Bike Tour in Rome

Hi- Yes, I used that company and did the Appian Way bike tour. We used electric assist bikes. The company is fine. The bikes are in good shape. I really liked our tour guide (knowledgeable & friendly). I did enjoy the tour...but I found it a bit challenging compared to other bike tours I've done. Let me preface my further comments by saying that even though I'm accustomed to biking in cities, I'm an urban gal and am not familiar with mountain bikes. Before you decide to bike in Rome keep in mind that your experience there may be different than other bike friendly cities. I've biked in traffic in Paris and in Barcelona...and loved it. Felt it was smoother than Rome and I was able to take in the sights. Sevilla, from what I read, is one of the most bike friendly European cities. I think biking in Rome is a unique experience and I did not find it as relaxing as I hoped. Another option is renting a Vespa. The rates were very reasonable. Have fun with whatever you decide!

Another option is renting a Vespa. The rates were very reasonable.

I would only recommend this if it's a tour than has you riding on the bikes WITH an experienced driver. Rome (or Italy in general) is no place to learn to operate one of these, IMHO, and especially if you've no previous motorcycle or similar experience. As Karinyc said, there is a company or two (maybe more) who offer these ride-behind tours and are well rated.

As search of past forum posts brought these mentions up of Topbike: they may be useful?

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&filter=Travel+Forum&query=TopBike&utf8=✓

Thank you Karinyc and Kathy. Vespas are out of the question, as I wouldn't have the nerves for that, plus we will have a 16, 13 and 12 yo with us. I was considering a tour (below) that supposedly goes through the city center, but is this ridiculous?

https://www.topbikerental.com/nuovosito/eng/tour-rome/city-center.php

The past posts are mostly people who have done the Appian Way tour, which could be fun, too.

We used this company and enjoyed the tour. The one that we did was their "Panoramic Views" one, which is a somewhat different route than the one you mention. Our trip was with teenagers (16 and 14 at the time) and I didn't have any concerns about safety as we were riding along. Again, a different route than the one you are looking at, but I was pleased with the company, so I'd expect they have safe routes for all of their tours. The electric assist bikes were nice for all the hills in Rome, and we thought we got a great overview of the area.

I am an avid cyclist and have been to Rome and Italy several times. No way would I ride a bike or even a scooter in Rome. The traffic is terrible and drivers are very aggressive.

If you want to bike the countryside of Tuscany, that would be a better option.

One thing, I have done several bike tours in Europe and Asia. Our one bike tour in Italy had bikes in terrible condition. They were mountain bikes that were cheap and in poor condition.

I did the Appian way tour with them this past September and had a great time. The guide was very good and even changed the flat tire I got on my bike in record time! We did have to ride on some kind-of-busy streets to get there but it was very minimal and I never felt unsafe. If we needed to make a left turn (and there wasn't a light) our guide always went first to stop the traffic and positioned her self in the middle of the road to block the cars until all of us had completed making the turn. If there was a bike path or sidewalk option we always rode on that as well. This bike tour was actually one of the favorite things I did on my trip!

I saw a bike group when I was in central Rome. It was raining. They looked miserable. Some of them were not appropriately dressed. There was a mom with 2 early teens kids that looked frantic. You may want to take weather into consideration and bail if it is bad.

This is second hand, but one of my local guides said he stopped doing bike tours in Rome including Appian Way because if someone happened to fall they usually got injured enough to need emergency care and he was tired of having to see people injured and helping to arrange for their care. His explanation for both the falls and the subsequent injuries was the uneven stone streets and paths.

Well lots of conflicting reviews and opinions on this one! Will likely leave as a decision we can make once there. While it looks like we may see temps in the 60's....who knows. I wouldn't mind getting out of the city a little bit (Appian Way), but perhaps this choice is better off left to once we arrive.