That's an amazing area to bike around - don't need a guide or a mechanic as there's a lot of nearby villages along the way within a few miles with people that'd be happy to help. Most convenient way is definitely to rent it in hanoi and bring it on the train to sapa (a lot of operations will do that for you for $5 or so and since the train leaves at night that can save a lot of headache!) Especially if you're getting a minsk or something you can hang out in sapa for a couple days w/o worrying about racking up the day*rental fee (They're only $5 a day or so) - Enjoy and make sure to sync up your town visits so you hit the good market days!
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