Pay-per-month pedalling: test-riding five subscription bikes

theguardian.com:

For people new to cycling, buying a bike can seem daunting. Aside from the outlay, there is maintenance, and what if you decide you just don’t enjoy pedalling around?

This is where subscription bikes come in. An increasingly common idea in continental Europe and now in parts of the UK, these let you rent a bike by the month or year, generally with a lock and mechanical support. As well as for the cycle-curious, this can be ideal if you are in a city temporarily, or a student.

But what do you get for your money? This is what we wanted to find out. So I spent time riding around on five bikes from the three subscription services now on offer.

These are Swapfiets, the Dutch-based behemoth of the trade, which operates in dozens of cities around Europe, including now London; the UK upstart Buzzbike, which offers the service in London and Manchester; and Brompton, which will send one of its folding bikes to anywhere in the UK.

This is not an article about the services you get from each company. There are a lot of options, with full details on their websites. This is about the bikes. I tried them out on the sorts of very everyday trips where I usually cycle – commuting, shopping and just generally getting around.

With its distinctive grey-and-pink steel frame, three-speed hub gears and V-brakes, the Cty is relatively no-frills, if by no means basic – Buzzbike says such a model would cost about £600 to buy. It comes with sturdy mudguards and a pretty substantial D-lock.

In terms of commuter-friendliness, there is no chain guard or anywhere to put a bag, although Buzzbike says it’s fine if you attach your own rack, or even a child seat. Many customers will be fine riding with a bag on their back, but I commute in work clothes, so this