Transportation, Other Transportation

Biking in Buenos Aires

Madalyn Roberg

By | September 16, 2020

Friends enjoying a bike ride along Puerto Madero

Almost completely devoid of hills, and home to over 130 km of bike lanes, Buenos Aires is an ideal city to explore on two wheels.

Whether you’re an expat looking to get from point A to point B without sweating it out on the subte, or a visitor hoping to cover a lot of ground, biking is one of the best ways to get around. Here we break down everything you need to know about biking in Buenos Aires.

Ecobicis lined up in Buenos Aires

How do I use the Ecobicis in Buenos Aires?

In 2009 Buenos Aires’ government made the decision to become a more bike friendly city, and we have been reaping the benefits ever since. In addition to the ever growing network of bike lanes crisscrossing the city, there also free bikes called Ecobicis available to the public. These bright orange government issued bikes can be found at stations around the city, and registering to participate is easy. All you need to register is your DNI or passport number and a credit card number (which will only be charged if you steal, lose or damage a bike). From there you can download the app which includes a live map of available bikes. Once you’ve retrieved a bicycle, you can keep it for up to an hour during the week or up to two hours on the weekend.

Thanks to the expanding bike infrastructure in Buenos Aires along with the Ecobici program, Buenos Aires was named as one of the top 20 bike friendly cities in the world in 2015. However, the program isn’t perfect. In some parts of the city the Ecobici stations are few and far between. And there are more users than bikes, resulting in frequent shortages. For casual bikers, this might be fine, but if you depend on a bike for transportation, buying your own will probably save you some stress. It’s no fun discovering an empty Ecobici station when you’re already late for work for the second time this week.

Riding a bike along a Buenos Aires park

How to buy a bike in Buenos Aires?

Whether you’re sick of the packed buses, or have realized you can’t eat unlimited empanadas and croissants without consequences, for expats and students in Buenos Aires, buying a bike is a great investment.

Benefits of buying a bike:

  • If you know what route to take, you can actually cut your travel time significantly. A bus that normally takes 30 minutes to cross from Belgrano into Villa Crespo takes about half that on a bike.
  • It’s a one time expense. Once you’ve bought the bike, helmet and lock you’re set. Except for repairs, which are generally inexpensive.
  • Biking is a great way to burn off the calories you’ve packed on enjoying the local cuisine. The fast-paced city certainly inspires fast peddling, and you can remove the gym membership from your monthly expenses. Two birds!
  • It’s an environmentally friendly form of transportation. Not that your absence will cut down on the pollution emitted by buses, trains and taxis, but there is some value in knowing that you did not contribute to the thick black smog.

Once you’ve decided to buy a bike you have two options, new or used. Buying a new bike from a bike shop will obviously be the more expensive choice. But, this will also ensure you get exactly what you want. And, a new bike will have a much lower chance of falling apart in the near future. However, if you’re on a budget, buying used will save you a lot of pesos. Thanks to the ever-constant rotation of expats in Buenos Aires, moving sales are common on Facebook and often include bikes. Or check out Mercado Libre which always has a large range of both new and used bikes for sale.

Alternatively, check your local bike repair shops to see what they have on offer. Sometimes repairs will outweigh budgets or neighbors will drop off old bikes and shops will sell any random stock they have ended up with.

Bike rentals and tours in Buenos Aires

Now, for those visiting Buenos Aires who want to spend the day exploring Buenos Aires by bike, you have two options.

Bike rental

For a self-guided tour, you can rent a bike from a bike shop and be on your way. There are many bike shops in Buenos Aires, and the rental options generally include half or full day, and come with helmets and bike locks. This is a good option if you’re already quite familiar with Buenos Aires, and know exactly where you want to go.

Bike tour

However, if you’re new to Buenos Aires, I would recommend a guided bike tour. The benefits of taking a tour include having a knowledgeable guide who can provide context and history for the sights you’ll be seeing. Secondly, you have no chance of getting lost, or ending up in a rougher part of town by mistake. And finally, you won’t accidentally end up on a street that doesn’t have a bike lane and is avoided by bikers for a reason. For experienced bikers, this may be no problem. But the traffic in Buenos Aires gets crazy, and if getting caught up in the thick of it doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, independently exploring the city by bike may not be the best idea.

Biking Buenos Aires offers a few tour options including half day tours either in the heart of historic downtown or through the lush networks of parks and plazas in Palermo and Recoleta.

The silhouette of a bike rider with the historic Obelisco as a backdrop in Buenos Aires

Tips for bike riding in Buenos Aires

  • Be aware that many Buenos Aires side streets have cobblestones. So romantic, right? Not for a bike rider. Riding on cobblestones is an uncomfortable experience that takes its toll on both the bike rider and the bike. Likewise, these side streets are likely to be in a state of disrepair, so watch out for potholes.
  • Traffic in Buenos Aires can be chaotic. So, the best times to ride are from 11 am and 4pm—between the morning and afternoon rush hours. If you absolutely have to ride outside of these safety hours, try to avoid main avenues that don’t have bike lanes and big train or bus depots.
  • Be wary of pedestrians. Many of them will only look one way when crossing the road forgetting that the bike lanes are two-way.
  • The majority of neighborhood intersections do not have stoplights or stop signs. Traffic is to yield to cars coming from the right (in theory) so cars may not look or expect a bicycle from the left. Ride defensively.
  • Lock your bike up 100% of the time if it will be out of sight. Crime in Buenos Aires is mainly opportunistic.
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