London Bike Share

Believe you’ll need time to let your brain adjust to traffic flow being the opposite of what you are used to in the States. Streets are narrow and with cars parked on both sides even narrower. Parks and designated biking paths are your best and safest option.

https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/streets/cycling-in-the-city-of-london

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/london-s-5-best-parks-for-biking-a7633161.html?amp

Lastly, while running across Tower Bridge I collided with a bicyclist. I got scraped up, he was fine. He was in the right, I was in the wrong.

I will be moving to London shortly from Dublin, where I currently commute by bike. I would like to continue that. I will be living in NW8 and commuting to the City.
My new flat is quite small and I have no bike storage, so I might not be able to store a bike in the flat, which would be my preferred option.

I then started looking into bike-sharing schemes, and the Boris Bikes seem ok, although my commute might not be under 30 mins so might end up being somewhat costly. The others I found so far are docking less and look even less apt for a daily commute.

Does anyone have any experience commuting with bike-sharing schemes? Which one would you recommend?

Here's a trick to solve the 30 minute rule on Santander / Boris Bikes. If your journey is over 30 minutes, just dock in at an intermediate stop and dock out with a different bike. Each journey is less than 30 minutes, so fall within the GBP 2 / day.

My go-to route was from my hotel in Bloomsbury, through Regents Park, to the Camden Markets. 10 minutes by bike, 11 minutes by tube.

I loved Santander bikes, but never tried Jump or any other so can't comment. I can't imagine any of the others have near the coverage or visibility that Boris Bikes do.

I dont have any experience with Jump, but Santander cycles seem to be ubiquitous in London. It is entirely possible to make your way from Kings Cross across town virtually free by docking every 30 minutes. I've enjoyed them when I have used them.

I also know that if you are a regular user, Santander can get you a key fob to make getting a bike easier.

One caution - if you are used to a road bike, these bicycles are absolute tanks. They work well but they are beefy. Also (puts Health & Safety hat on for safety announcement) please wear a helmet.

Personally, I've never had an issue with the Santander bikes and have generally been able to find one when I needed one. They have an app that tells you where the docks are and how many bikes are available.