Quality of Boris bikes?

I'am a Belgian/Flemish guy coming often to South-East England to cycle and walk. Normally I bring my own bike with me, but recently wondered if it wouldn't be easier to hire a bike. So I'am looking for opinions and experiences with the Boris bikes: do they drive smoothly? are they heavy? do the gears work properly? etc.

Thank you for all answers!

They are public bikes designed for abuse. Don't expect a 7kg race machine and don't expect to go anywhere fast and you'll have fun.

They have 3 gears and weigh a tonne

And the saddles are uncomfortable

Brakes are hit and miss too..

Buy a bike on here / gumtree / Ebay and sell it when you leave

Very similar to the bikes in Paris, Lille and Brussels.

The ones in Antwerp are far better.

The area for the bikes in London isn't huge, it might be worthwhile looking at if the area you want to cover is within that or not too as I often find when I look at using them my start/end points are beyond the docking stations.

For me it depends on frequency and length of journey. When part of my commute included a two mile stretch up the Isle of Dogs, a quick blast on the Boris bike was a perfect alternative to the DLR journey or a slower walk. If I was travelling much further on a regular basis, the weight and relatively low speed of the bike would just piss me off compared to using a better bike.

Very heavy.... it's really hard work to do a wheelie.

I'd recommend Brompton Bike Hire for hiring a bike for >30minutes.

Lighter, better quality bikes, easy to take on a train, and I think pretty good value at £5 for 24hrs.

Thank you all for sharing your experience. I'll be in London tomorrow and have the opportunity to test it.

I'll especially try the Brompton, MichaelG!

Never knew Brompton did hire bikes.