Leigh residents can borrow a bike free for two months: key details

Leigh residents can borrow a bike, helmet and other cycling equipment free for up to two months through Leigh Bike Library. The membership service operates from Leigh Youth Hub on the first Saturday of every month from 9am to noon and on the first and third Mondays from 5pm to 7pm, excluding Bank Holidays.

People of all ages can use the service, with adult and children’s bikes available. Members may also take their own bikes to qualified mechanics for free repairs.

Leigh Bike Library opening hours

The library follows a recurring monthly timetable rather than operating every day.

Monday sessions do not run on Bank Holidays. The source does not provide individual session dates, so visitors should identify the relevant first or third day of the month before travelling.

The service is based at Leigh Youth Hub in Leigh, Greater Manchester. No street address, transport guidance, accessibility information or advance-booking procedure was supplied in the council’s notice.

What members can borrow or repair

Leigh Bike Library offers free loans of bikes, helmets and other cycling equipment for up to two months at a time. At the end of a loan, members have the option to buy the borrowed bike for less than the cost of a new one, although the council has not published a fixed purchase price in the source material.

Free repairs are also available from qualified bike mechanics. This gives members a way to keep an existing bike in use as well as an opportunity to try cycling without first buying equipment.

Opened by Wigan Council’s Be Well service in April 2023, the Leigh facility has grown to 545 members. The council describes it as Greater Manchester’s most successful bike-loan service. A second Be Well Bike Library opened at Wigan’s Gearing Up Workshop in February and had attracted 194 registrations by the time of the council’s report.

A two-month loan that started a wider health journey

The practical value of the Leigh service is illustrated by Claire Carey, a 47-year-old mother of six who had not ridden a bike for 35 years. She joined after her youngest son suggested that they cycle together and collected a loan bike on 7 July 2025.

Carey said she initially struggled to cover two miles but began riding on most days within a few weeks. During the two-month loan, she reported losing 15kg while becoming progressively more active. She later added strength training, paddleboarding and open-water swimming, completing the one-mile Greater Manchester Swim in May.

Over 12 months, Carey said she lost seven stone. She also used weight-loss medication for part of that period, describing it as a useful tool alongside increased activity, so her results should be understood as her personal experience rather than an outcome promised by the bike service.

Carey has since bought her own bike and now rides distances of up to 17 miles. Her next cycling goal is to complete 50 miles in one journey.

How to use the free service

Residents who want to borrow equipment need to become members of Leigh Bike Library and attend during one of its published sessions at Leigh Youth Hub. The supplied notice does not explain whether membership must be arranged before arrival.

Loans are free for up to two months, while repairs are provided without charge. The next available session depends on the monthly calendar and Bank Holiday exclusions: first Saturdays run from 9am to noon, and eligible first and third Mondays run from 5pm to 7pm.

Source: Wigan Council