If you have a poor friend with a very expensive bike, they are probably renting. Today, let’s look at when, if ever, it makes sense to rent a bike rather than buy one.

How to Rent a Bike

Before we get into this, let's be clear: this is not a sponsored post and represents the opinion of Dave at CycleHub. All calculations and numbers are based on my research, which could be wrong. Make sure you check the terms before you enter into any sort of rental agreement.

A sample bike rental listing (May 2026)

The basic premise of long-term renting is that it gives you access to expensive bikes at a monthly fee that is much lower than buying.

To be honest, as a cheap bastard who would generally rather buy something outright, and only when it’s on sale, I have always found it hard to wrap my head around the idea of renting a bike. But after researching this story, I started to come around to it, at least in certain situations.

According to consumers who have tried it, renting a bike is quick and easy. You will likely have your new bike in your hands in less than a week.

You simply choose a bike and fill out a rental application. Assuming you get approved, you can pick up your new wheels directly from the retailer or have them shipped to you.

Bikes that have already been rented and returned are more affordable

Think Short Term

Here's where we get to talking about when renting makes good sense.

For new cyclists, it can be a great first step. Why throw down thousands of dollars for a machine you're not sure you'll still be using in three months?

A six-month rental lets you find out whether it's actually your thing before you empty the bank account.

When I started riding, I used my wife's old mountain bike. It was too small for me and not really tough enough for hard use, but it got me through the first few months until I was sure I was committed to the sport.

If her mountain bike hadn't been available, I could see renting as an alternative.

For the indecisive cyclist, renting also works. You know you want to upgrade your bike, but you’re not sure what to buy. Race geometry or endurance? Road bike or gravel? Suspension or no? Carbon or alloy?

These decisions are hard to answer with a 10-minute demo ride around the car park. But renting gives you time to work out all the hard decisions.

Renting is also great if your living situation is in flux. You can return the bike when you're life changes. The alternative would be having to sell your now-used bike at a huge discount.

Some people rent out to keep up with the Jonses. They can't stand to be stuck on their old clunker while their buddy spins by on a $21,500 2026 Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4 electric mountain bike (which rents for about $263 per week).

To me, envy is the reason for renting that has the least going for it. If you can't afford the bike, renting won't improve your financial situation, and the expense will accumulate over time.

Let’s Talk Money

When you're renting a bike, the simple rule is this: renting is cheaper in the short run but more expensive in the long run. It also has the disadvantage of not allowing you to permanently own the bike.

As you can see in the table, you can rent a 2025 Orbea Wild M10 e-MTB for about $140 a week. That’s great. However, it only takes about 24 months for you to have paid more in rent than that $11,000 purchase price.

Six months is probably the window where renting genuinely makes financial sense. After a half-year, you'll have paid about one-third of the cost of the bike.

If you rent for 12 months, you've spent on rental payments about 64% of the purchase price, yet you are still no closer to owning.

That's why I have concluded that renting makes sense for a defined short-term purpose. If you're still riding it happily at month 12, you should buy it.

But then again, I own my car and don’t lease it. So, you may have a different opinion.

Should I Rent to Buy?

Many renters end up falling in love with their bikes and buying them outright. And The Polygon Group, the main rental company in Australia, makes that easy and very transparent. I reached out to The Polygon Group for comments on this story, but I got no response.

I found the buyout prices to be surprisingly high, even after you have been paying months of rental expenses. That's because the buyout price drops much more slowly than your rental payments add up.

For example, as of May 2026, you can rent a 2024 Cannondale Moterra LT 2 for $98.98 per week or buy it outright for $8,092.79. After six months, the purchase price has only dropped to $7,485.83.

After 18 months, you have almost paid the bike’s full cost in rental expenses, yet buying the bike would still cost you an additional $5,397.89.

Map of retail stores offering bike rentals directly to riders

Where Can I Rent a Bike?

There's one company in Australia, The Polygon Group, that does nearly all the rentals of the kind we're talking about here. Interestingly enough, they started out renting golf clubs and musical instruments before expanding more recently into bicycles.

Polygon has a platform called Studio19 that enables more than 200 retailers across Australia to offer a rental option. So you can rent a bike at your favourite local cycling shop. For example, Wooly’s Wheels in Paddington, Sydney lets you sign rentals for six months or more from in-store.

Bicycle Express in Adelaide also offers rentals via Studio19. As I write this, Bicycle Express is selling a 2025 Cervelo P Rival AXS for $6,499. Or they will rent it to you for $64.49 per week.

And then Polygon runs Sport Corp, an online platform that, at the time of writing, has 444 bikes available for rent. It's a great place to browse and dream.

So, would I ever rent a bike? Yes, I probably would, but probably only for six months. Email us at inbox@cyclehub.com.au to let us know what you think.