Brisbane City Cycle??

[anttismo]

My folks have moved up to Brisbane recently, so I tend to get up there every few months for 3 or 4 days. I tend to cycle everyday, so am pretty soon hankering for a bit of a cruise of some kind. Buying a bike and leaving it at my parents not entirely convenient from a space point of view. But perhaps a cruise up and down the river with one of these hire bikes is all I need.

Anyone used them know anything about them? I'm guessing I become a subscriber to their system, turn up with a helmet and go off for a trundle on the bike fro a few hours? Don't suppose they come with lights if you want to ride in the dark?

Also, the usage fees look a bit hefty if you want to go for a longer time, say 3 or 4 hrs. But, as I understand it, you can ride it up to 30 mins for free, as long as you check it back into a station and wait 5 mins before starting again?

[RonK]

Just arrived at the office on a Citycycle, so yes I do know about them. I have plenty of bikes of my own to choose from but for the short ride to the office I find the Citycycle much more convenient.

You can get all the details from the Citycycle website.

Keep in mind that the service is designed to cater for short commuter trips not all day hires, and it's assumed you won't venture far beyond the network. The bikes are quite heavy and slow so it's not practical to ride them long distances anyway. However the network extends some way along the river and a ride such as you mentioned is quite possible.

The bikes are equipped with 3-speed hub gears, dynamo lights, and most have a helmet if you don't mind sharing. I prefer to use my own.

A daily sub will cost $2 and $11 for a weekly sub. Trips are free for the first 30 minutes, for longer trips just change bikes.

Citycycle have a smartphone app that shows the location of the stations and the number of available bikes and free docks at each station. You can see how far to any station and get directions so quite handy to have if you are not familiar with Brisbane.

[anttismo]

Thanks for the feedback, Ron. Sounds like it could be a good thing to fill a void for me

We have a similar system here in Melbourne, but I have never actually used it. Live 15 kms from the nearest bike station, hardly ever go to the CBD, other than passing through on my morning rides from time to time...

[TF3]

Anttismo, you can rent a bike from Bike Obession in the CBD for a fee. Am not sure how much they charge but can go speak to Mark (owner). Hope this helps.

[anttismo]

Anttismo, you can rent a bike from Bike Obession in the CBD for a fee. Am not sure how much they charge but can go speak to Mark (owner). Hope this helps.

Thanks for the input, but didn't check this one out.

I did have a few cracks on the citycycle bikes though. doing 1~2 hr trundles along the river. Just tried to swap over bikes within the 1/2 hr to keep costs down. Anyway, cool way to get around, just a bit small for a 6'4" bloke. Would like quite a bit more seat pole. Better picking the ones with pneumatic rear tyres too - the solid rubber ones are really rough