Kerr Bikes

Every time we are downtown Portland my son wants to ride choppers around Esplanade with Kerr Bikes. Chain came off on one of these adventures and they rode out and found us replaced bike — great service!

I recently rented two bikes on my trip to Portland. I found this bike shop was pretty unprofessional with their setup. Their equipment didn’t appear to be maintained. The first bike they wanted to give me was in disrepair, they decided to give me another one. Bike locks? What bike locks. The lock was falling apart, then after unapproving stares, they managed to find one in decent condition that worked.
It seemed that I was inconveniencing them for their heap. For $ 35/​day/​bike, I would have expected something in tip top shape without the attitude.

Prior to my trip to ride in the Bridge Pedal I had researched bike rentals. Kerr’s bikes had told me they only take reservations for large parties, but they had 100 bikes & they would have rentals available for a 24 hour day rental on the Saturday prior to the ride. I stopped by on the Friday before to make sure of availability, & was told if I wanted to rent a bike for Sunday I would need to rent it for a 2 day period. Instead of a $ 35 rental it would now me cost $ 60. I was very discouraged & went with another bike company.

Thank you guys for being so awesome! I’m glad you reopened in March, and that you’re back on the boardwalk until towards the end of the year.
The free bike repair station is very handy, and very well-​built. It’s not a fake for display one like other places have. All the tools are functional and on swivels so you can get more than a quarter turn out of any of them. Two clamp racks for up to two bikes at a time, this place is legit…

Nothing screams «tourist» like a 4 person surrey riding along the waterfront! But yes, I wanted to participate in Portland’s bike culture somehow, so these bikes helped me check that off the list.
$ 30/​hour for the 4 person surrey ride produced 4 giggling girls riding along the waterfront, taking in the views, bridges and Portland weather (oh, & sore thighs afterwards). The bikes have maps of bike trails you can do, so we ended up doing a big loop around the river & took about 1 hour to get around.
Knocking off a star because halfway through we realized one of the pedals was actually not working (meaning 3 people were doing all the work!) So it would be good for staff/​customers to check properly before departing.

we wanted to be tourists today, and rented the deuce coup with a canopy… we rode for an hr over the stell bridge to the hawthorne bridge and back… the deuce coup was fun to ride, and relaxing… the staff were friendly and informative… the price is fine, and we had wonderful weather… thx

Amazing selection, super helpful and friendly crew, great location. Riding the duce coupes was a highlight of our trip. Thank you!

On a bright sunny day, we decided to get rent bikes from here and explore the many bridges across the river. It was almost towards the end of the day and their last hour but the staff here was v friendly and patient and we had a wonderful time cycling around and taking pictures. We had to return our bike by 7PM and were late by about 10 mins as there was detour we had to take to come back to the westside and being out of towners we were a bit lost. However, the staff here were v understanding. Didnt charge us anything extra and gave us a grace period. Liked the bike ride and recommend it to anyone who wants to relax and explore the green around the river on a sunny day.

What a great place! My family and I found ourselves needing to kill an hour and a half in downtown Portland on a very rainy day and the guys at Kerr Bikes loaded us into a surrey bike to ride around the waterfront park area. What a blast! I know it’s a little cheesy but we all loved it– loved getting a little exercise, loved being able to all be together on the same bike, loved having a surrey to protect us from the rain. :) The bike was very easy to use and I love that the money goes toward a nonprofit organization. Give it a try– you’ll have a great time!

Worst customer service ever. This kiosk shares a space with Portland Spirit cruises. The cruise kiosk was closed so we politely asked the bike guy if he knew when they opened. He very angrily said not till Memorial Day. (The cruises leave DAILY). We spent so much time trying to find out that we ended almost missing the cruise, which literally pulls up right in front of the kiosks. I find his lack of assistance to be reason enough to not only never rent bikes from him, but to encourage everyone not to do business with him. I would expect the «communal» spirit amongst all tourist service providers so they can all help each other out. The owner should give this guy a lesson in manners and his business might profit from it. Because this guy was such a jerk, they’ll never get my business.

When my friend told me she wanted to rent a Surrey, my first thought was, «Why would we want to rent Katie Holmes’ daughter? Can’t we just borrow my brother’s Chihuahua and walk around the park with it instead?»
Silly me, she meant the four wheeled bikes with bench seats and shaded cover. And man, are those things fun. You get exercise (which is considerable if you’re going up hills), a wonderful view, and good company to boot.
The staff is great. We even had one gentleman take pictures of us on the surrey with the river in the background. And to top it off, Kerr Bikes is a non-​profit that really benefits the community. It’s a win-​win situation for everyone.

Great location. Decent rates. Helpful workers. Non-​profit with all profits going to help the community. How can it get any better?

What a fun way to enjoy the waterfront in Portland. Hubby and I rented a deuce coupe for $ 20/​hr. The checkin/​out process was easy and quickly we were on our way.
Easy to ride and a lot of fun. They provide maps of trails or areas to go visit or you can do what you want as long as you obey bike laws. I’ve seen them as far as the Pearl District. We both realized that we were in need of some exercise about half way through the trip around the river but that did not diminish our fun. I would bring my friends and family to do this so long as they didn’t mind a little exercise with their fun.

«Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry, when I take you out in the surrey, with the fringe on top…» [1]
My son has been pestering me to do this for ages. So even though we’re local, we finally rented a 4-​person Double Surrey and did the tourist thing in Portland.
The rental process is very easy. Located conveniently in front of the Salmon Springs fountain along the waterfront during the warm weather months, they have a variety of bikes to rent. Standard and tandem bikes, single and double surreys, deuce coupes, choppers, quad sports, and slingshots. They even have carriers if you want to tow your little ones. Unfortunately no coupons or discounts that I’m aware of, but they do take Visa and Mastercard, not American Express.
You’ll present your driver’s license, sign a waiver and children under 16 are required to wear a helmet (OR law). Helmets are provided free of charge to everyone in your party. The surrey is easy to drive. There are two steering wheels in front, but only the one in the left side driver’s seat works and has a hand brake.
For locals with their own bikes, Kerr Bikes gets major bonus points for operating a FREE u-​fix-​it bike repair station. They provide the tools, so you can tune up or repair your bike.
As someone who spends a lot of time along the waterfront, I will tell you that the only problem are the crowds. The path on the west side of the river is constantly filled with pedestrians, frequently with strollers and/​or dogs, and cyclists. Almost all of the pedestrians are completely oblivious to cyclists and those moving at a faster pace. The process of navigating your large ‘vehicle’ around the shambling walkers can be a little frustrating at times. The surrey has a bell and we had to ring it A LOT.
The Eastside Esplanade is a much more relaxing place to take your bike, but it also has a few ramps and hills. The rental is by the hour and most people can easily do the loop, crossing the Steel Bridge to the north and Hawthorne Bridge to the south, in 50 minutes or less. If you have extra time, my recommendation is to continue south on the eastside towards OMSI before heading back.
You can bring your own food and drink if you want to stop for a snack during your journey, or you can purchase snacks at the rental booth.
I’ve rented bikes on many trips to cities in the U.S. and abroad. It can be a wonderful way to see a city if you rent for a longer period of time. If you are a solo biker, you can connect to the Springwater Corridor on the east side and head south to bike along the river for miles. If you are just doing an hour rental and staying along the waterfront, you will really only get a little glimpse of Portland. But, it sure is a pretty glimpse.
[1] Lyrics from «The Surrey with the Fringe on Top» from the classic musical, Oklahoma.

During my first visit to Portland, I checked out the Saturday Market, now located at the riverfront and Tom McCall Park. Labor Day weekend was quiet compared to my Chicago and I rented a cross bike for just $ 10 for an hour. Both women staffers were very helpful and friendly. They stored my market bags and gave me a map. The bike was perfectly maintained, the trail on both riversides was perfectly clean and marked … couldn’t ask for better.