These days, it’s hard to imagine London without a public bike-sharing scheme – Transport for London (TfL) boasts that it provides over 12,000 Santander Cycles and 800 docking stations around the capital, and the annual ridership in 2023 was over 8.5 million – but just 15 years ago we were wondering how this new idea would pan out.

Yes, we know that the world’s latest and greatest cycle tech is being raced by some of the most talented athletes on the planet in the Giro d’Italia right now, but for this evening’s Bike at Bedtime we’re heading back to London, 2010. It’s a bit of an unusual choice, admittedly, but give it a chance and we’ll see where we end up.

Sponsor launch - Single bicycle in front of Tower Bridge
Sponsor launch - Single bicycle in front of Tower Bridge (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

Okay, a bit of background… Santander Cycles became the major sponsor of London’s bicycle hire scheme in 2015, and it still is. Before that, Barclays was the first sponsor, although the bicycles have been popularly called Boris Bikes because Boris Johnson was the Mayor of London when the scheme began operating in 2010 (whatever became of him?). That’s despite the fact that Ken Livingstone announced the concept when he was in office, but let’s not get into the whole credit and naming thing because, frankly, life’s too short.

The idea has always been pretty straightforward: you hire a bike, ride it, then return it to any docking station. Simple enough. You can hire from a terminal, via the Santander Cycles app, or you can buy a membership key, which is a subscription. The first half hour costs £1.65, and day passes are available from £3. 

You give the bike a quick check over and type your code into the docking point’s keypad to release it. Then you adjust the saddle height and away you go. When you’re done, you return the bike to any empty docking port.

The London scheme was inspired by the Vélib’ system in Paris and there are now over 3,000 bike-sharing schemes operating in the world. 

Back in 2010, road.cc founders Tony Farrelly and Dave Atkinson headed to London to try out the bikes just ahead of the Barclays Cycle Hire launch – and made a video right in front of Buckingham Palace. We think Tony still has that T-shirt. He definitely still has that haircut.

The original bike was designed by industrial designer Michel Dallaire and built by Canada’s Devinci. The frame was made from aluminium and, as you’d expect, it was intended to be sturdy enough to stand up to all kinds of use and abuse. It came with integrated lighting, the tyres were puncture-resistant, and the cables ran internally to protect them from damage and poor weather. Weighing in at well over 23kg, it certainly wasn’t light – but that was hardly the point.

> Check out our 2010 story: Man behind Montreal bike hire scheme looks to repeat success in London 

The verdict?

“It’s basically sit up and beg and highly manoeuvrable,” said Tony. “It’s a heavy bike, no getting away from that, but once you’re pedalling it, you don’t really notice.

“It’s got hub gears with a twist shift. It’s a Shimano Nexus three-speed and that first gear is low enough to get you up anything big. You get a wide saddle. You ain’t going to be racing on this or getting aero, so it does the trick.”

A utility bike, then, with mudguards, lights powered from the hub, and a front rack.

“The step-through design is fabulous for hopping on and off. You can side dismount. Those Kenda Kwest tyres are big, fat, easy-rolling rubber that makes for a very comfortable ride, dealing with any potholes or imperfections.”

The bikes have changed since then. In 2018, a new design by Pashley was introduced, featuring a smaller frame and wheels, and a new gear hub. 

> Pashley bikes coming to London’s cycle hire scheme 

More recently, e-bikes were added to the fleet in 2022.

> E-bikes finally coming to London’s Santander Cycles Hire Scheme 

The Barclays Cycle Hire scheme began on 30 July 2010. Before the end of October, we were reporting that the millionth rider had been identified (a 37-year-old Technology Specialist called Rupert Parson, if you’re interested). The monthly average hire time usually sits somewhere between 15 minutes and half an hour, so we’re talking about fairly local trips, mainly. But back in 2013, we reported on a group of friends who set themselves the challenge of renting a Boris Bike, driving across France, riding up Mont Ventoux and getting back to London in 24 hours. Yeah, that Ventoux… Off of the Tour de France. The Giant of Provence. Did they make it? Check out the video to find out.

Then in 2016, a group rode Boris Bikes up Alpe d’Huez, one of cycling’s most legendary climbs and, again, a regular star of the Tour.

We’ve seen an attempt to take a Boris Bike to Cardiff and ride back to London within 24 hours, risking a £300 fine for a late return, and we’ve seen another taken on a world tour for charity – visiting New York City, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Rome, Paris, Dubai, the Taj Mahal and New Delhi.

The Boris Bike Hour Record has been broken on several occasions, and now stands at over 20 miles.

Mainly, though, the point of Boris Bikes is to get you around London efficiently, and the total number of hires now stands at over 140 million.

Check out loads more Bikes at Bedtime here.