New York is a city of bicycles. While no tourist thinks this when visiting New York City, cycling is very popular with New Yorkers. It is also an easy, ecological and economical means of transport, which allows you to cross the city and discover it from another angle, in a relaxing way.
Rent a bike in New York
Il bike rental in New York it's a great way to get to know the city, especially on nice days. There are three ways to do it: take part in a guided mountain bike tour to discover the various neighborhoods, rent a bike from a bike rental, or use Citi Bike, the bike sharing system of the city of New York.
But which system is the best? Let's see in detail the various choices.
New York bike tour
If you have just arrived and do not know the city yet, the best way is to join bike tours with expert guides. Your guide will help you discover unusual places and unknown paths, sharing the history of the city, anecdotes and tips with you.
These tours are great and stress-free, and offer a great option if you're not too sure of yourself on the streets of the Big Apple. Today there are many tours: you can choose to discover Central Park, day and night; or get to know the suburbs of the Hudson River, Downtown Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge; or venture off the beaten path of Brooklyn Heights!
New York tours recommended
Brooklyn Bridge Bike Tour, a 3-hour tour to discover the Brooklyn bridge and neighborhood. Highlights on this tour include crossing the Manhattan Bridge and the Hudson River Greenway. Afterwards you can continue the tour of New York freely, the bike rental lasts all day. Price: $ 60
Bike Tour di Central Park, a tour to discover the most important places in Central Park. Here too you can continue the tour of New York freely, the bike rental lasts all day. Price: $ 60
Discover all the tours available for the city of New York
Bicycle rental by the hour
With the classic rental you have the possibility to rent a bicycle at the many bicycle rental offices in the city. The cost is on average $ 8-10 per hour, or $ 40-50 for a day. It is possible to rent a bike for a minimum of 1 hour, up to a full day.
Most often, the bike must be delivered to the same place where it was rented. Helmets and locks and maps are usually included in rentals. And it is also possible to rent baby carriers and baskets.
Our advice: to save a little, it is advisable to book the bike online and choose at least 2 hours of rental. This allows you to make the most of your time and rates are more advantageous for rentals of 2 hours or more.
Citi Bike New York
The Citi Bike is New York's public bicycle system. Like many cities, New York is also very “linked” to self-service cycling, offering more than 8.000 bicycles and 500 stations Citi bike.
This is the ideal solution if you want to combine the bike tour of the city with visits to the main attractions, without worrying about parking the bike or having to return to the starting point for delivery.
But beware, this solution really is advantageous only if you change bikes every 30 minutes. Because if you use the bike for more than 30 minutes, you pay an additional $ 4 every 15 minutes. You must be over 16 years of age to use the Citi Bike service. The cost of these bikes is paid through a pass.
How much?
1 day pass $ 12
3-day pass $ 24
Annual subscription $ 155
Maximum time of use
You can use the service every time during the validity of the pass or subscription. Each trip cannot take more than 30 minutes, otherwise you pay an extra $ 4 every 15 minutes.
How to buy the pass
The easiest way is by downloading the Citi Bike app. Once registered (you will be asked for data such as: name, email, telephone and credit card number, or prepaid card) you can choose the pass you prefer. The pass is activated on the first ride.
The application allows you to see the nearest bike stations and through the different colors warns about the availability of bikes in a specific station. A withdrawal of $ 101 is also made as a security deposit, which is returned after 3 business days.
Bike paths and traffic rules
With over 1.600 km of cycle paths, the city of New York offers many possibilities for visiting and various tours.
The NYC Bike Maps specialized site offers a lot of information and maps of cycle paths present in the various districts, to allow you to prepare the itinerary in advance. While the official site of the city offers a map of all the bike paths in New York.
Attention, there are traffic rules which must be respected in New York in order not to incur a fine:
- always drive in the direction of traffic
- it is forbidden to drive on pavements
- bicycles must respect road signs (red lights, stop signs, ...)
- children under 14 must wear a helmet (it is not mandatory for adults)
Always indicate with gestures the actions you need to take: show with your arm if you have to turn left or right, or put your arm down if you have to stop.
