Spinlister

^ hmmm, perhaps it's a good way of making a little extra cash then. Justification for keeping your 'sunday best' bike, even if you never get a chance to ride it?

I think the good thing about it is that people who like to cycle, like to ride their kind of bike, not roll around on 6 tons of rental hybrid, and will happily pay a few extra ££s for the opportunity to ride something nice. And if it does help you fund/maintain the odd impractical, back-ache inducing vintage beauty, all the better... :)

My experience was that it doesn't have to be flash, but if you have a working fixed gear bike in the right size, someone who rides fixed will probably pay you £30 to borrow it for a day, which is pretty fair. Same goes for a road bike, or a nice vintage cruiser. I saw some loud carbon road bikes, when looking for something in NY, that were upwards of $150 a day to rent, so I guess the sky's the limit for some people. Perhaps the high-flying triathlon-loving North American business man who wants to get his road miles in, whilst on the road. SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!

Personally, as someone with three bikes and the ability to only ride one at a time, if I could make £100 for a few days each a week renting the other two out to hipster tourists in the summer, I'd be very happy. Likewise, when I visit a new city for work, I like to jump on a bike and have a look around, and I'd much rather pay a little more and ride a nice bike (blend in?) than incur the wrath of taxi drivers and locals by sitting on an obvious rental bike.

Great idea - can't wait for it to get to Cambridge (we have a lot of bike rental companies who already do very well...).