How to Hire a Cargobike

How much is it?

For family use (not special events and not businesses), we charge £160 including VAT for up to TWO weeks. £160 is our minimum charge and you don’t have to keep it for the full two weeks, but please check our opening hours because collection and return is normally done at our Hackney base only when we are open. We also charge a £200 (no VAT) Deposit which most customers receive back with no deductions for loss, damage, late return etc. We also require you to arrange your own insurance for theft, damage, third party liability etc – we help you with this by offering you a 30 day free code with one of the bike insurance providers.

Do I get any of that money off the purchase price?

Yes: if you keep and buy that cargo bike from your hire, we can usually offer you ALL of your hire fee off the price. (You can place a deposit on it to reserve it for up to two weeks if you are not quite ready with your payment or voucher yet.)

Or, if you wish to buy another model that we already have in stock, or one which is about to arrive in stock, we can offer you 50% of your already-spent hire fees off the price.

Or, if you wish to place an order for a different model that we don’t already have in stock, then we cannot offer you any of our hire fees off the price. Basically, if we have to order it in for you, we cannot offer any of your hire fees off the price.

Please ask us for more details about how we work with employee voucher schemes, as we’re with all of them, and they all operate slightly differently: Cyclescheme, Green Commute Initiative, Gogeta, Vivup, Cycle Solutions, Enjoy Benefits, Bike2Work, Halfords ‘Cycle 2 Work’ and others. Please talk to us first. In the meantime you can read our “Ways to Purchase a Cargobike” page.

Note: If you’re intending to buy fairly quickly through a work cycle voucher, it’s wise to get all your ducks in a row before the date of your hire. Or at least, get the process going while you are hiring it, if possible. Ask us for more details!

How do I decide what to Hire?

Good question! Well you could email us and then you’ll get an autoreply, in which there is a link to fill in the short survey about your needs. This will really help us to help you, but also it can help clarify in your mind what is important to you with a cargobike, and what factors such as parking and storage you may need to think about.

Have a chat with us about what is available during the dates you’re looking to hire. Sometimes we’re fresh out of a particular model, or sometimes they’re all booked out for hire for a couple of weeks. We can discuss what’s available for you and quickly work out when is a good start date for you. 

How do I book a Hire?

Contact us and once we’ve gone through options with you and you’ve decided what to try first, we’ll send you the two invoices to pay: the Hire Fee @ £160 and the Deposit @ £200 both to pay via BACs. We will also send you a Quote for the replacement value of the items which you’ll need to use in order to arrange insurance while you have them on hire. Remember, we can offer you 30 days free insurance with Laka with our code – but you don’t have to take this up. You can find your own insurance if that suits you better, such as your home contents insurance (or business insurance). You will also need to send through evidence of your ID in photo-ID form and get proof of address ready to bring with you as well.

What do I get with the hire?

Included in the hire price is:

• An insurance-ready lock (if you need two, you can purchase a second one from us);
• Child-seats for kid(s) from 9kg to 22kg if needed;
• A cover for the whole bike if you need it;
• Instructions or a booklet about the equipment;
• Boxbikes or Trikes may have a rain-tent for the box free of charge in the hire OR there may be an extra fee for this (e.g. £30).

Discuss with us whether you’d like any other accessories, for instance seating for older kids or an adult. Many of the midtail and longtail bikes like Tern or Veloe have many accessory options that we can add to the bike for you. Some will come with an extra hire fee which can come off the price completely if you buy it, e.g. Clubhouse on the Tern GSD is £30 extra.

What are the Terms & Conditions?

Another good question: these are stated on the Conditions attached to the invoice. Basically, please look after the bike, and be careful! Safety first.

• Lock it up properly.
• Don’t pass it around lots of people unless you’ve paid for a commercial hire. (Within the family is of course fine.)
• Keep it clean.
• Don’t make any marks or holes in it.
• Bring it back on time! (unless you’re buying it).
• Full T&Cs available on request.

When can I collect?

You must make an appointment. Our Hackney base is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so make your appointment to collect on any of these days (check the opening times too please). It will take approximately 20-40 minutes to do your hire handover, depending on a few factors (have you recently test-ridden it with us? Is it electric? and so on.) So please do not be in a hurry, and leave enough time for this. When/if you return it you must do a face-to-face handover with us, you can’t just lock it up outside our premises – definitely not allowed!

What happens when I collect?

We will ask you again for your ID (both photo ID and separate proof of address). We do a full Safety Handover including briefing on how the bike works, including removing and charging the battery if it has one, then you test-ride the bike to make sure you’re happy and comfortable. We adjust anything that needs to be adjusted. Then you sign our paperwork, we take a photo of you and your hire bike (if you allow us!) and then off you go. Please allow up to 40 minutes for this – it must not be done in a rush! Safety first!

Do you deliver the bike?

For the best customer experience, please come to our premises to collect it yourself. We have all the kit at our premises, so if you decide you need a baby seat for the littlest one after all, or a cover for the whole bike, or a second lock, or anything else, we have it all on hand for you. We’re close to a number of stations on the TfL network and within Zone 2 so we’re pretty easy for a lot of people to access. Check out our Contact page for details.

We can sometimes deliver to customers who really cannot make the journey for whatever reason. Talk to us from the start about this, let us know your address and we’ll put together a bespoke delivery and handover price for you.

Our staff ride the bike to you, do the Safety Handover at your place, then usually ride back on a folding bike or take public transport. Rarely, a customer who lives outside London will wish to book a hire, but cannot get the bike back to their place themselves. Occasionally therefore, we can use a van for Hire deliveries, but we would prefer not to for environmental reasons. Also as it’s a Hire we may well be collecting it again afterwards – another van journey. But we can do this, it’s a possibility, and if it helps you make that life-changing decision to go for a cargobike lifestyle then we’re happy to help! This will all come at a price however, so please talk to us right at the start about this.

Anyway, you’ve got the cargobike, what next?

During your hire

Contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. If you decide you like it, talk to us about purchase, and start getting your cycle to work voucher ready, if you haven’t already. The Safety Handover can be a lot to take in, so it’s easy to forget something; we understand! So we’re happy to remind you of anything you may have forgotten. Also we’re happy to discuss different accessory options or different specs available for that model. We can easily amend the Quote we sent you for the insurance to add in or take out items for purchase.

Returning your hire

So if you’re not going to buy that model, or not going to buy it right now, you’ll want to return it all and get back your Deposit. Here’s a reminder of what to do before you bring it back to our Hackney base at your scheduled appointment:

Handing back your hire bike – as per T&Cs you received with the invoice:

1. If there is anything mechanically up with the bike we need to know now! Don’t leave it until handover as it may well be booked with another customer the same day 🙂
2. If it’s electric-assist, please fully charge the battery before it leaves your place;
3. Please give the bike and all its accessories a good, thorough clean before handing it back, our hire service relies on the bikes and kit staying in good condition ready for the next customer.
   No jet washing(!) but please wipe down and dry so that watermarks don’t gather, and pay attention to the underneath of the bike too, plus wheel rims (It’s OK for tyres to have a little dirt/water on, but excessive mud etc. should be brushed off);
   We now have an automatic £40 inc VAT cleaning fee if the bike and/or accessories come back needing a clean! Thank you for your understanding.
4. Check your photo of your hire form to ensure that you give back every item; sometimes people forget the instructions for the child seats for example or a bungee/key or even a charger, and we can’t return your deposit until we receive them in good condition (and can cause a problem for the next customer);
5. (an extra courtesy please) Make sure any seatbelts are neatly back in place, clasps clicked together, no uneven straps etc. It needs to be easy for the next person to see how to use them.