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Bike hire in Melbourne

Best way to hire a bike in Melbourne.
22 September 2026
Will, Auren Founder and Engineer Written by Will, Auren Founder and Engineer

Melbourne has four quite different ways to hire a bike – the information is fragmented so it’s hard to compare. To celebrate Auren’s new partnership with bikeclub.au, we decided to make a guide to bring it all in one place.

This guide covers:

  • The four ways to hire a bike in Melbourne
  • What each costs for an hour, a day, a weekend, a week and a month
  • How you get the bike and give it back
  • Where each one works
  • What’s included, and what you need to bring
  • Whether an eBike is worth it for Melbourne riding
  • Which option fits the trip you’re taking
01

The four ways to hire

Hire the right way, optimise convenience, cost and the ride experience.

Bike hire in Melbourne covers four models that work differently from the moment you pick the bike up.

Share app (Lime)

Unlock a bike with your phone, ride, and park it inside the operating zone. Priced by the minute, with extra charges for things like parking outside the zone. Suits short trips you decide on the spot. Before relying on it, read what riders report on Lime's ProductReview listing as experiences vary.

Shop hire

Collect from the shop during opening hours and return it the same way. Priced by the day, with weekly rates at some shops. Suits a planned day or two when you can get to the shop. Examples: Melbourne Bicycle Centre in Prahran, Melbourne by Bike in Docklands and Blue Tongue Bikes.

Delivered on-demand

The bike is brought to where you're staying and handed back without a shop visit. Priced by the day, cheaper the longer you book. Suits visitors who want convenience, and anyone whose days don't fit shop hours. Operators: BikeClub and Livelo.

Subscription

A bike for weeks or months, with servicing included. Priced by the week. Suits anyone staying long enough that the bike becomes their transport. Operators: Zoomo, Jot, Lug+Carrie and Dutch Cargo.

02

What it costs

The cheapest option changes with the length of the trip.

A share bike is cheapest when you only want a few short rides, delivered and shop hire take over once you want the bike with you all day, and past about a week a subscription is cheaper than everything else by a long way.

What each option costs

Option1 day1 week1 month
Share app (Lime) about $23 (two 20-minute rides) about $162 (two rides a day) about $700 (two rides a day)
Shop hire around $70 varies, weekly rates at some shops rarely offered
Delivered (BikeClub) $55 $308 ($44 a day) $39 a day
Subscription not offered from $39 to $49 about $170 to $210

Share app. Lime charges $1 to unlock, then $0.53 a minute, with extra charges for things like parking outside the zone (Lime app, Sep 2026). Lime bills riding time rather than calendar time, so the figures above assume two 20-minute rides a day: a 20-minute ride is $11.60, and an hour in the saddle is about $33. You’re also not keeping one bike. Each ride ends in a parking spot, and the next starts wherever a bike happens to be.

Shop hire. Prices vary widely between shops, typically around $70 a day.

Delivered. BikeClub charges $55 for a day, $47 a day for three days, $44 a day for a week and $39 a day for two weeks or more (bikeclub.au, Sep 2026).

Subscription. Zoomo, Jot and Dutch Cargo start from $39 a week and Lug+Carrie from $49, which works out to between $6 and $7 a day. Check minimum hire time – some require 3-6 months as a minimum term.

03

Pickup and return

Opening hours are the hidden cost of shop hire for a short trip.

Shop hire ties both ends of your hire to the shop's opening hours, and that's where most of its hassle comes from: an early start, a late finish or a Sunday flight can all fall outside them. Think of it like a hire car. Shop hire is collecting from the depot; delivered hire is finding the car already in your driveway.

Getting the bike and giving it back

OptionHow you get itHow you return itWhen you can do it
Share app Find one nearby in the app and unlock it Park in the zone and end the ride Any time, if a bike is nearby
Shop hire Collect from the shop Bring it back to the shop Opening hours only
Delivered Brought to where you're staying Lock back up at your hotel or stay Any time, 24 hours per day booked
Subscription Delivered at the start Collected at the end Arranged once, no daily handover

Share apps are available whenever a bike is close by, but a bike isn’t guaranteed to be there, and the one you get varies. Delivered operators handle the handover differently. BikeClub brings the bike to where you’re staying, and at the end you lock it back up in the same spot you collected it from. If you are looking for a performance road bike instead of a bike to explore the city and get around, Livelo delivers to your hotel concierge the evening before your ride.

A delivered hire bike waits where you're staying, so there's no shop visit at either end.
04

Where each one works

Share bikes have a boundary. The others go wherever you do.

Lime operates across three council areas: the City of Melbourne, the City of Yarra and the City of Port Phillip. That covers the CBD, Docklands, Carlton, Southbank, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond, St Kilda and Port Melbourne.

Share app zones

Inside the boundary

Lime bikes can be ridden beyond the zone, but you have to park back inside it to end the ride. A day out along Beach Road is a return trip.

Delivery and shop bikes

No zone at all

BikeClub delivers free within the CBD, Southbank, Docklands, Carlton and Richmond. Once you have a delivered or shop bike, there's no zone. It goes where you go.

If you’re staying further out than the inner suburbs, shop hire or a subscription is likely the more practical choice.

05

What's included

Check the whole package, not just the bike.

Wearing a helmet is a legal requirement in Victoria, so the first thing to check with any hire is whether one comes with the bike.

What comes with the bike

OptionHelmetLock and lightsExtras and card hold
Share app (Lime) Usually supplied with the bike, but sometimes missing Ending the ride locks the bike; lights built in No extras; card on file in the app
Shop hire Usually included Lock usually included, lights vary Varies by shop
Delivered (BikeClub) Included Lock included, integrated front and rear lights Phone mount, front basket, charger on longer hires. Pre-authorisation hold, released on undamaged return
Subscription Varies by operator Varies by operator Servicing included; terms vary

Lime typically supplies a helmet with its bikes in Melbourne, but it’s sometimes missing, so check before you set off. A lock matters most on anything longer than a single ride, since you’ll leave the bike outside cafes, shops and your accommodation. Card holds vary widely, so ask before you book.

Integrated lights run off the main battery, so there's nothing extra to charge or clip on.
06

eBike or pedal bike

Distance and hills decide whether the motor is worth paying for.

For short, flat trips around the CBD, a pedal bike does the job for less. The case for an eBike grows with the distance, the hills and how much you care about arriving without needing a shower.

Pedal bike

Short, flat and cheaper

Short hops between the CBD, Southbank and Docklands, flat riverside rides, and anyone happy to take it at their own pace.

eBike

Longer days and hills

Exploring without feeling restricted and fitting more into the day, such as the Yarra path from the MCG out to Kew (14 km) or the full Capital City Trail loop (29 km), hillier routes, and riding to meetings or dinners where you'd rather arrive fresh.

Pedal-assist eBikes limited to 250W and 25 km/h are treated like bicycles in Victoria, so there’s no licence or registration involved. Lime‘s Melbourne fleet is electric, so the choice mainly comes up with shop hire.

An eBike earns its place on the longer trips, and on the days you'd rather not arrive sweating.
Thinking about buying rather than hiring? The commuter eBike guide
07

Which one fits your trip

Match the hire to the trip you're taking.

The right choice comes down to two things from earlier in this guide: how long you need the bike, and how much hassle you'll accept getting it and handing it back.

Worth knowing
Past a week, a subscription usually wins

Past about a week, a subscription at $39 to $49 a week works out cheaper than any daily option. If you’re in Melbourne for months, buying a second-hand bike may beat all of them.

A quick hop

Cost for this trip: a share bike at $0.53 a minute plus the $1 unlock. Twenty minutes is $11.60.

Getting it and returning it: find one in the app, park it in the zone when you are done.

Watch for: whether a bike is nearby when you need it, where you are allowed to park, and a helmet.

A big event

Cost for this trip: a share bike each way, or a delivered bike for the day at $55.

Getting it and returning it: getting there is straightforward. Getting home is the hard part, when every share bike near the venue has been taken.

Watch for: AFL finals and the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, the Australian Open at Melbourne Park and the Grand Prix at Albert Park all pull big crowds at once. Having your own bike for the day means the ride home is sorted.

A weekend visit

Cost for this trip: three days is about $70 in Lime rides at two rides a day, $141 delivered, or around $210 from a shop.

Getting it and returning it: shop hire needs you there during opening hours at both ends; delivered hire works around your arrival and departure.

Watch for: flight times that fall outside shop hours, and whether where you are staying is inside a delivery or share-bike zone.

A work trip

Cost for this trip: a week of delivered hire is $308, dropping to $39 a day past two weeks.

Getting it and returning it: both come to you.

Watch for: the maths flips at about a week. Subscription terms and setup times differ between operators, so it’s worth a quick look at each one’s conditions before you book.

A month or more

Cost for this trip: a subscription at about $170 to $210 a month is by far the best value.

Getting it and returning it: delivered at the start, collected at the end, servicing included.

Watch for: at this length, it’s worth pricing a second-hand bike too.

08

What bike you actually get

Each option puts you on a different kind of bike.

Price and convenience aside, the four models hand you different machines, from a shared city bike anyone can grab to a fleet eBike set up for multi-day riding. This is what each one puts under you, and what it suits.

Share app (Lime)

What you get: a shared Lime electric city bike, step-through, with a front basket and built-in lights.

Good for: short hops across town with no planning and nothing to organise beforehand.

Trade-offs: condition varies from bike to bike, they are one-size-fits-all, and they have to be robust enough to handle outdoor public use, which makes them heavy.

Shop hire

What you get: usually a hybrid commuter bike, with some shops also stocking road bikes, eBikes and kids bikes. You get a size that fits, set up at the counter before you leave.

Good for: riders who want a particular kind of bike, or want the seat and bars adjusted properly before a long day.

Trade-offs: you have to get to the shop and back within opening hours, and fleets differ a lot in age and quality between shops.

Delivered (BikeClub)

What you get: Auren has partnered with BikeClub to supply its fleet, so a BikeClub hire is an Auren EV5: an automatic gearbox eBike with a belt drive, integrated lights and up to 105 km of range in eco mode. Two frame styles, regular and low standover. Livelo, the other delivery service, hires performance road bikes instead.

Good for: a light bike, and not worrying about changing or slipping gears.

Trade-offs: it costs more per day than a share bike, and it is a city and path bike rather than something built for racing or trails.

Subscription

What you get: a commuter or cargo eBike from the operator own range, with servicing included. Zoomo leans towards delivery riders, Lug+Carrie and Dutch Cargo towards families and cargo bikes.

Good for: treating the bike as transport for weeks or months, including carrying kids or loads.

Trade-offs: because these bikes are often built as a car replacement, they can be heavy and bulky.

09

Questions

Everything else worth knowing.

How much does it cost to hire a bike in Melbourne for a day?

On Lime you pay for riding time, so two 20-minute rides comes to about $23. Shop hire is typically around $70 a day, and BikeClub charges $55 for a delivered day (bikeclub.au, Sep 2026).

Do I need my own helmet?

Wearing a helmet is a legal requirement in Victoria. Shop and delivered hire usually include one. Lime typically supplies a helmet with its bikes in Melbourne, but it’s sometimes missing, so check before you ride.

Is it cheaper to hire by the day or subscribe?

For anything under a week, a daily option is usually cheaper. Past about a week, subscriptions from $39 a week come out well ahead.

What's the cheapest way to hire a bike in Melbourne?

It depends on how long you need it. For a short ride, a Lime is the cheapest, since you only pay for the minutes you ride. Past about a week, a subscription from $39 a week costs less than any daily option.

How much does a Lime bike cost in Melbourne?

$1 to unlock, then $0.53 a minute, with extra charges for things like parking outside the zone (Lime app, Sep 2026). A 20-minute ride is $11.60. Check the app before you ride, since pricing changes.

On-demand hire

Curious about having a bike delivered to your door?

BikeClub brings the bike to where you are staying in inner Melbourne, and you lock it back up in the same spot when you are done. Every bike in its fleet is an Auren EV5.

Visit bikeclub.au

Delivered to you · Automatic gears · Helmet and lock included

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