Cycling in Lanzarote and Bike Hire

drewduncan

Hi folks,

I have a family holiday booked in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote towards end June / start July.

I'm keen to hire a road bike for a few days to do a couple of rides.

Just looking for any recommendations regarding bike hire shops in Playa Blanca and some routes (20 - 40 miles) from Playa Blanca.

Appreciate any advice!

leeMorrison

Hi, I can recommend electrobike-lanzarote.com
I hired a Dolan Hercules carbon road bike from them in march, the bike shop is based in the harbour at playa blanca, don't get confused with the marina . There are some good routes but been based in playa blanca you have a 8 km ride into a Head wind to get up to Yazia, the routes then head off from here. There is an old road that run parallel to the main road up to Yazia, it's good condition and gets hardly any traffic.
There is a nice steady climb upto Femes from Yazia and then a long fast descent back to playa blanca. Ride out to el golf this is thru lava fields and is spectacular.
The bike cost me 125 euro for the week. Roy at the bike shop provides maps and lots of route advice, just be prepared for the wind in the area. Enjoy

drewduncan

Great Lee thanks for the advice!

polska1979

Take a look at this place, I hired from here a trek madrone, but they also have cervelos

Take your own shoes and pedals

http://www.papagayobike.com/en/

It's located right in the centre of playa Blanca

The advice above is good re routes, the wind is brutal

mattbabs

You should definitely ride up to El Golfo. You could do this from Yaiza going through the lava fields and then come back along the coast road, the cliffs and rocks are really impressive along the Atlantic side of the island. I would suggest that you get out early and the roads will be pretty quiet. I went in August 2012 and there were hardly any cars between Yaiza and El Golfo. The town was a bit quiet though as nothing seems to open until 10 am! The road conditions are generally excellent. The climb to Femes is pretty steep in places, although I've only driven it. When I went I only hired a hybrid as I was cycling much less than I do now. It is windy but I would love to go back with a road bike.

47p2

I was in Playa Blanca with the family in February, we hired 5 bikes from Papagayo Bikes and would never hire from them again. 2 were Pinarello FP Due, Athena 11speed and they kept dropping chains, gear changes were snatchy sometimes not engaging, sometimes the deraileur going into the spokes, the brakes needed adjusting the sizes were not what we wanted and truth be told I did not enjoy the bike in the slightest. 2 top end mountain bikes of which 1 had to be exchanged for a lesser spec as it was not fit for the road and 1 alloy bike which the BB was totalled and we lost a days hire getting a replacement for it...Poorly maintained bikes, overly expensive...Not recommended, leave well alone

Last year I hired from Flistons at Puerto Del Carmen, excellent service and great bikes that were maintained and worked as they should. On my next visit to Lanzarote no matter where I will be staying I will be hiring from Flistons.

As for cycling in Lanzarote...the wind was a killer, 40mph heading out of Playablanca all uphill so it was hard work, but worse was the return journey going downhill with winds gusting from the side to 55-60mph making for some brown trouser moments. The climb to Femes was great, starts off easy and then half way up it starts to kick in, by the time you reach the top your legs feel like you've done a 50 mile ride...fantastic descending but only if the brakes on the Pinarello work

leeMorrison

Hi Drew, after reading the last two posts I can say that I had no problem with the bike I hired from electro bike-lanzarote. The bike was in great condition and had just had some mew tyres fitted as the renter said they were a bit worn so better to be safe. The ride to el golfo is great , you can go up to yaiza then across and back down the road that follows the coast, or visa versa. As for the climb upto femes from Yazia, I wouldn't describe it as difficult. I usually struggle on climbs but just found it to be a steady pull. The wind can be strong but don't think it's as bad as previous post describes. I really enjoyed riding in lanzarote and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Cheers lee

drewduncan

Thanks again guys.

Think I will hire the bike from Roy at lanzarotebikes. Sent out a few emails yesterday and he's the only one to reply so far and has been really good answering questions.

Can't wait to get out now. Will be cycling early mornings - hopefully around 6am ish.

Are high winds to be expected all year round? I live in south west Scotland so I'm sure the roads and weather will be an absolute pleasure to ride on even if it is windy

sungod

as above, from playa blanca there are two ways out, the road parallel to lz-2, usually quiet, can be a bit of a grind if the wind is strong

the other one is the road up to femes, the first 6km has a gradually increasing gradient, then at the roundabout you have the choice of wimping out and heading west to las brenas or doing the honourable thing and taking the last 800m up to femes, it averages 14-15%, i think the steepest bit is 20% for the stretch before the top hairpin

there's a cafe at the roundabout just after the top, open early most days, good for a cafe solo and refilling water bottles, other essential cafes are the one in mancha blanca as you come out of timanfaya, the one with the bar y rest sign in yaiza, excellent food, and the one in pb in the little shopping precinct with the larger hiper dino, a great range of cakes and he also does fresh churros some days, there's also a hidden cafe in timanfaya where the camel rides are

the ironman route is a good one, there are plenty of options to do shorter loops within it

http://eu.ironman.com/~/media/c060bf585 ... ad%202.pdf [edit: they changed url since i saved the original link]

only thing it really misses is the climb from playa blanca to femes

north wind is very common, steady headwind is ok, especially if you stay in the south as the ride home tends to have a tailwind

rarer is when it's very strong/gusty, then it can be really nasty, especially on descents or on the higher roads, the terrain gives little shelter and results in some natural wind tunnels that can make even straights dodgy on a bad day, but it's not common

drivers are extremely considerate in general, but if it's windy the buffeting from an hgv or coach passing needs planning for

on roundabouts and some curves, the local 'picon', like black gravel, can accumulate on the edges, traction is, er, compromised

timanfaya and the loop out to los hervideros can be really beautiful, excellent road surface, i also like the route from timanfaya through mancha blanca to uga, some great swoopy 60kph+ curves

up to the north on the ironman route is also good, again watch out on descents if it's windy as this is one of the most exposed areas

the roads are mostly good, but there are a few stretches of pebbledash like the road west out of yaiza and the lz-30 south as it leaves teguise where it's bone jarringly bad for a couple of hundred metres

coming from femes/yaiza/uga the lz-2 roundabout gives the option to go down towards arrecife, don't go there, the road is awful in parts and the traffic can be very heavy, save this road for going from/to the airport (and skip this part of the ironman route, you won't have the benefit of the event easing conditions on this road)

djhermer

What Sungod said. All of it! I've ridden in Grotty the past four years, six times in total. I've drawn the conclusion that it's crap. Lovely roads, good rides, but I'm just fed up with the wind. This February was unbelievable. 40mph everyday.

I'll be back again in 2 months...! Why? Family holiday and friends live out there so I'll keep going back and it's still a nice break from the UK.

But I've done around 60 days over the years and can honestly say I've had 2 or 3 days where the wind is acceptable. My mates that live there don't cycle and therefore don't notice the wind. Funny that.

Of course being dropped off at the north of the island and hammering back to PB with a tailwind is a joy to behold!

drewduncan

Appreciate the detailed reply sungod - thanks

twizit

All good stuff said above. I'd only add that I was there in April staying in PB and dropped lucky with rather moderate winds most of the 10 days

If you haven't already sorted a bike, I'd give Revolution Cycles in Playa Del Carmen a go. English couple who run it, been out there about three years. They were great and couldn't have been more helpful. Spesh Tarmac booked via email in advance. They will drop off wherever you are on the island. I just arranged an evening drop off time on my first day there. Turned up as expected, bike in good condition, and spent time fully setting it up and making sure no issues. Supplied pump, saddlebag, spare tube and gas etc. I just took clothing, shoes, peddles and helmet.

I didn't need to, but they said just to call if any issues whilst I was out and about, and they would pop out and sort.

freebs

I hired a bike from Lanzarote Bikes in Puerto Calera (based at a hotel there). Had a Felt (I forget which model) with ultegra and Ksyrium Elites I think it was about 30 euros for the day. I did 60 miles around the south of the island. Wind was brutal. Either doing 5mph or 50, no half measures. Hard work, but then I had been on the piss for five days!!

drewduncan

Back from my holiday in lanzarote. Hired a trek from Peter at lanzarote-cycling. Superb service. Bike dropped off at hotel including bottles, helmet, pedals, tool kit, map and track pump. Paid for 1 week and got an extra day.

As many have said, wind is brutal. I went out small rides, 15 - 25 mile rides early mornings. Twice wind was dangerous and not really fun. The other rides when not as windy were really good. Based in playa blanca and went to el golfo twice. Climbed to femes once - great climb, especially the last 1km or so after the roundabout.

Roads were in great condition and drivers very considerate.

Glad I had the bike for 1 week so I could go out when wind was bearable. Even with the wind I would still hire a bike if I visit lanzarote again - perhaps I would try and go October, November when winds are supposed to be a little lighter.

sungod

nice, i'm already wishing i was back there!

tbh winds can be bad anytime

aside from the wind, october and especially november can be warm/sunny or it can stay cold/cloudy for days on end, sometimes with torrential rain, it's luck of the draw, but i'd aim earlier rather than later