VALENBISI BIKES: WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO GET AROUND VALENCIA?

Valencia is Spain’s third-largest city with a population of almost a million, and it’s very walkable, but sometimes walking can take too long, or you want to see more of the city faster, which raises the question in any eager visitor’s mind: What’s the best way to get around? Well, if you’re me, you purchased a Valenbisi bike yearly subscription (the most affordable option for my stay) for €29.21. They also have plans available for a week at €13.30 and €3.99 for a day. You’ll see the branded blue and grey Valenbisi bike stands literally everywhere in the city.

How it works

When you buy a subscription, your journey is timed for a free 30 minutes that you can keep track of on the “my journeys” tab of the app. In my experience, for most places in the city centre, 30 minutes is plenty of time to reach another parking stand. If you want to continue your journey, you can check your bike into a stand, and the 30 minutes restarts after you dock your bike and hear two beeps; you are free to check out that same bike or any other in the stand for 30 more minutes. You can repeat this process as many times as you need. The Valenbisi app is very useful and functions well, even with low service; sometimes it will take a few minutes to load. You can check stations on the app before your journey to make sure there are enough bikes or parking spots for your bike. The bike stations are all over the city and very useful for travel all over Valencia. I recommend plugging your routes into a map app and switching the vehicle to ‘bike’ to get the smoothest route with the lovely bike paths; if not, you could be biking alongside the road or sidewalk, which I do not recommend as it can be inconvenient and dangerous to others.

All the bike parking stations are on the pavement, and near a bike path that’s marked well with grey, red, or green paint, usually. A lot of the main routes have lights for bikes that turn red and green, which make navigating much easier.

What are the pros and cons of Valenbisi?

There are a lot of pros for the Valenbisi bike system. It’s an affordable way to get around; Valencia has great bike paths, especially if you are going to the beach, and there are Valenbisi stands everywhere, so you can park your bike after 30 minutes. Additionally, as opposed to renting a bike from a shop, you don’t have to be worried about theft with Valenbisi because when you turn the bike into a stand, it locks it and you are no longer responsible for it. With a bike you are renting temporarily, you are responsible for it at all times; Valenbisi is very flexible. The basket on the bike is huge and can carry a lot of weight, perfect if you need to throw some shopping bags or groceries in.

Now, to discuss some cons of the bike system. If you’re headed to a popular spot in the city like the beach on an especially lovely day, you may have to check the app for parking spots for your bike because there is only a limited amount available, and you may have to park the bike at a further location, which could be a ten- or fifteen-minute ride away. On the other hand, if you need a bike to travel home and the crowds have left the beach or any other popular spot, you may have to walk further to find one. Another con I have noticed is that the bikes, unsurprisingly, are very durable but not smooth. I often get passed because the bike is not quite as fast as personal bikes and can be harder to pedal, but it’s not especially bad, and I believe that is good quality for the price.

Keeping all the pros and cons in mind, I think Valenbisi is a great affordable option to get around Valencia. Biking through the city is wonderful regardless of which rental service you use; the bike paths are very well maintained, the traffic patterns are easy to understand, biking allows you to see more parts of Valencia, and it’s twice as fast as walking. It’s important to keep in mind that because Valencia is such a large city, the traffic patterns can move very fast, and it’s especially vital to be aware of this when biking so that your journey exploring the city can be safe and fun! Biking is a great way to travel around Valencia, especially during the summer as opposed to walking because the breezes of wind from the bike feel nice and it makes the heat more bearable.

Happy biking!

Valenbisi Web

Report by Bridget Callahan