The bike
A Burning Man bike, if you flew in.
The week runs on a bike. We would not do it without one. If you did not drive your own frame across a continent, you rent one before the gate, you buy one in Reno, or you ship one. The lights and the lock are still yours.
We are an independent outfitter. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Burning Man Project. The event name is used so you know which week this is for.
Buy one, or rent one
Rent if you want the frame for the week and nothing after it. Buy if you want to keep it, or to hand it back as a donation on the way out. The event's bike page lists used bikes from the Kiwanis program at $80 and refurbished bikes from Reno Bike Project at $100. A rental price is on the shop's own page, and it moves, so we are not going to pretend those two numbers are a comparison chart. The shop list is how to rent a bike.
A cruiser is the ordinary playa bike: one speed, and a basket if the shop includes one. An e-bike helps a long city or a tired week, and it still needs a light, a lock, and a plan for the battery. The city's page is what is allowed inside the city. We are not the people who license it.
Reno, and what San Francisco is not
The counters we can send you to are in Reno, Sparks, Nixon on Highway 447, and Gerlach. Reno Bike Project, at 635 E 4th St, sells refurbished bikes and assembles frames that were shipped to Reno. Kiwanis, at 5305 Mill St, sells used bikes and takes donations after the event. Both are on the city's list. Book before you land. Walk-up stock disappears.
San Francisco is not where those shops are. If you land at SFO, the bike is a later stop in Reno, a ship-to-Reno, or a bike already on the bus. Burner Express can carry a bike. Their add-on starts at $50 from Reno and $95 from San Francisco, with a 50-pound maximum. BikeFlights delivers to events and bike shops. We do not have a San Francisco showroom we will invent for you. The flying-in note is the suitcase beside that bike.
A playa bike, before it is dark
The rental is a frame. You still want a front light with a real throw, a red light behind you, a tall flag so friends can find you in the dust, a lock you actually use, and a pump with a spare tube. Gift repair camps run out of common tubes. The night-bike kit is that shopping list. The lights note is why. The prep note is the flat you practice before you need it.
Put your name and camp on the frame before it leans against a stranger's shade. Dust packs a chain and a light connector. Charge the lights in town, not on the playa at dusk. An e-bike battery is the same errand, earlier.
The lock, and the night
Bikes walk away. A lock through the frame and a rack, used every time you get off, is the habit that still works. A cable through a wheel is a suggestion. The bike gear is the lock and the lights we would actually hand someone.
You cannot drive the RV around the city to go find the bike you forgot to lock. The vehicle pass gets the rig to camp. After that, the bike is the vehicle. Light it.
After the burn
A rental goes back to the counter that owns it, in the window they printed. Wipe the dust off before you hand it over. Water alone turns playa dust into paste. A bought bike can go back to Reno Bike Project or Kiwanis as a donation, or it goes home with you. It does not stay in the city. Leaving it is the opposite of the week.
If the bike flew in on Burner Express, it flies out the same way, inside their weight limit. If it was shipped to Reno, the return shipment is a plan you make before exodus, not in a parking lot on the way to the airport. The cleaning note is the dust on the frame once you are somewhere with a hose. The rest of the trip, the dates and the rig, is the guide for people flying in.
Good to know
How to sort a Burning Man bike from abroad
1. Decide buy or rent before you fly
A rental is a frame for the week. A bought bike from the Kiwanis program or Reno Bike Project is yours, and it can be donated on the way out. Book it. Do not count on a walk-up.
2. Pick Reno, or a ship into Reno
The shops are in Reno, Sparks, Nixon, and Gerlach. San Francisco is a bus or a shipment, not a shop we can name. Burner Express publishes a bike add-on and a weight limit.
3. Add a light, a lock, and a flag
The shop bike is not a night bike until those are on it. Charge the lights in town. Put your name on the frame.
4. Ride it through the gate
Fee-based pickup inside the city is not allowed. You bring the bike in yourself.
5. Take it back out
Return a rental to its counter. Donate a bought bike in Reno, or bring it home. Do not leave it in the city.
RV rental
The bike gets you out of camp. The RV is the bed.
If the week is also a rig, these are the fleets that publish a Burning Man rule. The bike is still a separate errand.
Links open the company page. None of them carry a tracking code. We are an independent outfitter. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Burning Man Project. The event name is used so you know which week this is for. How the links work.
Renting an RV for Burning Man/Compare the companies/RV checklist
Questions
- Should I buy a Burning Man bike or rent one?
- Rent the week if you do not want the bike afterward. Buy one in Reno if you want to keep it or donate it on the way out. The event's bike page lists Kiwanis used bikes from $80 and Reno Bike Project refurbished bikes from $100. Rental prices stay on each shop's page.
- Can I rent a bike in San Francisco?
- Not from the counters this guide can match to the city's list. Those are in Reno, Sparks, Nixon, and Gerlach. From San Francisco, Burner Express can carry a bike, or you ship a frame to Reno. Reno Bike Project assembles bikes shipped there.
- What has to be on the bike at night?
- A front light, a red rear light, a tall flag, and a lock you use. A pump and a spare tube save the night when the repair camps are out of your size. The rental does not replace those.
- What do I do with the bike after Burning Man?
- Return a rental to the shop that owns it. A bike you bought can be donated to Reno Bike Project or Kiwanis, or it goes home with you. Do not leave it in the city.