Short-term rentals
Bike sharing can be a good option for those who won’t need a bike too often. You can simply take them out for the day or for a couple of hours.
OV-fiets
You can rent an OV-fiets from the Central train station. You will need an OV-chipkaart to use these bikes. You should return the OV-fiets to the same location where you rented it from, otherwise you will have to pay an additional fee. You can also rent an electric OV-fiets if you prefer that option.
Arriva fiets
The Arriva fiets works through a mobile app. You can download the app onto your phone and attach your bank details. The Arriva bike has to be picked up from certain locations which are located around the city and has to be returned to one of the stops but the stop does not necessarily have to be the one where you originally took the bike from.
Long-term rentals
If you’re looking to rent a bike that has gears or suspension (a race bike or a mountain bike, for example) then you should get in touch with a local bike shop and see what they have on offer. Besides the short-term rental options mentioned, there are also companies specialised in long-term bike rental. A simple Google search for ‘monthly bike rental’ or ‘maandelijkse fietsverhuur’ will give you some good results.
Swapfiets
Another option you can look into is getting a Swapfiets. This is a company that provides you with a leasing bike for a fixed monthly price; you pay every month and the bike isn’t yours, but it gets delivered to you once you order it, and the company guarantees that your bike will always work – this means that if you get a flat tyre, or any other problem, they will replace / fix your bike within two days. Many students opt for Swapfiets because it is easy to use and you do not have to pay for the repairs of your bike. However, Swapfiets is not the cheapest option for a bike so consider what you want to spend your money on. Swapfiets also has specific rules for example, the bike is not covered from theft if it is left unlocked. You can read more about their rules on the website.
