FORT LEE, NJ (BRAIN)—A trio of founders want to eliminate the hassle and cost associated with athletes transporting their bikes to races and have launched a high-end, race-day ready rental bike company.
Erol Sarikaya, Jeffrey Goldberger and Jeff Mark are seasoned triathletes with a combined 50 triathlons, from sprints to Ironman, under their belts. Each had endured the hassle and limitations of traditional shipping (FedEx, UPS), bike-specific transport companies and the airlines, and decided to offer another option to athletes that travel to triathlons.
Their company, Tri-Cycle Rentals, offers a race-day ready fleet of Orbea bikes for rent that athletes pick up at the race venue. Riders reserve the bike online, show up at the event to check out the bike, get fitted on it, then return the bike afterward at the race expo or transition area.
“Tri-Cycle Rentals will give our athletes the peace of mind that when they arrive at their race, a state of the art, race-ready bike will be waiting for them,” said Sarikaya, co-founder and president.
The company has a 20-bike fleet of 2011 Orbea Ordu SLT triathlon bikes of various sizes equipped with Shimano Ultegra, water cages, tool kit and bike computers. Customers have the option of upgrading their wheels to Zipp 404s. The cost is $399, or $475 with Zipp 404s.
The company plans to be on-site at six races during the 2011 tri season including the Rev3 Olympic and Half Ironman race in Connecticut June 4-5, Washington D.C. TRI June 19, Philly Tri June 26, Nautica NYC Tri Aug. 7, Nations Tri in Washington, D.C. Sept. 11 and the Pocono Mountains 70.3 Oct. 2.
