Want to feel the wind in your hair as you cycle past Gateway, or rush past the ruthless runners dotting Bandra’s Carter Road? Don’t fret that you don’t own a bicycle. Mumbai is a city of hustlers, and hustlers always find a way out. Just hit up a few of these shops in the city that give bicycles on rent. See? Easy-peasy-simple-pimple.
Add these healthy snacks to your bag for when you need an energy boost.
Rent-O-Ride is one of the best brands when it comes to mountain biking and adventure cycling. They operate from Malad, where you can rent out their cycles for as low as INR 300 for the whole day. They offer two options for rent - gear mountain bikes, and the non-gear ones. If you're looking to rent for the whole month, you pay INR 2,500 for the gear bikes, and INR 2,000 for the non-gear ones. There is no deposit amount if you're taking the cycle for a day. Just an original ID card is what you've got to submit. And the deposit for a month is the same as the rent amount you pay for the kind of bike you hire.
Have you heard of this 75-year-old cycling shop in Colaba called the Happy Cycle Shop? This is a great place to hire bicycles when you need a lot of variety, flexibility in timing, and a great staff. Hourly rates are somewhere from INR 100-150 depending on the model during day time. Night time (midnight cycling, anyone?) charges range from INR 350-450.
P.S: They’re even open at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Hit them up before going on this midnight cycle ride across the city.
Stock up on these snacks before your midnight cycling sesh
This one's a lowkey cycle garage run by a very humble Anil Uncle, as people fondly address him. You can rent cycles for INR 50 per hour for non-gear cycles, and INR 80 per hour for gear cycles. Even though all cycles are second-hand in this garage, they're all washed and cleaned by Uncle's staff before they're handed over to you. Hire a bicycle from this garage, and take a ride of the Queen's Necklace early in the morning, because that's the best time to do so anyway (if you want to avoid the office-time traffic)
Hitting Marine Drive? Take a snack along to much by the sea
Cyclix at Mahim is a cycle rental store that specialises in adventure and mountain bikes. You'll find brands like Giant, Bianchi, Montra, Firefox for rent here. However, there is no per-day rental system here. Rentals will cost you INR 1200 for a week, and INR 3000 for a month. They provide a helmet along with the cycles, and every cycle is well sanitized and washed. You'll need to submit your address proof and an ID as your deposit here. Also, it's best to book a day in advance here as cycles get booked up real quick.
Harry Bicycle Rental is the easiest option if you're planning a day out at The Sanjay Gandhi National Park. This rental service will get you prepped for your ride around the park in no time. Rentals will cost you INR 80 per hour for a minimum rental of 2 hours. They'll also need an original ID and a deposit of INR 500 when you rent a bike.
SGNP has limited accessibility currently, please call and confirm.