Bike and Roll NYC

My wife and I visited New York but only had a day to explore. We decided to rent bikes and were fortunate to find Bike and Roll at the south and west corner of the park. We worked with Carlos, he was terrific. He was very friendly. Gave us some great advice while reviewing a map of the city. We rented the bikes for the day. We went north through Central Park and then up through Morningside Park through Columbia University to the north end of Riverside Park. Then we went south on the green belt along the Hudson River all the way to battery park where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we rode across the Brooklyn bridge and up the Brooklyn Bridge parkway where you get an awesome view of Manhattan from across the Hudson. We rode back across Brooklyn Bridge and wound our way through the Finnancial district and then up the east river bikeway to the United Nations. From there we went 42^nd across to Grand Central Station. Up Park Ave to 59^th and back to the park. This was a 7 hour ride with lots of stops for pictures and lunch, but we saw a lot of New York and it was a ton of fun. Thanks Carlos at Bike and Roll for some great advice!

I would definitely recommend this place. They have high quality bikes at a very reasonable price. You pay upon return. Because they have so many shops, they don’t try to nickel and dime you. They are friendly and helpful. They are also right inside the park at the entrance. I will return.

We wanted to see as much of Central Park as possible, but only had an hour or two in which to do it, so we decided to rent bikes. We arrived at Columbus Circle, saw this bike rental business just inside the park and asked about rates. Both the guys working here on this day were great, and they told us their rate for bike rentals was $ 14/​hour. Not bad! They also offered insurance for an additional $ 3, which we declined. They took our names, asked if we wanted helmets, swiped a credit card as a deposit, we grabbed a map and were off!
The bikes are actually quite good! 24 speed aluminum frame Trek road bikes which seemed to be well maintained, the shifter on both ours worked perfectly, the seats were very comfortable and they were a pleasure to ride, even on the uphill inclines which can be steep at times and take some pumping if you don’t have the right gear selected.
When we returned our bikes, we handed them off to the attendant, went to the kiosk to pay and that was it. My only critical comment is that, you’re only allowed to ride bicycles on the paved street in Central Park that’s marked with bike lanes; bikes aren’t allowed on any of the paths that are off the main roadway. There’s a lot to see and do off that main roadway, but we were hesitant to leave our bikes unattended for fear they’d be stolen. If Bike and Roll would increase their rental fees by $ 1 an hour and include bike locks that would be adequate enough to prevent quick thefts (not Fort Knox secure, but good enough to discourage thieves while you leave the bike unattended for 5 or 10 minutes to wander around), that would’ve allowed us to see more of Central Park, AND it probably would’ve caused us to rent the bikes for an additional hour, which means this place would make more $$ overall.

We knew we wanted to rent bikes in Central Park, but we did not know who exactly to rent from. I knew there were deals to be had — they were all over groupon and then of course you had the guys on the street with the signs. We went with Bike and Roll — they had a nice stand and the bikes all appeared to be in good condition. We needed 9 bikes, but were not sure how long we would be on them for. That was okay though, because you paid when you returned. The guys that helped us at Bike and Roll were Bob and Cesar — these guys were awesome!
Bob made sure we were taken care of, and Cesar helped us all set up the bikes. There was one other guys as well who was also very helpful, although his name escapes me.
We stuck to riding around Central Park — we did not go off trail. It was a beautiful bike ride, and it took us about 1.25 hours to do. Our bikes were in perfect working order the whole time — the entire experience was very enjoyable!
When we returned, Bob was there to help check us out. I HIGHLY recommend this bike rental company, the staff is A+++++ and our experience was one to remember!

There is so much to see in Central Park, and it’s a great place to rent a bike!
Bike and Roll has their system DOWN. Super conveniently located right at the entrance to central park. Bikes are ready to roll with baskets for a water bottle or sweatshirt, helmets, a lock, and a map. They have plenty of staff to make the check out and return process go quickly, and lots of sizes of bikes. The bikes were in great working order and very comfortable to ride. They take credit cards and when we rented for a couple hours but returned early, they gave us a partial credit. WIN!
Be advised the only place you can ride is on the paved loop, heading counter-​clockwise, around the park. If you want to see any of the attractions inside like Bethesda fountain, or The Mall, you will need to get off, lock your bike (provided) and walk in. We chose to ride the loop, return the bikes, then walk back to the attractions so we weren’t paying for a bike rental just sitting locked up.

Bike and Roll provided a great Central Park riding experience. It is an easy subway ride as the stop is on Columbus Circle. The kiosk on Columbus Circle is right by the park entrance and easy to find. At the Columbus Circle location, Abby and Grace hooked us up with great bikes, made sure the bikes were the right size — all of the staff were helpful with this and very friendly. The people made all the difference — I liked the professionalism the staff showed in fitting the bikes, helping us get started as well as the fact that we could drop the bike at other locations which was very convenient. The equipment was in good shape and worked well. They also gave us maps and answered questions. I did pay for the insurance which was super cheap at $ 3 and worth the peace of mind. The bike rentals are by the hour (1hr = $ 14, 2 hr = $ 28, half day=$ 39, full day=$ 44 although this could change with the season.) They do hold a credit card or cash for a deposit which was not charged upon returning the bike. We rode through the park at our own pace and had a great day stopping where ever we liked. It was a lot of fun to see so many people enjoying the park. If you are not a biker ask them to explain the bike lanes and pedestrain crossings as they bit confusing if you are not local. When we returned, check out was very quick with Grace and Abby and we were on our way. This was a great experience and we will do it again at another location on our next visit!
Do note that we had to go through some others hawking bike rentals for less on the way to the kiosk — it was kind of sketchy and when we returned two different groups were fighting with each other over so I was glad I had not gone that route!
Do lock your bikes as we saw a lot of cut cheaper locks at bike stands in the park especially by Tavern on the Green. Bike and Roll gives you strong U type locks so use them!

Awesome place to rent a bike. Friendly, efficient and very accomodating. Kiosk on the park, across from the Trump owner and on Columbus circle.

Bike and Roll NYC has two things going for it that other bike companies fail at:
1. Reliability and non-​sketchiness
2. Locations
For those two reasons alone, B&R wins by default, since other companies don’t seem to be as honest, safe or dependable. To me, paying a premium is a worthwhile trade for the risks you incur renting elsewhere. And the other great thing about B&R is that you can rent a bike at one location and drop it off at another.
The downside of B&R is the price. When you rent from lesser-​quality places/​street solicitors, you’ll probably pay half as much for the same amount of time, granted you sacrifice quality and maybe amenities (i.e. bike baskets, helmets, maps that may be included). Paying B&R prices is painful, but at least you know your bike is going to be in good condition. (I’ve rented from the guys carrying signs on the street and the seat of the bike I got was loose, and the bike looked like it was stolen and/​or really old. Also, sometimes they require you to leave your ID as collateral, which is hella sketchy in itself.) In order to maximize your rental time, I would suggest planning out a route or creating an agenda of places you want to ride to ahead of time.

Made a reservation online, when we got to Columbus Circle we were harassed really badly by another biking company while we waited to be helped. By the Bike & Roll staff. The girl at the counter was super nice and told us that another lady would be helping us get set up. The other lady took my name and then walked away and proceeded to eat her egg sandwich. When the initial girl noticed this she stopped what she was doing and took care of us (overly apologetic for someone who did nothing wrong). Egg sandwich girl gave us our bikes and we took off. She must have forgotten to lock my seat in because about 10 minutes into the ride I almost crashed because my seat took on a mind of its own. My bell also didn’t work so my friend always had to ride in front of me so he could warn others we were coming. We rented the bike for a full day, but had to bring it back early because the lock and key I was given didn’t go together so I couldn’t go into any stores or anywhere in which I couldn’t keep an eye on the bike. I feel that maybe if there was an adult present at the Columbus Circle site and it wasn’t run completely by kids maybe things like this wouldn’t happen. On a plus note this experience makes me one step closer to just buying my own bike.

Our tour guide Bob was incredibly knowledgeable about NYC and gave us multiple options on where we wanted to go. We ended up biking from Central Park to Battery Park City then across the Brooklyn Bridge. He gave us enough time to take pictures and extended the tour longer than the usual two hours. At the end of all of it, he gave us his recommendations on things to do and places to eat.
We had a great experience and would recommend this to anyone touring NYC!