Here’s a guide to bike rentals in Montreal. You can choose between short-term Bixis (public bike share bikes) and long-term bike rentals in Montreal. This post lists some of the places where you can rent a bike in Montreal. Once you have a bike, you can enjoy cycling in the city that has been voted top cycling city in North America!
Pour lire cet article en français, s’il vous plaît cliquez ici.
This video gives you an idea of the great cycling you can do if you rent a bike in Montreal. Notice how many completely physically separated bike lanes there are. These make cycling in Montreal safe, relaxing, and fun.
The first thing you will notice in Montreal is that there seem to be bikes wherever you look. No wonder Montreal was voted the top cycling city in North America.
I used to find it strange that some of the greatest cycling products in the world come out of Quebec – such as Devinci bikes, and the BionX electric bike kits (reviewed here). But after visiting Montreal, I get it.
Bixi Bike Share System for Short-Term Montreal Bike Rentals
This post is about bike rentals for cycling in Montreal. If you find it too expensive or too much trouble to transport your own bike to cycle in Montreal, never fear – there are many great options for bike rentals. Of course, there’s the wonderful Bixi public bike share system for short-term Montreal bike rentals. You pay a low daily fee, and then each ride is free if it is less than 30 minutes. It’s a great way to get back to a hotel after dinner, or to travel from tourist spot to tourist spot. You can read more about the Bixi system here.
Bike Rentals Shops for Longer Cycling Trips
But if you want a serious bike for longer cycling trips, or for several days, then you need to visit one of Montreal’s many bike rentals stores.
Ça Roule Montréal
When we were in Montreal we rented bikes from Ça Roule Montréal (Montréal on Wheels), at 27 Rue de la Commune Est (right on the Lachine Canal).
Rates at Ca Roule include a helmet, a lock, and a bike trail map; 24-hour rentals start at $35. We enjoyed excellent service from Ça Roule Montréal. On the first day, when I was alone in Montreal, I rented a cheap bike for just a few dollars, and spent the afternoon gently cycling along the Lachine Canal Bike Path (read all about that bike route here).
I was guided by the complementary map Ça Roule Montréal gave me: the Montreal on Wheels Map, a tourist map of Montreal’s bike paths. The rented bike included a front basket that was handy for my camera.
Rent a Bike and then Cycle along the Lachine Canal Bike Path
What was really cool was that because Ça Roule Montréal is just across the road from the wonderful, off-road Lachine Canal Bike Path, the whole experience was not at all intimidating. I just pushed the bike across the road, and was immediately on an off-road, clearly sign-posted route. Here’s a little taste of grabbing a bike and cycling off along the Lachine Canal Bike Path:
By the way, if you are cycling along the Lachine Canal, there are public washrooms at the Atwater Market across from the bike shop on Lachine canal, and in Rene Levesque Park.
After Maggie joined me in Montreal, we decided to rent performance bikes and do some serious cycling in Montreal. We booked a high performance hybrid and a high performance road bike from Ça Roule Montréal, under the guidance of the extremely helpful Miguel. By renting the bikes for a few days, we were able to get a good rate. One thing that really struck me about Ça Roule Montréal: despite being just average cyclists, we never felt intimidated or talked down to by the staff at Ça Roule. On the contrary, we felt respected and welcomed. And the fact that we only speak English was not a problem either.
On the morning we picked the bikes up to start our cycling in Montreal days, Ça Roule Montréal provided an excellent bike fitting system. The guy who did the fitting was not happy until the bikes fitted us perfectly. He even changed the pedals on my bike to suit me (I don’t do clipless, because I don’t like falling over sideways). Half an hour later we set out, ready to have a lot of fun – and we did.
I highly recommend Ça Roule Montreal for your bike rental needs when cycling in Montreal, especially in the Old Port, Old Montreal and Park Jean-Drapeau areas.
Other Bike Rentals Options in Montreal
Of course, there are many more options to rent bikes in Montreal.
Rates include helmet and map. At 2985 C St. Patrick, near Atwater Market and the Lachine Canal. Open every day!
Rates include lock and helmet. At 2012 Rachel on the Plateau. Slogan: “The one and only…the original…since 1987!”
Rates include helmet, lock, water bottle, and map. This bike rentals store rents out a stylish range of Linus city cruisers. 115 Avenue du Mont-Royal West, Montreal, QC, H2T 2S9; (514) 840-0739.
There are so many great things about Montreal cycling that I decided I need to write a series of posts about it! Here are my other posts about Montreal cycling:
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Hey Joe
Do you monitor http://cyclingfunmontreal.blogspot.com/ ?
A fine source for some Montreal bike riding and fun.
Ron Richings
Did not know about that one – thanks!
Re: washrooms on canal ride. There are public washrooms at the Atwater Market across from the bike shop on the canal and in Rene Levesque Park. Cheers
Thanks Terry 🙂