San Francisco Bike Tours

I loved this tour. Highly recommended for locals who want a really fun day out and to see and learn some more about the city. Nick was an excellent guide, and he’d thought of everything – from customising each bike to each person, to taking you around the best spots in San Francisco, to the best picnic spot to stop for lunch. We discovered so many places in the city I would never have found on my own, and Nick was so knowledgeable throughout the whole tour. Thanks Nick!

Nick was a world-class tour guide! I truly felt like I was on a bike ride with friends in a magical city. I live in the Bay Area and discovered hidden treasures I would have never known about if it weren’t for Nick’s expertise!

Even though we live in San Francisco we saw parts of the city we hadn’t explored before. This is a great way to spend an afternoon and get a fresh local’s perspective of SF and discover new places. 

There are plenty of bike tour companies in SF, but nothing like Dandyhorse. It’s the lovingly personal creation of Nick Hormuth, who is both a bike nerd and a San Francisco nerd. Nick is California-earnest and outgoing–conceivably too much for some, but this crusty New Englander at least found him charming. (He used to be a first-grade teacher, which is easy to imagine.) The unique quirks begin with the bikes, which Nick builds himself. They’re benign mechanical Frankensteins with frames, suspensions, tires, handlebars, brakes, and gears mixed and matched from different kinds of machines to create *exactly* the right bikes for touring San Francisco. They continue with the destinations, which include some standard must-sees but also odd corners and shops you’ve never heard of but that Nick thinks (rightly) are really, really cool. I’ve probably visited San Francisco 25 times, and there was plenty on this tour that was completely new to me. While it lasts four or five hours and covers about 15 miles (San Francisco miles, at that) it’s not physically taxing. Total couch potatoes might strain, but Nick has a knack for finding the flattest route between two points and if you do any exercise at all you’ll be just fine. Highly recommended.

We have spent 3 full weeks in San Francisco over the past 3 years. When we are on vacation, we like to be super active and do lots of things. This without a doubt is our most favorite thing we have done on any of our visits. We have done segways, gone to Alcatraz, visited Muir Woods, and hit most of the museums. We’ve even gone with several different tour companies. This was the most fun thing we have done in San Francisco EVER. Truly most important was our tour guide. Nick was so informative, kind, helpful, educational, and fun. We absolutely loved learning about the city, and seeing so much of it. We aren’t bike riders, so we were reluctant about the distance. We did great and rode the Golden Gate Bridge which was totally worth it and fun. I could simply write about this for days. We loved it that much. 

Wow. This was a fantastic way of really seeing the neighborhoods of SF. With so many choices of bike tour companies, I did my research and it really paid off. Dandyhorse has a really well planned and thoughtful tours. As you travel through neighborhoods Nick (the owner operator and guide) gives you a feel for the history, the architecture, the food and the people. There were several stops so that you can explore the neighborhood with food samplings from local shops. We had lunch in Alamo Square Park overlooking the famous Painted Ladies. The day went very quickly and yes you can ride in SF. This is a tour that we will be remembering and raving about for years to come.

I don’t usually write reviews. But I have to to for this experience. The Essential SF Bike Tour was simply fantastic. Nick was a superb host who went out of his way to make sure that everyone had a wonderful time. It was a great way to see San Francisco and Nick’s knowledge of the city was first rate and presented in an interesting way. The bikes were comfortable and really well maintained. Thanks so much Nick – I would do another tour in a heartbeat!

So much history and fun information, our minds and eyes were happily satisfied. I appreciated the pictures he had to show what the city looked like a hundred years ago from the vantage point where we were sitting….and so much more ! I always felt safe and Nick made sure we were fed along the way as well . Highly highly recommended!

Nick is an amazing bike tour guide. First, you will be on one of his custom-made bikes that feels like something you would have bought for yourself. No cheap mass produced bikes here. Nick has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the tour route accessible and on designated bike infrastructure (think safety). It probably took months for him to pick such an amazing route. And then there is the route itself – through SOMA, the Mission, Castro, Lower Haight, Haight-Ashbury, and the east side of the Golden Gate Park. We had lunch in Alamo Square Park, rode by the Conservatory of Flowers, and went up the de Young Museum Tower for a panoramic view. I can’t say enough good things about this tour. It was truly a highlight of my time in SF. Thank you Nick.

Nick is an amazing host and tour guide. I am a local and I’ve learned so much during this wonderful bike ride than I did all these years. I especially enjoyed all of our food stops.

This was my favorite thing we did on our brief visit to San Francisco. I’ve been on 5 bike tours before this in other cities and can say that Nick is the best tour guide I’ve ever had. His enthusiasm and knowledge of SF’s history was impactful and enlightening. It’s a great way to get your bearings in this sprawling city if you are staying a while OR if your trip is short (like ours) it’s a great way to see all the famed neighborhoods and get a sense for their unique flavors. The biking is not arduous even though SF is very hilly and the bike lanes are all new; overall very safe experience. The length of time is appropriate for sure as there is so much to see. Also, after the tour was over, Nick spent time with each of his guests offering recommendations on where to go next–he even hand wrote out places on his already chalk-full preprinted recommendation list of where to go in various neighborhoods. Great guy, great tour! Keep it up Nick!

Nick from Dandyhorse just took us on our best experience in San Francisco! My husband and I got a real taste of the varied and dynamic cultures and history of all the very best, unique SF neighbourhoods, local haunts and incredible eateries. Whether you are an art enthusiast, foodie, architecture lover or just a culture vulture you will leave with a deep sense of satisfaction, knowledge and at least one new friend! Thank you Nick for a wonderful day, you are the real SF legend.

We’ve done many bike tours both domestically and internationally, and Nick was far and away the best bike tour guide we’ve ever had!!! His passion for San Francisco as well as his knowledge of history and interesting tidbits of information kept us thoroughly entertained throughout the trip. His service is top notch from the expert bike fitting and his careful attention to detail making sure we were all comfortable safe and enjoying ourselves. We had a spectacular dry sunny day so every stop was a wonderful photo opportunity. He was generous with his time his recommendations and willingness to help now and in the future. Highly recommend!!!

We saw more of San Francisco then I ever imagined. We just booked the day tour to start but had such a great experience with Nick we booked the night tour the next day and it was even better. Got to see a completely different side of town. Nick was a great guide, very knowledgeable about the history and architecture of town. A must do tour!

We don’t really like organized tours so this was something we wouldn’t have usually booked but it sounded interesting and the positive reviews convinced us; we were so glad we did it! Nick is really passionate about San Francisco and has some great tidbits of knowledge about the city. We went to neighbourhoods we would never have been to if we hadn’t been on the tour. The stops along the way were really interesting and the food was great too.  The group size was small (only 6 in ours) so really intimate and the bikes are awesome too. Would absolutely recommend!

Our bike tour with Nick was by far and away the most fun, informative and unique experience we’ve had in San Francisco. His engaging style and fantastic historical and current day context made this ride one we will not soon forget. Thank you Nick for your passion and energy… we will be back

This is a must-do tour of SF and totally worth every penny! We wouldn’t have explored 10% of what we saw if we’d tried to tour the city on our own. Plus Nick’s insights, stories, history and tips are absolutely priceless. Also the bikes are so good – comfortable, smooth and easy to ride. You’re insane if you come to San Francisco and don’t do this tour!

Probably our favorite thing we did in San Francisco- going at our own pace, with everything perfectly mapped made for a delightful ride. We saw many of the classic sights, including the completely beautiful path to the Golden Gate Bridge.  what we loved too were the little neighborhood finds we probably wouldn’t have learned about otherwise- not only on the tour but Nick, the owner of Dandyhorse, gave us dozens of other recs, taking time to draw on a map and describe why he loves those spots. We took several of them and doing so made our trip SO MUCH BETTER. . Thank you Nick!

My wife came up to me during this tour and said, “This is the best day I’ve ever had as a traveler!” That blew me away because I was just about to say the exact same thing to her! Nick exceeded our expectations on every level with his vibrant explanations of the city’s cultural, economic and architectural history. I learned so many fascinating things about SF and got to experience places that we just never would have discovered on our own. It was incredibly relaxing too, getting around on bikes and Nick was so professional with guiding us we felt safe at all times. 

Dandyhorse offered such an authentic and epic experience on so many levels… our guide, Nick, possessed so much detail about architecture, history, neighborhoods etc even locals (not on the tour) were commenting on how they learned stuff.  In roughly 5 hours we covered all best neighborhoods and got the ins and outs, you could never get without an experienced guide.We couldn’t have asked for a better experience and such a grand overview in such a condensed amount of time. We fell in love with the city because of Nick. His tour was world class!!