Cycling and the New Forest go together like fish and chips or gin and tonic – it’s a cyclist’s dream destination, with over 140 miles of car-free trails through ancient woodland, heathland and a 40-mile ‘secret’ coastal ride to boot.
Accommodation is plentiful and welcoming – after a day in the saddle, all you want is some good food and drink and a comfortable bed. We can help with that…
At the same time as you’re planning your cycling break in the New Forest, you need to decide what kind of bike you need, depending on the type of trails and routes you’re planning to tackle.
The great thing about the New Forest is the plethora of bike hire shops – and the expert advice that they can offer when it comes to choosing the right wheels. Are you going off-road? Sticking to paved routes? Do you need a little help over the hills? All of these questions (and more) are what you need to consider when hiring a bike.
If you are taking to the off-road woodland trails, then a mountain bike would be the perfect choice. Electric bikes or E-bikes are perfect for everyone – from people who haven’t ridden a bike in a while to those who just help to make the journey easier – especially uphill!
A bike that’s halfway between a road bike and mountain bike is a hybrid – a great choice if your New Forest two-wheeled trek is over a variety of surfaces; tyres with more grip than a road wheel, but not as chunky or as heavy a frame as a mountain bike.
With miles and miles of gravel tracks to explore in the New Forest, gravel bikes also make for a great choice – there’s also the option for a tandem from some hire shops – perfect for a romantic day out. For families with young children, child bikes can be hired as well as children’s bike seats and trailers.
Speak to the hire shop and they can advise the best option(s) to suit your break.
As you might hope, for an area so rich in cycling trails and routes, there are plenty of decent shops to hire bikes. It’s not always possible to take your bike away with you, you may not own one – or it could just be a last minute decision.
Fear not; there are some great bike hire shops close at hand to Ashurst, some of whom even deliver the bikes to you.
New Forest Leisure Cycling in Burley boasts an impressive fleet to hire – gravel, hybrid, electric, tandem are all here; hire four or more bikes and delivery within a five-mile radius is free, and helmets, locks, puncture kits and call out assistance are also included.
Over in Lyndhurst, you’ll find AA Bike Hire, a well-established (running for over 30 years) family business, which has a wide range of Specialised, Hardrock and Haro Sport bikes of all types and sizes and good day rates. Worth noting, however, that it’s on a first-come, first-served basis – no advanced bookings.
The Woods Cyclery is another gem of a bike shop in Lyndhurst, offering a wide range of wheels including electric and gravel bikes; prices include helmets, backpack, pump, lock, toolkit and a mobile mechanic backup. Their website also has a couple of nice route suggestions if you need some guidance in that department.
Cyclexperience in Brockenhurst offers a good selection of bikes – off-road, hybrids, e-bikes, trailers and kids bikes – even tandems and bikes with tagalongs. They also have a great selection of routes to follow on their website, according to your ability, age and how much time you have.
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