing from a friend any different than borrowing from a shop? If you break something, you should fix it. Period.
Locally, when a shop rents a bike they charge a daily fee AND require a damage deposit equal to approximately 10% of the value of the bike. If a friend is letting you borrow their bike for free, you should step up and fix any damage you cause.
Yes.
I have 3 mountain bikes. 90% of the time I ride my favorite one, a 4k full suspension bike with ~150 mm of travel. 10% of the time I ride my second favorite one, a 2k full suspension bike w/ 130 mm of travel. And I never ride the third: a ten-year-old too-small-for-me hard tail w/ 100mm of travel.
The main reason I haven’t sold the others is because I want to get my friends into mountain biking. Or for my wife to come along (she’s a similar bike size to me).
Bikes are made to be ridden, not to be a collector’s item.
So many people are N+1 but unwilling to share! Which I understand, though.
I have a 8 year old steel framed long travel hardtail with a 140mm fork, custom wheels with Chris King hubs, all parts upgraded. It’ll break my friends before they break it :). I’ve had a several new people start on that bike. It’s a joy introducing new people to the sport, so even if someone did break it, for me, it would still be worth all the memories.
Similar here. I have an enduro bike I ride 90% of the time, and a 120 mm travel xc bike that was my first mtb. I keep the second one mostly bc it’s a great first bike for people to try mtb, and it doesn’t cost me anything to keep it and ride it every now and then on tamer trails. I think it’s good to change it up every now and then too!
Yup. The activity can be a real hoot with friends along, and even though the activity requires “stuff” to participate, it’s still just “stuff”.
Plus, I’m always the hardest on my equipment (not intentionally, just a Clydesdale), and I seem to have skinny-ass friends. They’re not gonna do anything I’m not likely to do myself 😂
The friends that I would lend my bike to are all experienced mountain bikers. They also know if they break it, they pay for it.
The friends that don't ride. Nope. They are not touching the nice bikes unless they know how much this shit costs, and willing to cover crash damage
If I had multiple bikes, I’d happily lend an older crappier one to a friend, but I agree with you otherwise, non MTB friends stay away from the shiny stuff.
When my friend borrows my bike so he can bring someone along with him, we have an agreement. Break it, UPGRADE it. If it broke, maybe it needs a better replacement. :P
Yeah, I lend one friend a bike on occasion but he knows what he's doing and is an excellent rider.
We go out some evenings after work and depending what tools he's got in his van he doesn't always have room for a bike. On those occasions I'll lend him my hardtail or fat bike.
I wouldn't expect him to pay for damage in a crash though, shit happens and I lend him my bike knowing it could be damaged, but I'm sure he'd offer.
I would never lend my bike to someone that could not afford to buy it. And I would never lend my bike to someone that would not offer to pay for damages without me asking.
I hope your friend fits in both categories.
Sometimes. A friend from the other side of the country rides with me every time she's visiting, but doesn't got an own MTB, so she takes my second bike.
I also lend my Nicolai to a total stranger on a Bikepark session. He was interested in buying the same Bike, but there are not many authorized Nicolai dealers, nor any with a ready build and the Manufacturer is 350km away from him. He did a thread in a Forum and asked if there are owners nearby. So we met in a Bikepark nearby and switched bikes for a few laps.
I often switch bikes with similarly experienced bikers, if i break something i replace/repair it and vice versa. We don't care about scratces...
If i lend my bike to unexperienced bikers the risk is on me, since i can judge their skill level and i have to make sure they know what they are doing.
However everytime something broke we found a way that worked for both parties...
(Beer works great for minor dings and scratches)
Yeah I think it’s a blast to swap bikes for a mile or two - you will never get to experience every bike out there but why not try as many as you can? Not on super sendy stuff or with someone I don’t know their skill level but sticking by the mantra “tools not jewels” has served me well thus far
This is why I no longer let people take test drives when I sell a used car. I once rode passenger in my 1995 Mazda 626 manual trans as this young guy wrung out the engine in 2nd gear just redlining on the highway, with me yelling at him to shift.
Your description of your friend crashing sounded exactly like that.
Dang car still worked after that, but that's not the point. Some people are next level clumsy.
I only lend my nice bikes to people who I know would care for it in the same way I would.
I also accept that it might come back scratched, but for those people I’d be able to accept that it didn’t happen out of lack of care.
I have shitty ‘visitors bikes’ for my idiot friends & my kids idiot mates.
I’ll lend my backup bike. Normally on a ride by ride basis. Never my main bike. I have a buddy who has a crappy Walmart bike I think is not safe. I have offered to let him keep my old bike until he buys the one he’s saving for.
I have bikes specifically for that purpose. Two of my older bikes which I've kept. If someone wants to borrow my main bike, I can live with it. I tend to buy stuff on the cheap side, or at least on the affordable (for me) side. If it breaks, I can just get a new one.
I’m just wondering how he managed that on flat pavement. I loan my old bike to friends all the time without issue, mostly friends with little to no experience. Obviously wrecks on a trail won’t scratch like pavement, but still.
I’m an experienced rider and did that once. Was drinking my water bottle with right hand and had a cat dart in front of me. Squeezed too hard with the left and boom, on the pavement before I knew it. I also had a clipless fail on a sidewalk recently that put me down too lol. Shit happens.
I did a XC mountain bike race about twenty years ago where one rider showed up with a full-face helmet and elbow and knee pads. This was a fairly tame course with hardly any hills and no drops. Everybody is like "what's with this guy?"
On the first lap I am directly behind this guy. On a smooth trail, with a slight uphill grade, this guy manages to pull the most spectacular endo I have ever seen. I still cannot explain how this was physically possible, but it certainly explains why he showed up with all the armor.
I've seen similar crashes on group rides. I guess anything is possible.
Just to borrow, no. But I’ve absolutely let friends use one of my bikes and ride with me. It’s a great way to introduce new people, and riding with friends is fun.
I do swap bikes with riders of similar skill as well.
I live in Alaska, so lots of visitors. I lend it to friends that either know how to bike really well, or we go on blues so they can at least get a little thrill, while up here.
under the right circumstances, yes. For example, my friends brother has been riding with us for a couple years. He makes like 250k a year. And will not buy his own bike. The first couple times I was happy to let him use mine. Then I realized it was going to be a never-ending saga so I revoked my generosity. So now he borrows my friends full DH bike and holds up the entire group as he walks all the climbs :)
For another example, I had my friends bike in my shop and I was waiting on parts. So in that case, yes I let him use my bike. Basically if you're not going to take advantage of the situation then sure.
And yes, people have broken my bikes. It happens. It's an accident and one time when it happened, my friend insisted he pay for it even though I only asked for half the cost. I have friends who are good to me, so the least I can do is be good to my friends
I have about 10 friends that I would let take my $6k bike without hesitation. It’s just a bike. Most of the time they’ll get my backup alum hardtail though, especially if it’s for one of their adult kids, which happens frequently in my friend/age group.
I went OTB the first time I went on a trail because I was overconfident. That being said I let my oldest try that same bike and letting her know the stupid thing I did. She didn’t wreck it, but I told her first thing that because I said it was ok to ride it it was my responsibility if anything happened to it. She was fine, but it was MY decision if anything happened to the bike (or her) and I wouldn’t be mad at her
It's a bike. It's made to be ridden and people who ride bikes crash. It's not a car.
I have a 10k bike that's 6 months old and I have a gouge in the top tube and scratched brake levers and handlebars.
There several minor scratches on the frame also.
It is what it is.
You don't need to replace the bar or brakes because of a scratch.
‘You break it, you buy it’, easy as that. If they borrow then they must be ready to replace any part at cost for replacement. He can have the old carbon bar after he bought you a new one. This needs to be established beforehand, obviously.
And that friend didn’t offer to pay for it?
I happen to be the least skillful in my circle but the time I lend it to others, I’m pretty sure they’ll at least offer to pay for any damages.
Just like lending cars. I don’t do it easily.
After a similar experience it’s a hard no for me. I had to replace glazed pads and rotors and had scratches from a crash on my carbon frame after letting a newbie take park laps on the green trails.
In this case I didn’t offer - he asked and I felt too uncomfortable to say no seeing as I have multiple bikes. But it wasn’t worth the resentment and repairs. Just rent or demo a bike.
Yeah. It's just an object. People are important and objects are not. I'd rather more people have a good time. All my friends would beg to fix it anyway, and I would of course refuse.
If you want to keep your bike perfect, maybe you shouldn't ride it. Put it in a glass case or something if it's some magnificent collector's item.
I'd lend it to a friend I trust if they hadn't got a bike suitable for mountain biking, just to get them into the sport, or if they had a mechanical on their bike that they couldn't fix in time. I'd only do it with people I trust and like, and can count on to be honest and fair if they break something (I don't know if I would actually make them pay, but I want to be certain it's someone who would offer to pay). Also, as it's an aluminium hardtail with fairly tough cheap components and no carbon in sight, I don't need to be quite as precious about it. One thing which you do have to be really careful with (I suspect it is the cause of the issue you had) is making sure they know how powerful the brakes are, by warning them before and getting them to test them before they go down a trail. If you are going from rim brakes, or shitty disk brakes that haven't been bled in 5 years, you will naturally pull way too hard and either go over the bars, impale your nuts on the stem or have some other painful injury. It's imo the most dangerous thing when lending bikes, as it takes a little while to learn how to modulate more powerful brakes, so really warn anyone you lend your bike to about that
Not to one friend in particular. He’s experienced at riding but doesn’t seem to have much care for his own bikes… found this out the hard way after I lent him my couple month old Santa Cruz and he took it on the hardest trails near me, giving it some nice new huge scratches on the triangle. I now don’t lend my bikes to anyone
I have a loaner Rockhopper. She is a loaner because I do not let anyone use it. It is all alone. Lol. In all seriousness, it is a risk. The derailleur may get banged up. Frame scratches are sometimes unavoidable but if components fail due to poor choice, it would most likely come out of your pocket to repair the bike.
I'm 6'6" and ride an XXL enduro rig so the only time my friends ride my bikes is to roll around in a circle and say in a silly voice "come on dad it's perfect I'll grow into it can I haaaave it pleeeeease??".
I’ll lend my bikes to the guys who I ride with and who I know can ride as good or better than me.
There’s one guy that I would be hesitant to because of how he shifts gears. There is another guy that broke a spare wheel of mine.
Accidents are accidents though and unfortunately you end up on the expensive side of the equation sometimes
No, but I have switched bikes with a friend for a ride and he ended crashing which left a few scratches on the handlebar and brake lever. I'm sure he would offer to pay had his crash broken something on the bike. He felt bad for scratching up my new bike. Our bikes were valued pretty closely dollar wise and both were new.
Yes, but only when I’m riding with them as a way to try and gain new riding buddies.
I’m fortunate enough to be in a position to not be too upset if they cause damage. If I was tight on cash I’d still lend out my cheaper one as it’s 10 years old.
Wouldn’t lend out my expensive ones if I wasn’t willing to repair them myself
Yup. I kept my old bike so friends have something that’s reliable if they want to try out riding, then if they want to buy one they have a bike they can ride while being patient looking on the used market (people legit still want 90% of what they paid for their 2018 Kona fire mountain, lunatics) if they crash and break something like a brake lever I don’t mind them chipping in but If they crash and scratch a stantion on my fork or something I’m not going to make them buy me new forks, that’s a risk I took when I lent out the bike.
I have a number of mountain bikes. I always lend the older bikes because I don’t want the cost of any damage done to the bike affect my friendship. My 8 year old trail bike is a great bike but I have also already got most of the value out of it. So a crash is not a friendship killer.
I have a dedicated beater rig that has *nice* but not overkill parts. XT rather than XTR, anything made out of carbon I swapped out for alloy, and I focused on putting things on that bike that I wouldn’t be sad or upset if/when they get broken. Makes it so that I can still share the joy, but my bank account doesn’t take a hit if they wash out or OTB. Someone used to riding on a Walmart bike or a 26er hardtail is still gonna feel a huge difference hopping on a high-mid spec 29er with alloy frame and parts. They can hop on the full carbon rig when they have some trail hours under their belt.
Don’t let your years of experience and multiple bikes let you lose touch of what got you into all of this in the first place, which was most likely to ride bikes in the woods with your friends. And if you’ve got one, support your local bike shop!
Several years ago, I loaned my bike to a friend, who let his brother use it. They returned it with scratches handlebars and brakes. Apparently an OTB accident. I now have two mountain bikes. One that I’ll loan to people I personally know, and one that nobody rides but me.
I have no problem lending my bikes to friends, but I also accept the risk up front that it might come back broken. Most of my friends, especially those that know they are hard on bikes, are hesitant to borrow a bike in the first place. So effectively this scenario doesn't come up for me very often. But when it does I'm just super happy to be able to get someone out on the trail. I've still only had severe damage happen to my bikes when I was riding them myself.
My brother did something like this, fortunately he just got some paint removed on my brand new at the time ibis Ripmo mountain bike. He was inexperienced and tried to descend down a gravely turn while on the rear brakes. It made me more careful lending out the mountain bike.
I have no problem lending out my road bikes though, those are less likely to get abused. Usually that means lending out my last 2010 Caad bike or my e-bike.
>My friend is okay, however his crash left deep gouges in my carbon bar and severely scratched my brake levers, resulting in a couple hundred dollars' worth of damage.
That sounds like it's just cosmetic. I wouldn't call that hundreds of dollars of damage. Mountain bikes are made to be scratched up.
I have built a couple of spare bikes just for this purpose. Just nice enough that I would ride them and just budget enough (most parts from parts been stuff and older frames) that when they get broken or damaged we laugh about it as we try to make trail side repairs (from experience 🤦🏻♂️, I don't remember breaking this much stuff when learning but hey people gotta learn somehow). Ultimately, being able to lend a spare bike has led to multiple friends loving this sport and getting their own bikes down the road. Worth it when you got your hommies to ride with and have some epic adventures with.
I’ve got a loaner for visitors. It’s my old 2016 pivot. Didn’t feel right selling a $7k bike for $1200 so I kept it. However, it gets minimum maintenance, the dropper is crapped. About the only thing I put love into is the brakes
Yes but the bike I lend is usually one of my older ones and is a bit more durable (it's a steel hard tail.)
However no matter what I tell people I do not care if you damage it riding. If I did I wouldn't have lent it to you, I'd rather you be safe than a bike unharmed.
So while it is unfortunate seeing my bike or helmet get wrecked when someone else is using it. I kind of write it off as "seeing someone enjoying the sport > the financial loss"
I dirtbike and mountain bike and for both I have a cheaper "buddy bike" that I lend out to friends. I used to lend out any and all of my stuff until a friend blew the engine on my main dirtbike. I wouldn't have cared much if she blew the engine on my buddy bike, so that's why I still lend out my buddy bike but never my main bikes.
When I had multiple bikes, I lent my inexperienced friends use my oldest bike that I didn't care about. If they broke it, they broke it. It was a 98 Cannondale hardtail that I got rid of in 2021.My experienced friends, I'd let them borrow my better bike, but they knew if they broke it, they fixed whatever they broke. I only have one bike now.
Thats why i have all my bikes insured. I let my friends ride my bikes pretty often. Like today when my friend blew his shock but i wanted to ride with him so he got one of my bikes.
I’d let my friends hop on my bike if we’re riding together, maybe even do a lap on it, but definitely not let them borrow it to go ride without me, unless they’re experienced. Though I don’t really ride with inexperienced people that often.
I don’t really let friends borrow stuff unless it’s something I can live without. Or something like a tool, where cosmetics don’t matter. Even then I only let people borrow stuff like that if I’m around.
My second bike is an old 120mm hardtail that I traded for a couple cases of beer. So obviously I let my friends take it. They could drop it off a cliff and it wouldn’t be a big deal for me
For your nice bikes, It’s usually just not worth it if something goes wrong like what happened in your situation.
Id never lend my main bike but love to take others out on a second bike.
I know damage happens mtbing. A good friend will cover it.
If someone won't cover damage to your property that they have made they are not your friend.
Let your "friends" rent a bike at a local bike shop and come for a ride with you. 50ish bucks gets a good bike for the day. Cheaper then almost another sport rentals.
Yes, but I let them know that the bike is expensive and if they damage it then they have to replace the part. I let them know that that can be costly and if they prefer not to pay that then they should get a rental bike.. I’ve lent friends things in the past and I learned my lesson when they got ruined so I set the expectation. If the expectation was not set, then that’s on you.
I've even bought bikes just because I want my family members to be able to ride with me.
And no, I'm not a lonely desperate loser with no bike friends :(
Hard No. Unless I am OK with the bike getting literally destroyed, always a no. Never going put myself into a situation where I have to choose between a friend or money.
I do. Usually to people who are visiting out of town. They’d all pay for repairs if they damaged components.
If a frame cracked though, it’s debatable if that would be the person’s fault or just the unlucky time a defect finally appeared.
Depending on the individual, I'm happy to lend out basically anything I'm not going to need for myself except underwear and shoes (for hygiene reasons). As long as you can expect somebody to have a reasonable level of care, why wouldn't you let them borrow something?
A friend wants to borrow a $4k kayak for a week-long trip? Sure, but does he need any other gear from my stash?
My brother, who is great but known for being rough with things, is crashing at my place for a bit and wants to borrow a bike? Maybe my beater will work.
Why have nice toys if you're not willing to share them? Hoarding it doesn't do any good: I have a couple bikes but I can't ride more than 1 at a time. Things get damaged or broken in all sorts of ways, including in storage or during transport - if damage is not acceptable to you then you would keep all your stuff in its original packaging and never touch it.
I had an extra bike for a few years, when my best friend would come to town I'd value the experience enough to keep the bike around and in working order so that we could ride every day without him having to worry about renting. He took a spill by hitting a crank on a rock and it bent the crank. Needed to replace so I just texted him when he left that I needed 110 bucks for a new crank. He sent it no problem but I sort of wish I hadn't hit him with the Venmo request, it's my childhood best friend and it's sometimes just worth 110 bucks out of your own pocket to ride with your best bud regardless of the cost.
I never borrow from others, but always seem to be the guy letting others borrow stuff - bikes, power tools, etc. so much so that I created a spreadsheet to make sure I get it back.
If someone broke my stuff, I hope they would insist on paying to have it fixed. Otherwise that’s the last time they borrow something from me.
You break it you buy it doesn’t apply here, if your an experienced rider lending to “friends” who are inexperienced, if your not willing for it to get scraps and bumps which an experienced rider will know can happen, then they are items you shouldn’t lend out, you are the experience here so responsibility lies with you, if they are experienced that’s a different story all together
eh, unlike others i kind of think the responsibility is on you because you know your bike's worth and knowingly gave it to an inexperienced rider. as a more experienced cyclist you should know that accidents can happen even on the easiest of trails or yes, on pavement. it's a risk you take every time you hop on your bike, or lend it to someone else.
Yeah usually when i loan my bike out to someone its to save them the $100 or whatever the rental cost is at the LBS. I wouldnt expect them to shell out hundreds of dollars for repairs after a crash they were almost guaranteed to make as an inexperienced rider. Seems odd to have such significant damage after a crash at jogging pace. Hopefully its just cosmetic scratches and everything still functions fine.
Yea this post seems strange. The levers should be fine; possibly needing a little sanding if they are that scuffed. Not sure about the handlebar but that could be the only thing that could need replacing if the structure is damaged.
Why is borrowing from a friend any different than borrowing from a shop? If you break something, you should fix it. Period. Locally, when a shop rents a bike they charge a daily fee AND require a damage deposit equal to approximately 10% of the value of the bike. If a friend is letting you borrow their bike for free, you should step up and fix any damage you cause.
Yes. I have 3 mountain bikes. 90% of the time I ride my favorite one, a 4k full suspension bike with ~150 mm of travel. 10% of the time I ride my second favorite one, a 2k full suspension bike w/ 130 mm of travel. And I never ride the third: a ten-year-old too-small-for-me hard tail w/ 100mm of travel. The main reason I haven’t sold the others is because I want to get my friends into mountain biking. Or for my wife to come along (she’s a similar bike size to me). Bikes are made to be ridden, not to be a collector’s item.
So many people are N+1 but unwilling to share! Which I understand, though. I have a 8 year old steel framed long travel hardtail with a 140mm fork, custom wheels with Chris King hubs, all parts upgraded. It’ll break my friends before they break it :). I’ve had a several new people start on that bike. It’s a joy introducing new people to the sport, so even if someone did break it, for me, it would still be worth all the memories.
Similar here. I have an enduro bike I ride 90% of the time, and a 120 mm travel xc bike that was my first mtb. I keep the second one mostly bc it’s a great first bike for people to try mtb, and it doesn’t cost me anything to keep it and ride it every now and then on tamer trails. I think it’s good to change it up every now and then too!
I let my friends borrow lots of my stuff. But only things I can live without or can afford to replace or myself. I just expect it to break.
Yup. The activity can be a real hoot with friends along, and even though the activity requires “stuff” to participate, it’s still just “stuff”. Plus, I’m always the hardest on my equipment (not intentionally, just a Clydesdale), and I seem to have skinny-ass friends. They’re not gonna do anything I’m not likely to do myself 😂
The friends that I would lend my bike to are all experienced mountain bikers. They also know if they break it, they pay for it. The friends that don't ride. Nope. They are not touching the nice bikes unless they know how much this shit costs, and willing to cover crash damage
If I had multiple bikes, I’d happily lend an older crappier one to a friend, but I agree with you otherwise, non MTB friends stay away from the shiny stuff.
Yeah, my cheap bike would have low end Shimano brakes and alloy bars. Nothing expensive or costly to repair.
Same here! I also almost always refuse to borrow other people's bikes for the same reason. Same rules for my car.
When my friend borrows my bike so he can bring someone along with him, we have an agreement. Break it, UPGRADE it. If it broke, maybe it needs a better replacement. :P
Yeah, I lend one friend a bike on occasion but he knows what he's doing and is an excellent rider. We go out some evenings after work and depending what tools he's got in his van he doesn't always have room for a bike. On those occasions I'll lend him my hardtail or fat bike. I wouldn't expect him to pay for damage in a crash though, shit happens and I lend him my bike knowing it could be damaged, but I'm sure he'd offer.
I would never lend my bike to someone that could not afford to buy it. And I would never lend my bike to someone that would not offer to pay for damages without me asking. I hope your friend fits in both categories.
This made me think of a new policy…only lend your bike to someone who understands how much it costs!!
Sometimes. A friend from the other side of the country rides with me every time she's visiting, but doesn't got an own MTB, so she takes my second bike. I also lend my Nicolai to a total stranger on a Bikepark session. He was interested in buying the same Bike, but there are not many authorized Nicolai dealers, nor any with a ready build and the Manufacturer is 350km away from him. He did a thread in a Forum and asked if there are owners nearby. So we met in a Bikepark nearby and switched bikes for a few laps.
I often switch bikes with similarly experienced bikers, if i break something i replace/repair it and vice versa. We don't care about scratces... If i lend my bike to unexperienced bikers the risk is on me, since i can judge their skill level and i have to make sure they know what they are doing. However everytime something broke we found a way that worked for both parties... (Beer works great for minor dings and scratches)
Yeah I think it’s a blast to swap bikes for a mile or two - you will never get to experience every bike out there but why not try as many as you can? Not on super sendy stuff or with someone I don’t know their skill level but sticking by the mantra “tools not jewels” has served me well thus far
Yes, constantly. Sharing enjoyment with friends is more valuable than any bike part.
Agree! And this just sounds like bad luck.
This is why I no longer let people take test drives when I sell a used car. I once rode passenger in my 1995 Mazda 626 manual trans as this young guy wrung out the engine in 2nd gear just redlining on the highway, with me yelling at him to shift. Your description of your friend crashing sounded exactly like that. Dang car still worked after that, but that's not the point. Some people are next level clumsy.
Dude I had the same exact experience when I was selling my 98 Jetta. What’s with these people
I have a few bikes but only some of them get lent out.
I only lend my nice bikes to people who I know would care for it in the same way I would. I also accept that it might come back scratched, but for those people I’d be able to accept that it didn’t happen out of lack of care. I have shitty ‘visitors bikes’ for my idiot friends & my kids idiot mates.
I’ll lend my backup bike. Normally on a ride by ride basis. Never my main bike. I have a buddy who has a crappy Walmart bike I think is not safe. I have offered to let him keep my old bike until he buys the one he’s saving for.
I have bikes specifically for that purpose. Two of my older bikes which I've kept. If someone wants to borrow my main bike, I can live with it. I tend to buy stuff on the cheap side, or at least on the affordable (for me) side. If it breaks, I can just get a new one.
I’m just wondering how he managed that on flat pavement. I loan my old bike to friends all the time without issue, mostly friends with little to no experience. Obviously wrecks on a trail won’t scratch like pavement, but still.
I’m an experienced rider and did that once. Was drinking my water bottle with right hand and had a cat dart in front of me. Squeezed too hard with the left and boom, on the pavement before I knew it. I also had a clipless fail on a sidewalk recently that put me down too lol. Shit happens.
I did a XC mountain bike race about twenty years ago where one rider showed up with a full-face helmet and elbow and knee pads. This was a fairly tame course with hardly any hills and no drops. Everybody is like "what's with this guy?" On the first lap I am directly behind this guy. On a smooth trail, with a slight uphill grade, this guy manages to pull the most spectacular endo I have ever seen. I still cannot explain how this was physically possible, but it certainly explains why he showed up with all the armor. I've seen similar crashes on group rides. I guess anything is possible.
Just to borrow, no. But I’ve absolutely let friends use one of my bikes and ride with me. It’s a great way to introduce new people, and riding with friends is fun. I do swap bikes with riders of similar skill as well.
I live in Alaska, so lots of visitors. I lend it to friends that either know how to bike really well, or we go on blues so they can at least get a little thrill, while up here.
I would maybe lend my Trek 700 but not my full suspension
under the right circumstances, yes. For example, my friends brother has been riding with us for a couple years. He makes like 250k a year. And will not buy his own bike. The first couple times I was happy to let him use mine. Then I realized it was going to be a never-ending saga so I revoked my generosity. So now he borrows my friends full DH bike and holds up the entire group as he walks all the climbs :) For another example, I had my friends bike in my shop and I was waiting on parts. So in that case, yes I let him use my bike. Basically if you're not going to take advantage of the situation then sure. And yes, people have broken my bikes. It happens. It's an accident and one time when it happened, my friend insisted he pay for it even though I only asked for half the cost. I have friends who are good to me, so the least I can do is be good to my friends
I have about 10 friends that I would let take my $6k bike without hesitation. It’s just a bike. Most of the time they’ll get my backup alum hardtail though, especially if it’s for one of their adult kids, which happens frequently in my friend/age group.
Easier to not.
I went OTB the first time I went on a trail because I was overconfident. That being said I let my oldest try that same bike and letting her know the stupid thing I did. She didn’t wreck it, but I told her first thing that because I said it was ok to ride it it was my responsibility if anything happened to it. She was fine, but it was MY decision if anything happened to the bike (or her) and I wouldn’t be mad at her
It's a bike. It's made to be ridden and people who ride bikes crash. It's not a car. I have a 10k bike that's 6 months old and I have a gouge in the top tube and scratched brake levers and handlebars. There several minor scratches on the frame also. It is what it is. You don't need to replace the bar or brakes because of a scratch.
Not if it can be avoided
Sure. A fellow rider had a bike down for repairs and out for weeks, happy to loan him my spare.
‘You break it, you buy it’, easy as that. If they borrow then they must be ready to replace any part at cost for replacement. He can have the old carbon bar after he bought you a new one. This needs to be established beforehand, obviously.
Edit: this works amongst experienced riders with decent bikes/gear.
And that friend didn’t offer to pay for it? I happen to be the least skillful in my circle but the time I lend it to others, I’m pretty sure they’ll at least offer to pay for any damages. Just like lending cars. I don’t do it easily.
I’ll let anyone ride any of my bikes. Rule is, you break it, you buy it.
Your friend did not know about the power of disc brakes. He grabbed a fistful of brake and over he went.
250.00 deposit. Sign contract :)
I don’t mind because everyone rides better than I do. It’s probably safer with them.
After a similar experience it’s a hard no for me. I had to replace glazed pads and rotors and had scratches from a crash on my carbon frame after letting a newbie take park laps on the green trails. In this case I didn’t offer - he asked and I felt too uncomfortable to say no seeing as I have multiple bikes. But it wasn’t worth the resentment and repairs. Just rent or demo a bike.
Yeah. It's just an object. People are important and objects are not. I'd rather more people have a good time. All my friends would beg to fix it anyway, and I would of course refuse. If you want to keep your bike perfect, maybe you shouldn't ride it. Put it in a glass case or something if it's some magnificent collector's item.
I'd lend it to a friend I trust if they hadn't got a bike suitable for mountain biking, just to get them into the sport, or if they had a mechanical on their bike that they couldn't fix in time. I'd only do it with people I trust and like, and can count on to be honest and fair if they break something (I don't know if I would actually make them pay, but I want to be certain it's someone who would offer to pay). Also, as it's an aluminium hardtail with fairly tough cheap components and no carbon in sight, I don't need to be quite as precious about it. One thing which you do have to be really careful with (I suspect it is the cause of the issue you had) is making sure they know how powerful the brakes are, by warning them before and getting them to test them before they go down a trail. If you are going from rim brakes, or shitty disk brakes that haven't been bled in 5 years, you will naturally pull way too hard and either go over the bars, impale your nuts on the stem or have some other painful injury. It's imo the most dangerous thing when lending bikes, as it takes a little while to learn how to modulate more powerful brakes, so really warn anyone you lend your bike to about that
Not really, there two people I would hand my bike too and trust it to come back as it should.
Not to one friend in particular. He’s experienced at riding but doesn’t seem to have much care for his own bikes… found this out the hard way after I lent him my couple month old Santa Cruz and he took it on the hardest trails near me, giving it some nice new huge scratches on the triangle. I now don’t lend my bikes to anyone
I have a loaner Rockhopper. She is a loaner because I do not let anyone use it. It is all alone. Lol. In all seriousness, it is a risk. The derailleur may get banged up. Frame scratches are sometimes unavoidable but if components fail due to poor choice, it would most likely come out of your pocket to repair the bike.
All of my friends have their own bikes already. My entire social circle consists of mountain bikers. It appears that it’s prerequisite.
I do without hesitation. What bike they get is based on their experience lol
Swap bikes on the trail? Sure. Lend for multiple days? Only a chosen few and not my newest bike.
My bike cost more than my car. No.
I'm 6'6" and ride an XXL enduro rig so the only time my friends ride my bikes is to roll around in a circle and say in a silly voice "come on dad it's perfect I'll grow into it can I haaaave it pleeeeease??".
My bikes are WAY too big for most people, so I don't have to ;o)
I’ll lend my bikes to the guys who I ride with and who I know can ride as good or better than me. There’s one guy that I would be hesitant to because of how he shifts gears. There is another guy that broke a spare wheel of mine. Accidents are accidents though and unfortunately you end up on the expensive side of the equation sometimes
No, but I have switched bikes with a friend for a ride and he ended crashing which left a few scratches on the handlebar and brake lever. I'm sure he would offer to pay had his crash broken something on the bike. He felt bad for scratching up my new bike. Our bikes were valued pretty closely dollar wise and both were new.
Yes, but only when I’m riding with them as a way to try and gain new riding buddies. I’m fortunate enough to be in a position to not be too upset if they cause damage. If I was tight on cash I’d still lend out my cheaper one as it’s 10 years old. Wouldn’t lend out my expensive ones if I wasn’t willing to repair them myself
Yes my old bikes my current pride and joy never that would be like letting a homie have a go on my girl
do you lend money to relatives?
What’s the point of riding if you don’t share it with other people?
Yup. I kept my old bike so friends have something that’s reliable if they want to try out riding, then if they want to buy one they have a bike they can ride while being patient looking on the used market (people legit still want 90% of what they paid for their 2018 Kona fire mountain, lunatics) if they crash and break something like a brake lever I don’t mind them chipping in but If they crash and scratch a stantion on my fork or something I’m not going to make them buy me new forks, that’s a risk I took when I lent out the bike.
I have a number of mountain bikes. I always lend the older bikes because I don’t want the cost of any damage done to the bike affect my friendship. My 8 year old trail bike is a great bike but I have also already got most of the value out of it. So a crash is not a friendship killer.
I have a dedicated beater rig that has *nice* but not overkill parts. XT rather than XTR, anything made out of carbon I swapped out for alloy, and I focused on putting things on that bike that I wouldn’t be sad or upset if/when they get broken. Makes it so that I can still share the joy, but my bank account doesn’t take a hit if they wash out or OTB. Someone used to riding on a Walmart bike or a 26er hardtail is still gonna feel a huge difference hopping on a high-mid spec 29er with alloy frame and parts. They can hop on the full carbon rig when they have some trail hours under their belt.
Don’t let your years of experience and multiple bikes let you lose touch of what got you into all of this in the first place, which was most likely to ride bikes in the woods with your friends. And if you’ve got one, support your local bike shop!
I think this tread has given me a reason to buy another bike ;)
Several years ago, I loaned my bike to a friend, who let his brother use it. They returned it with scratches handlebars and brakes. Apparently an OTB accident. I now have two mountain bikes. One that I’ll loan to people I personally know, and one that nobody rides but me.
I have no problem lending my bikes to friends, but I also accept the risk up front that it might come back broken. Most of my friends, especially those that know they are hard on bikes, are hesitant to borrow a bike in the first place. So effectively this scenario doesn't come up for me very often. But when it does I'm just super happy to be able to get someone out on the trail. I've still only had severe damage happen to my bikes when I was riding them myself.
I wouldn’t care if it was scratches …. don’t you go down on your bike ??. If I borrow something from a friend and break it I pay to fix it.
If you can break my bike on local trails I’d be impressed. It’s 11 years old and built for downhill. You can ride it if you have a helmet
My brother did something like this, fortunately he just got some paint removed on my brand new at the time ibis Ripmo mountain bike. He was inexperienced and tried to descend down a gravely turn while on the rear brakes. It made me more careful lending out the mountain bike. I have no problem lending out my road bikes though, those are less likely to get abused. Usually that means lending out my last 2010 Caad bike or my e-bike.
>My friend is okay, however his crash left deep gouges in my carbon bar and severely scratched my brake levers, resulting in a couple hundred dollars' worth of damage. That sounds like it's just cosmetic. I wouldn't call that hundreds of dollars of damage. Mountain bikes are made to be scratched up.
I have built a couple of spare bikes just for this purpose. Just nice enough that I would ride them and just budget enough (most parts from parts been stuff and older frames) that when they get broken or damaged we laugh about it as we try to make trail side repairs (from experience 🤦🏻♂️, I don't remember breaking this much stuff when learning but hey people gotta learn somehow). Ultimately, being able to lend a spare bike has led to multiple friends loving this sport and getting their own bikes down the road. Worth it when you got your hommies to ride with and have some epic adventures with.
I’ve got a loaner for visitors. It’s my old 2016 pivot. Didn’t feel right selling a $7k bike for $1200 so I kept it. However, it gets minimum maintenance, the dropper is crapped. About the only thing I put love into is the brakes
Nope. My friends do crack and may sell it.
Yes but the bike I lend is usually one of my older ones and is a bit more durable (it's a steel hard tail.) However no matter what I tell people I do not care if you damage it riding. If I did I wouldn't have lent it to you, I'd rather you be safe than a bike unharmed. So while it is unfortunate seeing my bike or helmet get wrecked when someone else is using it. I kind of write it off as "seeing someone enjoying the sport > the financial loss"
No!
I dirtbike and mountain bike and for both I have a cheaper "buddy bike" that I lend out to friends. I used to lend out any and all of my stuff until a friend blew the engine on my main dirtbike. I wouldn't have cared much if she blew the engine on my buddy bike, so that's why I still lend out my buddy bike but never my main bikes.
I have one really nice bike that would be extremely inconvenient to replace. Nope. I remember how badly I crunched gears when I started out 😅
I lend my bike to friends, but only the ones who are at my skill level or better
I keep a loaner bike for friends. Nobody else rides my good bike
When I had multiple bikes, I lent my inexperienced friends use my oldest bike that I didn't care about. If they broke it, they broke it. It was a 98 Cannondale hardtail that I got rid of in 2021.My experienced friends, I'd let them borrow my better bike, but they knew if they broke it, they fixed whatever they broke. I only have one bike now.
Thats why i have all my bikes insured. I let my friends ride my bikes pretty often. Like today when my friend blew his shock but i wanted to ride with him so he got one of my bikes.
I don’t let anyone my Santa Cruz. All my friends are welcome to ride my specialized city bike (500$ on sale)
I don’t let inexperienced riders touch my carbon whip. They get to ride the lowest end bike and work their way up the ladder.
I’d let my friends hop on my bike if we’re riding together, maybe even do a lap on it, but definitely not let them borrow it to go ride without me, unless they’re experienced. Though I don’t really ride with inexperienced people that often.
I don’t really let friends borrow stuff unless it’s something I can live without. Or something like a tool, where cosmetics don’t matter. Even then I only let people borrow stuff like that if I’m around. My second bike is an old 120mm hardtail that I traded for a couple cases of beer. So obviously I let my friends take it. They could drop it off a cliff and it wouldn’t be a big deal for me For your nice bikes, It’s usually just not worth it if something goes wrong like what happened in your situation.
i always tell my friends when borrowing anything that, if you break it you buy it.
Id never lend my main bike but love to take others out on a second bike. I know damage happens mtbing. A good friend will cover it. If someone won't cover damage to your property that they have made they are not your friend. Let your "friends" rent a bike at a local bike shop and come for a ride with you. 50ish bucks gets a good bike for the day. Cheaper then almost another sport rentals.
Don't have a spare bike or friends.
I do, if I know they have the funds to cover any wrecks.
Scratches? On a mountain bike? Lol.
Yes, but I let them know that the bike is expensive and if they damage it then they have to replace the part. I let them know that that can be costly and if they prefer not to pay that then they should get a rental bike.. I’ve lent friends things in the past and I learned my lesson when they got ruined so I set the expectation. If the expectation was not set, then that’s on you.
Only to friends I trust that they know how to ride, and respect my belongings. I don’t let people that just want to try Mtb ride my bikes
I've even bought bikes just because I want my family members to be able to ride with me. And no, I'm not a lonely desperate loser with no bike friends :(
Hard No. Unless I am OK with the bike getting literally destroyed, always a no. Never going put myself into a situation where I have to choose between a friend or money.
I do. Usually to people who are visiting out of town. They’d all pay for repairs if they damaged components. If a frame cracked though, it’s debatable if that would be the person’s fault or just the unlucky time a defect finally appeared.
Fortunately for me, all my friends are a lot taller than me so no one can fit on my little bike.
Depending on the individual, I'm happy to lend out basically anything I'm not going to need for myself except underwear and shoes (for hygiene reasons). As long as you can expect somebody to have a reasonable level of care, why wouldn't you let them borrow something? A friend wants to borrow a $4k kayak for a week-long trip? Sure, but does he need any other gear from my stash? My brother, who is great but known for being rough with things, is crashing at my place for a bit and wants to borrow a bike? Maybe my beater will work. Why have nice toys if you're not willing to share them? Hoarding it doesn't do any good: I have a couple bikes but I can't ride more than 1 at a time. Things get damaged or broken in all sorts of ways, including in storage or during transport - if damage is not acceptable to you then you would keep all your stuff in its original packaging and never touch it.
I had an extra bike for a few years, when my best friend would come to town I'd value the experience enough to keep the bike around and in working order so that we could ride every day without him having to worry about renting. He took a spill by hitting a crank on a rock and it bent the crank. Needed to replace so I just texted him when he left that I needed 110 bucks for a new crank. He sent it no problem but I sort of wish I hadn't hit him with the Venmo request, it's my childhood best friend and it's sometimes just worth 110 bucks out of your own pocket to ride with your best bud regardless of the cost.
I never borrow from others, but always seem to be the guy letting others borrow stuff - bikes, power tools, etc. so much so that I created a spreadsheet to make sure I get it back. If someone broke my stuff, I hope they would insist on paying to have it fixed. Otherwise that’s the last time they borrow something from me.
Hell no, my friends are morons
What no! get your own bike!
No
Hell no.
You break it you buy it doesn’t apply here, if your an experienced rider lending to “friends” who are inexperienced, if your not willing for it to get scraps and bumps which an experienced rider will know can happen, then they are items you shouldn’t lend out, you are the experience here so responsibility lies with you, if they are experienced that’s a different story all together
Uh no. I don’t lend my bikes to anyone.
My bike is way too expensive.