BiciMAD or your own bike in Madrid: which works out better?

When you start getting around Madrid by bike, the first question is usually this one: should I sign up for BiciMAD or buy a bike? There is no single answer. It depends on how many trips you make, how long they are, where you live and, above all, whether you have somewhere safe to keep a bike at home and at the other end.

How BiciMAD works

BiciMAD is Madrid’s public bike share, run by the EMT, the city’s transport company. The bikes are electric (pedal assist) and you pick them up and drop them off at docking stations around the city. You register through the app with an MPass account.

A few conditions worth knowing, according to the official BiciMAD website:

• You can use it from age 14. Under 18s need a parent or legal guardian to sign them up and take responsibility.
• A helmet is compulsory for under 18s and recommended for everyone else.
• Users are insured while using the service.
• It works with phone numbers from the EU and some other countries, including the UK, Switzerland, Norway, the United States, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil.

BiciMAD fares

There are two options. These are the amounts published on the official BiciMAD website as of October 2026:

Pay per ride (basic contract):

• First block of up to 30 minutes: €0.50.
• Second block of up to 30 minutes: €0.50.
• Each further block of up to 30 minutes: €3.

30 day flat rate:

• €10 a month.
• Unlimited free rides of up to 30 minutes.
• If you go over half an hour, the same blocks apply: €0.50 for the second half hour and €3 for each half hour after that.

Fares can change, so check the official BiciMAD fares page (in Spanish) before you decide.

Doing the BiciMAD maths

With those numbers the maths is simple. Paying per ride, each short trip costs €0.50. Twenty trips under half an hour in a month add up to €10, the same as the flat rate. If you make more than twenty short trips a month, the flat rate wins. Fewer, and pay per ride is cheaper.

What pushes the price up is going over an hour: from then on every half hour costs €3. BiciMAD is built for getting from A to B, not for spending the afternoon in the Casa de Campo.

When BiciMAD is the better choice

• You often ride only one way. Ride in the morning and take the Metro home if it rains or you finish late.
• You have nowhere to keep a bike. No storage room, no space in the flat, no safe parking at work. With BiciMAD you dock it and forget about it.
• You are worried about theft. A lot of bikes get stolen in Madrid, and a bike locked on the street overnight is a risk. With BiciMAD that is not your problem.
• You want to test before you buy. A few weeks of BiciMAD tells you whether you will really ride every day.
• There are stations near home and near where you go. If the nearest station is a long walk away, you lose part of the advantage.
• Hills put you off. Electric assist helps a lot in a city with as many slopes as Madrid.

When your own bike makes more sense

• You ride every day, both ways. You do not depend on bikes being free at your station at 8:30, or on empty docks when you arrive.
• Your trips are long or go beyond the station area. If you live or work far from the centre, your own bike has no time limit and no zone.
• You want it at weekends too. On routes like Madrid Río or the Anillo Verde an hour goes by quickly, and BiciMAD gets expensive.
• You need to carry things. With your own bike you can fit a rack, panniers, a child seat or a big basket.
• You want a bike that fits you. Frame size, saddle, handlebar, tyres. A bike set up for you is far more comfortable on long rides.
• You have safe storage at home and at your destination. This is the deciding factor. Without it, owning a bike brings more trouble than joy.

The costs you do not see in the price tag

Owning a bike is more than the purchase price:

• A proper lock. In Madrid a cheap cable lock is not enough to leave a bike on the street. A U-lock or a heavy chain is the minimum if you lock it outside.
• Maintenance. Chain, brake pads, tyres and cables wear with use. If you ride daily, expect to have it checked and adjusted now and then, and to replace wear parts.
• Lights. Riding at night in Spain you need a white front light, a red rear light and a red rear reflector.
• Insurance. Not compulsory, but many people consider theft cover for an expensive bike.

None of these is huge on its own, but count them when you compare against BiciMAD’s €10 a month flat rate.

If you are only here for a few months

If you are in Madrid for a semester or a few months, there is a third option: renting a bike by the month. You have a bike at home without buying it and selling it again when you leave. We explain how in renting a bike in Madrid for a semester. If you would rather buy, read what to check on a second hand bike before you pay.

A quick way to decide

1. Do you have somewhere safe to keep a bike at home and at your destination? If not, BiciMAD.
2. Do you make more than twenty short trips a month? If so, the BiciMAD flat rate or your own bike.
3. Are your trips longer than half an hour, or outside the station area? Your own bike.
4. Do you also want the bike for long weekend rides? Your own bike.

Many people end up with both: their own bike for everyday riding and BiciMAD for a one off trip or the day they left theirs at home.

If you go for your own bike

If you buy a bike online and it arrives in a box, a workshop can assemble it from €89: see bike assembly for bikes bought online. And if you already have one that has been sitting around with weak brakes or gears that do not shift, you probably do not need to replace it: often an adjustment is all it takes. On madridbikes.com you describe the problem, in English or Spanish, and we assign a workshop in your area, in any of Madrid’s 21 districts.