Cycling
With miles of canals and a compact city centre, what better way to explore Birmingham and the wider region than by bicycle?
Cycling routes
The Birmingham Cycle Revolution team has selected their favourite traffic-free city cycling routes to suit all ages and abilities. Many of the chosen paths and routes have recently benefited from improvements and developments made through the Birmingham Cycle Revolution project, and there’s more to come!
Try the cycle route function on Google Maps. Search for your area, hover over “Satellite” at the top right and in the drop-down menu click on “Bicycling” for a map showing off-road trails, bike lanes and bike-friendly roads.
Designed by cyclists, CycleStreets not only plots a route but shows the number of traffic lights you’ll cross, the calories you’ll burn and the time of your journey (taking account of hills).
Cycle parking
There's plenty of secure cycle parking in the city. Open Cycle Map provides a useful map that allows you to find secure bicycle parking in Birmingham.
Travelling on public transport with a bike
Network West Midlands have information on regional train operators and any restrictions they have for taking your bike on public transport.
View information about cycling facilities at stations such as lockers and stands.
Bike Hire in Birmingham
West Midlands Cycle Hire
West Midlands Cycle Hire is available across Birmingham city centre and along the A38 cycling route to Edgbaston. You can hire a pedal bike, ebike, or escooter using your smartphone from over 50 docks at key locations across the city including train, bus, metro stops and places of interest. Once you’ve finished your ride just park it back into the nearest dock. All docking stations can be found on our app, which also tells you how many bikes are currently available to hire and if there’s space available to park.
Pedal bikes are charged at 8p per minute plus a £1 unlock fee, meaning if you hire for 30mins it will cost £3.40. Ebikes and scooter cost a little more per minute but still provide a cost-effective way to get around town.
Brompton Bike Hire
Brompton Bike Hire is the first scheme of its kind in Birmingham and is an affordable, flexible, self-service bike hire scheme right in the city centre.
Brompton folding bikes are currently available to hire from docks near Birmingham New Street, Moor Street, Snow Hill, Brindleyplace, Birmingham Airport and Aston University.
The ingenious folding nature of the bikes means they can be taken on public transport, even at peak times, making them ideal for integrating cycling into a commute or simply for getting around the city on business or pleasure.
Hiring a Brompton bike is easy - simply register by visiting www.bromptonbikehire.com and then choose a tariff. Once registered, bike hire is as little as £2.50 a day for frequent users or £5.00 a day for leisure users.
On Your Bike Hire
You can also hire bikes from On Your Bike in Sutton Coldfield.
For more cycling information including cycling for children & schools, safer cycling, cycle training and sport cycling visit Birmingham City Council's extensive cycling section.
