Ohio City Bicycle Co-op

OCBC maintains a large fleet of basic bicycles for our educational programs which are also available for rent, as are a limited number of modern, high-quality, "performance" bikes. We also have "ergonomic" saddles, clip-in pedals and shoes, aero bars, and bike bags and other gear in our accessory library. Bikes and accessories are available to members for free, or for reduced rent.

• Basic bike rental fees are $6/hour, $20/day, $50 week.
• Performance bikes are $12/hour, $40/day, $100 week.
• Lock, helmet, pump and basic tool kit, and lights, if necessary, are included.
• We require a signed rental agreement, and a security deposit (see below).

Basic vs. Performance bikes

If you are racing, touring, or want to do serious off-road riding, you probably want a performance bike.

  If you need a bike for transportation, a basic bike will do fine. If you just want to do some sightseeing on a Saturday morning, you can save the rental fee -- we'll loan you a bike for our Saturday Social Ride, and show you around our neighborhood in the Flats, Downtown, and Ohio City.

Our basic bikes are mostly older mountain bikes with non-suspension forks, road tires, and thumb shifters. We also have some basic road bikes, modern hybrids and comfort bikes, and a few more interesting bikes like recumbents or fixed-gears, as listed on our bike library page.

Performance road bikes have either integrated brake/shifters (STI or Ergo) or bar-end shifters (mounted on aerobars or on the drops). Performance mountain bikes will have tunable suspension (either hardtail or full). If the last two sentences didn't make sense to you, you will probably be fine with a basic bike.

To reserve a performance bike in your size you must call, email or visit, and make a reservation deposit of $50 (applied to your rental fee) in person or on our payments page. We can install your pedals or seat if you bring them in, or try to match them from our library. To match the fit of your own bike, we'll ask for your bike's measurements from the center of the crank to the top of the seat at its widest point; from there to the center of the handlebar at the stem; and from there back down to the crank. If you don't supply this measurement, allow extra time for fitting when you pick up the bike.

Rental rates and terms

We require a deposit for the full replacement value of the bike. This may be $50 to $250 for regular bikes, or $500-$2000 for performance bikes.

A valid ID and a check for the value of the bike is required for deposit - you can forward-date the check until after the expected return date of the bike, and if you do not return when you are expected, we will attempt to contact you before we cash it. If the bike is damaged, we will charge for repair costs along with the rental fee.

Rentals can be picked up or returned anytime we are here (any of the hours listed on the upper right of this page) or, with special arrangements, on days we are closed. Delivery or pick-up is available for $50 within Cuyahoga county, plus $1/mile for travel beyond there.

When you pick up a rental bike we'll fit you with a helmet (if you didn't bring your own), get you a bike the right size and help you fit it, and have you take our short bike safety quiz while we do any equipping and a safety check — it's important to us that you know how to ride safely, and that all rentals be running perfectly when they go out -- so leave enough time, especially on Saturdays, when we are quite busy.

Group rates and long term rentals

We offer both of these, please call or stop in for assistance.