Beaulieu Cycle Hire

Wheel choice

When it comes to bicycle hire, the choice can be a bit baffling – electric, mountain, hybrid, road, gravel – or even a tandem! So which one to hire? It’s important to choose the right one, but we can help…

Road bikes, as the name suggests, are designed to ride on the road – and because of that they’d be awful on a mountain dirt track. Don’t get a road bike if you want to take it off-road – its skinny tyres mean you won’t really be able to use it on anything other than tarmac. Icy roads can also be a problem.

Mountain bikes, however, are designed specifically to go on mountains or on off-road trails; they’re chunkier, heavier, have knobbly tyres and a frame which makes them better suited for seriously uneven terrain.

The in-between option is a Hybrid – a mixture between road bikes and mountain bikes. They give you the versatility to do a bit of everything, with a bit of comfort; some models have front suspension to cushion bumps. If your route in the New Forest looks like it’s going to be a mix of trail and paved, go for a hybrid.

Hugely popular in the last few years, electric bikes have a battery and a silent motor, and because of this they’re heavier than other bikes – but you’ll never again curse a hill. Great if you want to go twice the distance for half the effort, but not if you want to ‘feel the burn’ and develop thighs of steel!

Gravel bikes have drop handlebars like a road bike, but their chunkier, better grip tyres mean you can veer off paved, tarmac roads and onto more exciting terrain. They have similarities with cyclocross bikes; as the name suggests, they’re good for gravel paths, broken pavement and unpaved dirt tracks.

Want to ride on ‘a bicycle made for two’? A tandem lets two riders of different abilities cycle together without anyone getting left behind the others; ideal for an adult and child. Just make sure the person at the back is doing their fair share of the work…

Ride choice

So you have chosen your route and what kind of bike you need… now your only decision is where to go to hire your bike. The good news is that Beaulieu is blessed with a string of companies to choose from.

In the centre of Burley, New Forest Cycling has a wide range of bike types to hire – with free parking and bikes to hire from £20 per day. What’s more, they’ll even deliver them to you, free of charge – but it must be at least four bikes to qualify and within a five mile radius. Helmets, locks and puncture kits are included in the price.
Located in Brockenhurst Railway Station Car Park, Cyclexperience has all bike types, including trailers and child seats. Lots of route suggestions on their website. AA Bike Hire is a family-run business in Lyndhurst, with adult bikes available from £10 per day. But be advised, they don’t do advanced bookings so it’s on a first come, first served basis. Last, and by no means least, is The Woods Cyclery, just 15 minutes’ drive from Beaulieu. With free parking in the Forestry Commission gravel car park at Boltons Bench, just 300 yards away, The Woods Cyclery offers adult bikes from £20 per day and kids’ bikes from £11, with all major types covered and offered. Prices include helmets, backpack, pump, lock, toolkit and a mobile mechanic back-up.