Velib in Paris - is a half-hour practical ... ?

Have a look at the official webpage at http://blog.velib.paris.fr/en/2013/12/13/velib-how-it-works-and-how-much-it-costs/

30 minutes may be enough for most but not for you. Only you know how slow and disorganised you might be.

Or 30 minutes may be plenty for you if you are not a snail and disorganised. It all depends on you.

When I have seen the bikes they look fine, but clunky as all velibs are.

When I use the similar plan in London, 30 minutes is fine to go form A to B, and you can always get a second bike a little later. 30 minutes isn't a lot if you dawdle sightseeing. But if you are dawdling you can easily do it on foot...

I seem to have run in to a velib stand around every corner, but you know how it is. When you don't need one they seem to be everywhere, when you do, they are hard to find or are temporarily out of bikes. You can find all the locations marked on maps on the velib website.
They appear to be fairly new and in good condition, but certainly not high priced priced road bikes.
The free 30 minutes is to encourage commuter use. The streets have lots of bike lanes, but motorbikes use them as well, so be aware.

they are designed as public transport -- getting from point A to point B. That is usually plenty of time but one issue is that the racks may be full at popular spots and so finding a slot is not guaranteed, you may need to hunt up several and blow your time, so it pays to plan on 20 minutes shots from place to place.

I just used the Velib system with my wife for a week in Paris. I wrote about my experience on this forum and Trip Advisor. I suggest talking a tour with Blue Bike or Fat Bike your first day. The tours are fun and you'll learn the ins and outs of cycling in Paris. 30 minutes is was plenty of time to get between most destinations but it hardly matters if you take longer as the charges are minimal. The bikes are very practical for getting around the city, you are not riding in the Tour de France. They have three speeds so small hills are not an issue and baskets for carry small bags or other items. The only issue we had was arriving at a destination with no free spaces but you can enter your code and get additional time if the rack is full. Sign up online for the 7 day pass for 7 euro (it won't let you sign up more than two weeks ahead of your desired usage). I watched a local check out a bike and learned to squeeze the tires, check the brakes and spin the pedals before entering the code to release the bike. Rarely was a bike in bad shape but it can happen. There is a Velib app for your phone that has a GPS map and will tell you how many bikes and spaces are available. You need a data connection to use it on the fly. I always mapped the location of the station on my paper map before heading out and got quite good at navigating the city (a small compass is nice to have also). Sometimes I was more comfortable falling in behind other cyclists heading in the same direction. There are bicycle paths and lanes everywhere and sidewalks are OK as well but if there are a lot of pedestrians you don't want to bother. Always stop at red lights! I found it easier to use crosswalks instead of making left turns in traffic. Keep an eye for the bicycle signs pointing down to the river because not all sections of the river have bike paths and those big old cobblestones are not fun to ride on.
Again, I encourage you to start with the organized tour.

Thank you Sam, Janet and Richard. That's the info that i was looking for:

• Bikes may be all out when i'm looking for one;
• Cant return one cos rack is full;
• lots of cycle lanes, but we need to share them with m-cycles too;
• the mobile app + GPS that tracks bike and rack space availability on the fly;
• Join Blue bikes or Fat Bikes for "orientation" of Paris;
• etc etc etc.

Thanks guys. That's a load of help for a 1st timer in the City of Lights.

Peter,

note that your first two conclusions are contrary, one to another.

You may also find, especially if you use the app, that there are plenty of bikes when you want one, and a place to return it when you are done with it.

I expect that it is a lot like London, where the bike disappear outside train stations in the morning and the racks fill up near working spots, and the reverse in the evening rush. The company operating the service has vans to redistribute the bikes, sometimes well, other times not so well.

If one rack is empty, another nearby may succeed. Use the app.

If you plan ahead you can even look at trends over time before you travel.

While it is true that Paris has some motorcycles, it is nowhere like Rome.

It is my experience that most Paris motorcycles ride in the normal lanes on the road, and are pretty well behaved.

I should add that we only came upon full racks twice out of about 14 trips. Once when I couldn't find the station in a non tourist area a local woman asked if we were lost. She guided us to the station around the block and then asked if we were American. She looked around to make sure no other French were around and said in minimal English,"Thank you for D-Day. My grandfather, your grandfather...I could kiss you". and then she walked off. It was very sweet. That was more memorable than the crowds at the Eiffel Tower.

"The only issue we had was arriving at a destination with no free spaces but you can enter your code and get additional time if the rack is full."

This part of Richard's message is important. If you find a full rack, you should be able to get an "extension" by entering the code, so you have time to find an emptier rack without being "on the clock." I forget how long you get by doing this.

The system is designed to encourage short hops, so the bikes are kept in circulation, and to discourage people for keeping them for long periods (each half hour is more expensive than the prior one). If you need or want a bike for longer periods, rent one from another source besides Velib.

I just got my credit card statement and it seems we never went over the 30 minute allotment so I'd say yes, it's plenty of time.

Thank you Richard, Harold n Nigel.

Velib bicycles, here we come - in Sept!