Bike Hire in Brisbane

[newbojeff]

Hello. I am attending a conference in Brisbane at the end of August and was wondering about recommendations to rent a bike. I would probably have about 2 hours in the mornings to ride. I am staying near Central Station and the meeting is at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. I don't plan on having a car so a shop within walking distance would be ideal.

I usually ride a road bike and usually get in about 160 to 200 km per week between commuting and group rides. On the web, I see a number of places to rent mountain bikes. This might be a good option if I am going out for 2 hour spins to look around, but part of me thinks it would be fun to be able to cover more ground on a road bike. Any must-do climbs in the area that would be painful on a mountain bike or hybrid?

All advice and thoughts appreciated.

[Hasselhof]

(pissed off, I just wrote a big long reply and accidently closed the window before I hit submit reply )

For a sadist on a hybrid there are a couple of good climbs that you could do. Both Mt Cootha and Mt Nebo would be challenging (I doubt I could do either but then I'm fat and unfit so no real surprise). Mt Nebo would be a bit more of a full day affair as it is a much longer ride though Mt Cootha wouldn't be too bad and its pretty easy to get there from the CBD. The best sightseeing rides in Brisbane are along the river as there are something like 60+km of bike paths / walking paths as well as a floating concrete walkway and two bike / pedestrian only bridges that link it all together. Check this site out for some good free bike maps and this site for some more suggestions.

Not too sure where to hire a bike as I have my own and haven't had the need before, though I think there is a place at the botanic gardens in the city that rents out cheap hybrids (not sure if its only the weekends) and I think there is a new-ish place that rents them out at the base of the Kangaroo Pt cliffs. Perhaps someone else can help you out with that.

If you've got any other questions just send me a PM and I'll see if I can help.

Best wishes,

Scott

[newbojeff]

Thanks Scott! (Especially that you reposted all this information). The advice and links are very helpful. I saw Mt. Cootha on the map and it looks like within striking distance of downtown (20mi loop on motionbased.com). Tempting.

Seems easy and convenient to rent a hybrid but still mulling over whether to search around for a road bike...

Best,
Jeff

[Hasselhof]

While I think of it, if you're into mountain biking at all the state forest in the same area as Mt Cootha called the gap creek reserve which is littered with good mountain biking tracks. The Gap bike shop has a few entry level Trek mountain bikes for rent which would be a bit more suitable than the hybrids I've seen in the city. Everyone I've met that works there are very approachable and always seem willing to help out newcomers, they also have group rides through those parks for beginners and more advanced every weekend and pretty much all comers are welcome so that might make a nice alternative. The Gap is a suburb out to the west of the CBD and there are buses all day.

Best wishes,

sCott