At Dandyhorse, we are committed to offering the safest bike tour experiences in the business, starting with the highest quality custom-built bikes and SF’s best bike routes. All of our operations have also been updated to account for the COVID-19 era. Your safety and peace of mind are our top priority.
Our expertly crafted routes, custom-built bikes, and experienced guides ensure that you have the safest possible experience.
Our routes are designed by SF cyclists with over a decade of daily local riding experience. All of our expertly-crafted routes follow official bike routes, pathways, and back roads to ensure the highest levels of safety.
Our self-guided adventures feature that same level of expertise, distilled into a GPS-enabled mapping app, meaning you’ll never miss a turn and always be on the safest possible route.
Our bikes are designed for the unique riding conditions of SF to give you the safest possible ride. Here are just a few elements that contribute to our safest-in-SF bikes.
We use the highest quality electric bikes around, so we can ensure they are the safest around. Our bikes feature a notable difference in ride quality and performance, which improve overall safety.
We test ride every bike after every ride and make necessary adjustments. Our bikes are meticulously cleaned, and all components are regularly serviced and replaced as necessary by expert mechanics. Our bikes are built to last, and we treat them with love and extra care.
We use the highest quality, extra-wide tires on all of our bikes. This ensures the bike is stable on rough roads, can roll over nearly everything, and has more grip and better braking ability than normal bikes.
Not only is an upright position more comfortable, it also allows for better awareness of what’s around you so you can react safely. Your brakes, shifter, and bell are always right at your fingertips when you need them.
All of our bikes have strong brakes that allow you to efficiently and confidently stop under any condition.
Be the king of ding! All bikes are fitted with the world’s finest and loudest bells (made by Crane in Japan) so you can get the attention of motorists, pedestrians, and other cyclists.
Our electric bike batteries are built by the world’s finest e-bike battery maker from the same cells used in Teslas, featuring advanced safety features not found in other batteries.
Every guest receives an extensive pre-ride safety briefing, bike fitting, and test ride. We want to make sure you’re safe and confident before you depart, meaning you should be able to ride in a straight line and come to a stop easily. Guests who can’t ride safely will not be able to rent and will be fully refunded.
Below are some procedures we follow and helpful tips. For more general bike safety tips, check out these safety resources from the San Francisco Bike Coalition.
Helmets are required on all guided tours and strongly recommended for all self-guided adventures. We provide the highest quality and most comfortable helmets of any SF bike tour company.
A high percentage of riders we see don’t wear helmets properly (and a lot of tourists we see wear them backward!), meaning they’re less comfortable, and in the unlikely case of an impact, they might not be effective.
1. Make sure the helmet rests fully on your head, then turn the adjustment wheel clockwise to snug it up.
2. The helmet should be snug, not uncomfortably tight or loose. Make sure you cannot easily move the helmet dramatically backward or forward on your head. A little movement is okay.
3. When you buckle the strap, aim for a finger’s width distance under your chin.
4. Adjust the cinch around your ears as needed for comfort.
We ask for all guests’ heights so we can have a bike of proper size ready when you arrive. Before taking a test ride, we ensure that the saddle is set at a comfortable height for you. Ideally you want a ball of your foot to touch the ground when your butt is on the saddle. Anything lower will make the ride more difficult and tiring. ext
When coming to an extended stop (like at a stoplight), plant both feet firmly on the ground so that your legs are on either side of the top tube of the bike. Then, use the pedals like a step and push away.
Many less-experienced riders intuitively try to keep their butts on the saddle while mounting the bike and stopping. However, this creates difficulty balancing, increases the likelihood of a fall, makes it harder to begin pedaling again, and is much less comfortable over the duration of the ride. This is even more important when riding a heavier electric bike.
Your guide will go over proper signaling. Signaling is essential to give other riders and motorists a heads up and to provide space as you turn.
Each bike has a trigger shifter that clicks through to the next gear. To shift into an easier gear, click with your thumb. To shift into a harder/faster gear, click with your index finger. Pro tip: Make sure you continue to pedal as you shift for smooth shifting.
Our bikes come with powerful brakes, meaning you don’t need to apply a lot of force to stop. Always remember to use both brake levers for safe, predictable stopping. In the US, the front brake is always on the left and the rear is on the right.
All of our bikes have handy kickstands. These don’t interfere with pedaling when down, so be sure to kick them away when you ride.
Making friends & lasting memories by bike since 2013
Next-level service, SF's best guides & finest electric bikes
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Dandyhorse offers the ultimate San Francisco bike tours & e-bike tours. Led by awesome local guides you’ll explore Golden Gate Bridge, SF’s best neighborhoods, top landmarks, grand parks, and hidden gems. Book your tour today!
