Manchester Bike Hire

[Sixmile]

I've had a wee google but want to see if any folk on here have first hand experience or recommendations for a days bike hire in Manchester for 2 people.

We're coming back to Manchester Airport on 17th June from a game at the Euros and before our flight to Belfast we've 7 or 8 hours spare. I thought it'd be a good idea to do a bit of cycling instead of sitting in the city centre eating too much, bored out of our scones. I have seen the Brompton scheme but it is wile dear.

Any help or advice is appreciated!

 

[PhilDawson8270]

I've had a wee google but want to see if any folk on here have first hand experience or recommendations for a days bike hire in Manchester for 2 people.

We're coming back to Manchester Airport on 17th June from a game at the Euros and before our flight to Belfast we've 7 or 8 hours spare. I thought it'd be a good idea to do a bit of cycling instead of sitting in the city centre eating too much, bored out of our scones. I have seen the Brompton scheme but it is wile dear.

Any help or advice is appreciated!

Cycling? Around the city centre?

As a thought, if you have 7 or 8 hours to spare, you could head over to the velodrome in Manchester, and have a track taster session there? I would certainly prefer that than Manchester city roads.

 

[Hacienda71]

You can get a train from the airport to Wilmslow (10 mins) where they have hire bikes. You are on the edge of the Cheshire plain there with loads of great lanes to explore. The bikes are not lightweight road bikes but are functional.

http://www.bikeandgo.co.uk/locations/north-west-and-merseyside/wilmslow/

 

[Dave7]

@Hacienda71's suggestion sounds right to me.
The roads around Manchester airport are very busy......I would not like to cycle on them.
As far as the city centre....for me...no chance.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Manchester City Centre is pretty good as far as cities go.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

http://www.manchesterbikehire.co.uk

 

[Sixmile]

Sustrans website shows a cycle free route right behind the airport. I thought about cycling to Liverpool and back, as again Sustrans map shows a completely car free route there. My friend won't have done much cycling but is a big Liverpool FC fan, so hoping that'll be enough to drag him out for a few miles! If I can get a plan together then I'll get him out for a fun runs over here over the next few weeks.

The velodrome certainly sounds good. I was on looking at Manchester Bike Hire earlier. Have you had good experiences with them? I'll go and have a look at bikeandgo now.

Thanks for all the suggestions thus far!

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I have seen the Brompton scheme but it is wile dear.

Any help or advice is appreciated!

I only registered for the Brompton hire thing today but thought £1 + £5 a day was pretty reasonable for a try out. Mind, I haven't ridden one yet so I can't report back on the whole experience.

 

[Sixmile]

I only registered for the Brompton hire thing today but thought £1 + £5 a day was pretty reasonable for a try out. Mind, I haven't ridden one yet so I can't report back on the whole experience.

Plus the £10 credit required to add to your 'account' to cover the first few hire days. Still £11 isn't bank breaking but I want to cover some decent miles

 

[mjr]

I'll go and have a look at bikeandgo now.

This seems to be the only mention on this site of bikeandgo, so this is where I'll note that the website now says "Bike & Go will no longer be operating from 30 September 2019. The scheme was launched in 2014 to provide seamless door-to-door solutions in the form of bike rental at selected railway stations across England and Scotland. Unfortunately the number of rentals and members meant that the scheme was not self-sufficient and the decision has been made to close Bike & Go across the UK."

A cynic would say that the cumbersome registration and rental process combined with the patchy coverage of bizarre rental locations (for example, Manchester Oxford Road but not Piccadilly, Ely but not Cambridge or Cambridge North, Edinburgh Haymarket but not Waverley - yet loads of bikes at London Liverpool Street despite so many competitors there) implied that it was a gimmick to help win rail franchises rather than a commercial service attempt.

 

[vickster]

Plus the £10 credit required to add to your 'account' to cover the first few hire days. Still £11 isn't bank breaking but I want to cover some decent miles

Plenty of folk have done 100 mile sportives like Ride London on Bromptons

 

[ColinJ]

This seems to be the only mention on this site of bikeandgo, so this is where I'll note that the website now says "Bike & Go will no longer be operating from 30 September 2019. The scheme was launched in 2014 to provide seamless door-to-door solutions in the form of bike rental at selected railway stations across England and Scotland. Unfortunately the number of rentals and members meant that the scheme was not self-sufficient and the decision has been made to close Bike & Go across the UK."

A cynic would say that the cumbersome registration and rental process combined with the patchy coverage of bizarre rental locations (for example, Manchester Oxford Road but not Piccadilly, Ely but not Cambridge or Cambridge North, Edinburgh Haymarket but not Waverley - yet loads of bikes at London Liverpool Street despite so many competitors there) implied that it was a gimmick to help win rail franchises rather than a commercial service attempt.

They (currently) still have the bikes at the stations in Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. I have NEVER seen one of them in use!

I asked at the station in Hebden Bridge once and the man at the ticket office said that they'd had just 'one or two' rentals in over a year... He said that a few people had asked about impromptu rentals when arriving at the station but had walked away when that registration process was mentioned.

 

[tom73]

End of bike & go not a surprise it was not exactly user friendly. Our station has a whole row of them none have ever moved been quietly collecting dust and rusting away for years.

 

[classic33]

This seems to be the only mention on this site of bikeandgo, so this is where I'll note that the website now says "Bike & Go will no longer be operating from 30 September 2019. The scheme was launched in 2014 to provide seamless door-to-door solutions in the form of bike rental at selected railway stations across England and Scotland. Unfortunately the number of rentals and members meant that the scheme was not self-sufficient and the decision has been made to close Bike & Go across the UK."

A cynic would say that the cumbersome registration and rental process combined with the patchy coverage of bizarre rental locations (for example, Manchester Oxford Road but not Piccadilly, Ely but not Cambridge or Cambridge North, Edinburgh Haymarket but not Waverley - yet loads of bikes at London Liverpool Street despite so many competitors there) implied that it was a gimmick to help win rail franchises rather than a commercial service attempt.

It's not actually, Snorri first then at the bottom of the first page, detailing some of the problems. Simple things like actually getting the bikes.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/told-by-conductor-not-to-board-train-with-bike.234262/

You yourself have even commented on the number of the bikes, showing on the system at stations up here.

Earlier thread, 2014.
Similar problems mentioned
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/borisesque-bikes-at-wilmslow-railway-station.151250/

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Sustrans website shows a cycle free route right behind the airport

Ha!

Here's a picture of that route... which I can't find right now. It has 81 steps to push your bike past, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'll try and find the photo later.

However, it is possible to rapidly get into the Cheshire lanes:

- take thorley lane which turns into runger lane from the airport (ignore the supposed cycle lane which is crap and makes you stop at every side road)
- turn left onto Wilmslow Road
- take the first right on Mill Lane.

You're now on quiet lanes and can stay on such until the peak district or even Wales! I'd highly recommend heading for tatton park to start with.