Electric Biking Northern England! Guide to Electric Bike Rentals/Hire [VIDEOS]
Jul 26, 2018
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Covering Yorkshire’s Tour de France country, the Lake District and much more.
Northern England has many great places to ride an electric bike and plenty of opportunity to rent/hire an eBike to ride and enjoy the scenery.
This guide to eBike hire will help with planning an eBike holiday and it is also a good way to test a few eBikes before purchasing your own.
Many companies detailed here are also retailers and do good deals to those who have hired e-bikes from them.
Enjoy this eBiking guide and hopefully it will give you some ideas on new places to ride!
E-bike Hire Yorkshire and Lancashire
Known as the White Rose and Red Rose counties respectively, Yorkshire and Lancashire contain some superb Pennine and moorland scenery.
The launch of the Tour de France in Yorkshire in 2014 put it firmly on the cycling map and spawned the annual Tour de Yorkshire too.
North Yorkshire Electric Bikes, Knaresborough
The E-bikes
Offering Bosch-powered mid-drive e-bikes, this retailer also has hire packages of between half a day and a week, and if you decide to buy an e-bike within three months of hire there is the possibility of deducting the hire price from the purchase.
The Riding
A good area for family riding, boasting the extremely attractive towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough, linked by the traffic-free Beryl Burton and Nidd Gorge cycleways. Further to the north a signed Sustrans cycle route leads to the magnificent Fountains Abbey.
Yorkshire Bike Hire, Swainby, North Yorks Moors
The E-bikes
From KTM, a well-recognised high quality brand.
The Riding
The area: Located on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park which offers magnificent on and off road riding (good bridleway network) over very some very challenging terrain. Found at the Rusty Bike Cycle Cafe but will also deliver to your holiday accommodation in the area.
Three Peaks Cycles, Settle, Yorkshire Dales
The E-bikes
Daimondback and Haibike e-mtbs. Hire period between one and seven days.
The Riding
The area: At the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, an area which hosted the 2014 Tour de France.
Not only is there incredible road riding but a fantastic selection of bridleways for off-roading, including the Settle Loop section of the signed Pennine Bridleway.
If you want quiet roads you could try a section of the Pennine Cycleway.
Dales Bike Centre, Fremington, Yorkshire Dales
The E-bikes
Trek Powerfly e-mtbs, both hardtail and full suspension, with full and half day rates and group discount.
The Riding
The area: This is the quieter end of the Yorkshire Dales and from 2018 Swaledale will offer the chance to cycle the family-friendly Swale Trial as well as many more testing moorland routes. Minor road routes include the Yorkshire Dales Cycleway and NCN 71.
At the end of Swaledale is the magnificent Yorkshire town of Richmond. The Dales Bike Centre also has cafe and bunk bed accommodation on site.
Cycle Penistone C.I.C.
The E-bikes
Family cycling specialists and at the time of writing they had only the Raleigh Array hybrid for hire but more may be available in future.
However, they do have a great range of kiddie trailers that can be hitched up and tried out on the adjacent Upper Don railpath. Hire periods from 2 hours to a full day.
The Riding
The area: Located right next to the Trans Pennine Trail in the attractive South Pennines market town of Penistone.
You can head west on the traffic-free railpath of the Upper Don trail into the glorious surroundings of the Pennines or east on the TPT to sample delights such as the lovely Wortley Hall or Wentworth Castle and Worsborough Mill Country Park.
For full details of the whole of the Trans Pennine Trail see the official guidebook.
Trailways
The E-bikes
A wide variety of e-bikes, including the chance to try the whole range of Bosch motors with day rates applicable.
The Riding
Magnificently located on the Yorkshire Heritage Coast between the extremely popular and attractive resorts of Scarborough and Whitby and right next to a coastal cycle trail that has some magnificent views over this designated Heritage Coast area.
Being next to a spectacular rail trail it’s fitting Trailways also offers a former restaurant carriage as an accommodation option with a difference.
Leisure Lakes
The E-bikes
Short term hire of their range of Raleigh hybrids plus the chance for a longer term loan of their fleet of demo bikes including high quality e-mtbs from the likes of Haibike.
Stores offering hire and demo deals in Lancashire are Bury, Preston, Southport and Lancaster and there are more nationwide.
The Riding
There’s a huge variety of riding to be had across the Red Rose country and the county council has put lots of resources into making it a cycle-friendly area.
My own highlights would include the off-road crossing of the Bowland Fells between Slaidburn and the Lune Valley which you can link to the traffic-free network around Lancaster and the Lune Valley.
From Leisure Lakes Tarleton you could head along NCN 62 to Southport and along the coast along the Trans Pennine Trail. E-mtbers might want to head for the West Pennine Moors.
E-bike Hire Cumbria and Northumberland
Even wilder and, in the case of the Lake District, much more mountainous than Yorks and Lancs.
Grizedale Mountain Bikes
The E-bikes
Both e-bikes and ‘premium’ e-bikes are for hire (the latter are Specialized Levo e-mtbs) at half-day and full-day rates.
The Riding
The shop is located in the heart of Grizedale Forest Park which offers loads of waymarked trails for all abilities.
Cyclewise, Whinlatter
The E-bikes
Hardtail and full-suspension e-bikes for 3 hour and full day sessions.
The Riding
Plenty of riding for differing abilities in Whinlatter Forest Park.
For a taster of the most difficult route, Altura, check out the Cyclewise video:
Whinlatter is also directly on what is probably the UK’s most popular long distance cycle route, the C2C and the outdoor and tourist mecca of Keswick lies a few miles to the west of the forest park along the C2C route.
E-Venture
The E-bikes
Hybrids, e-mtbs and more unusually e-fat bikes are on offer.
The Riding
There are some absolute classic bridleway rides around Keswick just screaming out to be tackled by e-mtb or even e-fat bike including around Skiddaw, around Cat Bells and the Old Coach Road and more – many featured here.
Here’s a couple of short videos showing both the stunning scenery around Keswick and the e-mtb experience on offer in the area:
Pedal Power
The E-bikes
Giant hybrids and e-mtbs available.
The Riding
‘Self-guided’ holidays along some of Northern UK’s finest long distance routes including the C2C, Way of the Roses, Hadrians Wall, Sandstone Way and the Reivers.
The holiday service includes baggage transfer and transport as well as e-bike hire.
The Bike Place, Kielder
The E-bikes
Haibike e-mtbs and fat bikes plus hybrids. From two hours to multi-day trips.
The Riding
Kielder is about as remote as biking gets – especially if you venture away from Kielder village and the huge eponymous reservoir and into the surrounding forests where there are many waymarked trails.
The scenery may not be as mountainous and as jaw-droppingly spectacular as the Lake District but the sense of wilderness is much more present here in an area that is historically extremely sparsely populated. You can even nip into Scotland and back if you have time.
Berwick Cycles
The E-bikes
Trek Dual Sport hybrid with front suspension.
The Riding
Head south from the charming town of Berwick-on-Tweed to visit Holy Island or Bamburgh Castle using the easygoing minor roads and tracks of NCN 1.
Alternatively you can head inland along the Tweed Cycle Way through slightly more challenging territory to visit some fine sites in the Scottish Borders.
Stay tuned for more e-bike news and reviews and keep on riding.
-Richard
P.S. Don’t forget to join the Electric Bike Report community for updates from the electric bike world, plus ebike riding and maintenance tips!
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