Bike hire in Malta

amaferanga

Does anyone know if its possible to hire a decent road bike on Malta? I've found a couple of websites for outfits that hire mountain bikes, but I'd much prefer a road bike. Will I find one or should I just take my own bike?

Ta.

BigJimmyB

Have you been to Malta before?

I don't know about bike hire, but the roads there can be a little hairy.

My wife is 1/2 Maltese and her parents live there so we go at least once a year and I know the roads pretty well. I wouldn't fancy riding out there mate TBH.

Sorry - not much help but just my tuppence worth.....

amaferanga

No I haven't been, but a number of people have said much what you said about it being crap for cycling. I didn't choose it, but I'm going and I'd like to get out and do some miles on a bike while I'm there. I know of a couple of gyus that did an actual tour there so it can't be all bad....

Tourist Tony

A group of four of us went to Malta fo a week's cycling last year. We took our own bikes. One of us was a regular visitor to Malta as a diver, so we took his advice, and I for one took my Galaxy rather than my Allez Sport.
The roads vary. For example, the wonderful descent from Mosta to St Paul's Bay starts with a long section of "surface" that would not seem out of place in the Somme, 1916, before turning into a lovely sweep of smooth tarmac for a 40+mph descent.
The Malti are amazingly friendly and generous folk, but they LOVE cars, and there appear to be more cars than people. The driving is....interesting.
The terrain of the island is built around a series of limestone scarps, so while there is nowhere very high on the island, a lot of the climbs can be very steep.
We stayed in Bugibba, and there was a very amenable chap who sells bikes etc in a small shop on Triq-il-Mosta, just about at the top of the little hill about three hundred yards North of the roundabout on the East side of the road.
Either take a bike with you (a robust one!) or look at the web to see if there is anyone else.