Can you rent tri bikes?

2009 will be my first tri, and currently my training on the bike portion consist of spinning.  I have a hybrid mountain bike that I ride, but realize that many who tri compete on expensive bikes.  So, is there rental's available?

I'm curious as well....I might check runnersworld.com I'm pretty sure they have a triathlon forum section.

I plan on doing my first sprint-tri in July 2009 and don't have any bike what-so-ever! I eventually want to buy a cheaper one on craigslist to train on and start doing spinning at the gym once I get a membership in a couple weeks (christmas gift from my parents) Renting definitely would be amazing because those bikes are pretty ridiculous..atleast for me.

In talking with peopke who have done local tri's I heard that any bike will do.  Some people start out with the cheap $60 Walmart bikes. 

Hey, are you still on your way to the first triathlon this year?  Best of luck. It has been the best motivating thing to add to my life AND to keep me more injury free doing the three sports.

For first triathlon: don't worry about actually using your hybrid! I use a mountain bike my first year and the next three summers used a hybrid... maybe by the time I'm 60 I'll get a good road bike!  Seriously, if you are doing a sprint-tri with about 12-13 miles on the bike leg, enjoy your bike ride. Of course, if you have a road bike it will be faster and you'll use less energy to cover those miles, and have more left for the run.

My sister has rented a road bike for her triathlons. I suggest that you DO NOT rent a "Tri-Bike" unless you are seriously competetive. That is usually a $2,000 or more specific bike that you should be used to if you are going to use it.

Hey, this is enough info. Reply back if you have more thoughts or questions.

Good luck and most of all: HAVE FUN for the first ones. You'll be hooked.

-rb

Or how about this? Three people in my family who have gotten into triathlons have moved from a mountain bike and gotten their first road style bike by buying used ones at the local bike shop swap. Check out used bikes, as well as the $100 cut-rate models.