Over the last 10 years or so the UK has seen a huge number of cycle hire schemes come and go, which can be really frustrating for locals and visitors who want to hire a bike to get around. It’s especially frustrating if you’re living in or visiting a cycle-friendly town or city, which the UK has plenty of. Luckily, there are still lots of fantastic ways to hire bikes in bike-friendly towns and cities across the UK. We’ll be updating this guide with more options throughout 2026. Let’s get into the guide: Hiring bicycles and electric bikes in Oxford University students can often be seen cycling around Oxford, and the town is great for cycling. A number of cycling schemes based in Oxford have come and gone over the years, such as the popular Cycle Land bike-sharing scheme. Luckily, there are still lots of options you can try if you’re looking to hire a push bike or an electric bike in Oxford, here are some of the top options:   BYKE – this is similar to what Cycle Land was, in that you can rent bikes from other people living in Oxford. The great thing about using BYKE is the variety of bikes you can choose from. Prices can vary a lot depending on what type of bike you choose Visit Oxford Tours – you can hire a bicycle from the Visit Oxford Tours for £20 for 24 hours, and £50 for a week Rides on Air – this place is actually based in Wallingford which is about 10 miles from Oxford, but if you’re hiring a bike for a week then you could make a trip. Rides on Air has an excellent selection of push bikes and e-bikes, and prices start from £70 per week Bainton Bikes – available via the Donkey Republic app, the Bainton Bikes are self service and can be hired 24/7 from a number of stations throughout Oxford Hiring bicycles and electric bikes in Cambridge Cambridge is often described as the cycling capital of the UK, just for the sheer amount of cyclists you’ll see and all the excellent cycle lanes. If you’re looking to hire a bicycle or electric bike in Cambridge, you’ve got lots of options. Here are some to try: City Cycle Hire – based at Lammas Land Carpark, prices start from £20 per day Primo Cycles – you can hire either a town bike for leisurely cycling or a road bike for more intense cycling, prices start from £20 per day Grounds Cycle Centre – based at Milton Country Park, a great range of bikes including e-bikes, prices start from £15 for 2 hours Kingsway Cycles – a lovely independent cycle shop in the centre of Cambridge, hire starts from around £15 per day depending on the type of bike you choose (e-bikes available) Outspoken Cycles – another great independent place, see in-store for specific hire prices# Voi – you’ll see plenty of Voi scooters in Cambridge, but there are also around 250 Voi e-bikes available to hire throughout the city. These are great for getting from A to B, and hire prices are very reasonable too. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, then 24p per minute to ride them. If you plan on using the bikes regularly you can take advantage of the discount you receive with a daily pass or a subscription Hiring bicycles and electric bikes in Buxton Buxton is famous for being England’s highest market town and there are some really dramatic cycle routes that you can follow in and around the town. These include the Monsal Trail, the Tissington Trail, and the High Peak Trail. Buxton itself is also a good town for cycling. If you want to hire a bicycle or e-bike during your time in the town, here are some options: Peak Ascent Cycles – you can hire an e-bike from this shop based on The Colonnade for just £50 per day, these are great for zipping around town or if you want to explore the Peak District Blackwell Mill – Blackwell Mill is around 4 miles to the East of Buxton and is an excellent place to hire bikes from if you want to tackle the Monsal trail or you simply want a bike for exploring Buxton. Prices start from £21 per day for a push bike Monsal Trail Cycle Hire Centre – if you are hoping to tackle the Monsal Trail during your time in Buxton then a great place to hire a bike from is the Monsal Trail Cycle Hire Centre, which is approximately 12 miles to the East of Buxton. Prices start from £25 per day for a push bike and £37 per day for an e-bike. You can add additional hire days if you wish to take the bike to Buxton with you Parsley Hay Bike Hire – this hire centre is about 9 miles to the South East of Buxton and has some great hire options, you can hire a bicycle from here for just £19 per day Hiring bicycles and electric bikes in York Similar to Edinburgh, York is well-known for cobbled, winding streets, which might put some people off cycling there. Certainly, areas like Shambles Market aren’t ideal for cycling around, but there are lots of cycle lanes throughout the city and provided you know where to go, cycling is a great way to get around York. If you’re looking to hire a bicycle or e-bike in York then here are some of the best options to try: Get Cycling – Get Cycling has a showroom on Hospital Fields Road, where you can explore the really impressive selection of bicycles and e-bikes that they have available for rental. For adults, prices start at £30 per day for a bicycle and £45 per day for an e-bike Fat Llama – this is a great service which allows you to hire bikes from locals living in York, and is probably the cheapest option you’ll find for bike hire in York. We found bicycles and e-bikes listed for rental on Fat Llama for as little as £15 per day Recycle – Recycle is a great second hand bike shop in York which doesn’t officially offer bike hire, but the shop allows you to buy a bike and then sell it back to them once you’re done with it. So if you’re in York for a week, you could buy a bike for as little as £60, and then sell it back to Recycle for around £30. It’s a cost-effective and eco-friendly way to cycle around York North Yorkshire Electric Bikes – if you’re staying in York for more than a few days then it could be a good idea to rent bikes from one of the towns surrounding York – you could find something cheaper and you might also find a better selection of bikes. As the name suggests, North Yorkshire Electric Bikes in Knaresborough is a great place to hire e-bikes from. Prices start from £200 for 1 week hire, which is very reasonable. Hiring bicycles and electric bikes in Harrogate   Harrogate is definitely what we’d describe as a cycling-friendly town – you’ll find a strong cycling culture there, and plenty of cycle lanes. The Nidderdale Greenway connects Harrogate and Ripley, and is a lovely route to cycle along. If you’re looking to hire a bike during your time in Harrogate, here are some great options to try:     Vern Overton Cycling – this business based in Harrogate has a very impressive fleet of bikes available to hire, with everything from mountain bikes to road bikes. Prices start at £45 per day for bicycle hire and £70 per day for e-bike hire   Chevin Cycles – Chevin Cycles has a range of Zing Trip Core e-bikes that you can hire, with prices starting at £65 for a full day hire. These e-bikes are great for getting from A to B and ideal for use around town   Nidderdale Cycle Hire – Nidderdale is around 10 miles from Harrogate, and there you’ll find Nidderdale Cycle Hire. This small company has a good fleet of bikes available to hire, with mostly mountain bikes and road bikes. Hire starts from £20 per day   Hygglo – this is a great service which allows you to hire bikes from locals living in Harrogate, and is probably the cheapest option you’ll find for bike hire in Harrogate. We found bicycles and e-bikes listed for rental on this platform for as little as £15 per day Hiring bicycles and electric bikes in Bradford Bradford is in a green belt area, and consequently, the city is good for road cycling. Parts of the city can be quite hilly, which is where an electric bike or a hybrid bike could come in handy. If you want to hire bikes during your time in Bradford, here are some options you can try: Riverside e-bikes and cycles – based in Apperley Bridge, this business has e-bikes, mountain bikes, and road bikes available to hire. The e-bikes are hybrid Gudereit bikes, which are very good quality. Prices start at £36 per day for e-bike hire Towpath Trail Bike Hire -this business offers a wide range of bikes to suit every member of the family including mountain bikes, electric bikes, children’s bikes, trailer buggies and plenty more. Prices start from £8 for a child’s bike and £12 for an adult’s. University of Bradford bike hub – if you’re a student or a staff member at the University of Bradford you can hire bikes from the bike hub. The prices here are really cheap at just £5 per week for rental. Your hire includes a helmet and a lock Juiced Up Bikes – this business is based in Luddenden Foot, which is a small village about 10 miles from Bradford. They’re specialists in e-bikes, and have a great fleet of e-bikes to choose from. The prices are very reasonable from here and start at just £25 per day for e-bike hire Hiring bicycles and electric bikes in Milton Keynes Milton Keynes is an excellent city for cycling, with lots of well-maintained cycle lanes as well as a number of great cycle shops. You’ll also find secure cycle parking throughout the city, which is always a bonus. If you’re looking to hire a bike in Milton Keynes then you’ve got lots of excellent options: Santander Cycles – the same Santander public bike hire scheme that runs in London is also available to use in Milton Keynes. These bikes are great for getting from A to B, but for anything beyond that you might want to hire a mountain bike from one of the independent shops mentioned below. Prices for these bikes start at £1 for 20 minutes so it’s a very affordable option Lime – similar to Santander Cycles, Lime bikes are ‘hire and go’ bikes which are great for getting from A to B around the city. They’re electric bikes and prices start from £1 to unlock the bike then an additional 20p per minute to ride Fully Charged – Milton Keynes Council has partnered with a business called Fully Charged to allow local residents access to an e-bike for a month, so if you’re interested in trying an electric bike then this is a great scheme to get involved in. You’ll need to book the bike via the Fully Charged shop in Towcester, and then collect it at one of the events held in Station Square Fat Llama – this is a website where you can hire bikes from other people, and is often a really affordable option. We’ve found a number of great mountain bikes available to hire in and around Milton Keynes for as little as £10 per day. If you’re staying in MK for a week and need a versatile bike to hire, this could be your best option Hiring bicycles and electric bikes in Manchester Manchester might not be the first city … Continue reading Where to hire electric bikes and bicycles in the best cycling towns and cities in the UK