Find Your Ride with Griz Gears Bike Rentals

The best way to get around campus and Missoula is on two wheels. Campus and our bike-friendly community is built for bicycling commuting, and the ASUM Bike Program, now known as Griz Gears, supports students and others through its commitment to sustainability and affordable bike rentals. 

Ever wanted to bike to campus on a beautiful day but didn’t have a bike? Griz Gears can help you out with rentals, bike safety tips and maintenance from fellow students. Scroll below to learn more about this affordable bike rental program:

What is Griz Gears?

Griz Gears is a program through ASUM Transportation that has a fleet of rental bikes that they maintain for students, faculty and staff. They even provide bike helmets, locks, rechargeable lights and free repairs to their rental bikes for students who choose to rent from them. What a great deal!

Where Can I Find the Griz Gears Garage?

The garage, where you’ll usually find the Griz Gears employees, is located in the same garage that stores the UDash buses. It’s also next to the UMPD station, just west of the Washington-Grizzly Stadium. 

How Can I Rent a Bike?

To rent a bike from Griz Gears, just go to their section on UM’s webpage and click the “Rent a Bike” link to get started. You’ll be asked a few questions about how to contact you and your height so Griz Gears can have the right size bike ready. The rental prices depend on if you’re a student, staff, or community member and for how long you’d like to rent the bike.

Griz Gears Bike Fleet and Rates

Griz Gears maintains three types of commuter-style bicycles in their fleet, each with three speeds and ergonomic seating and handlebars. These bicycles are perfect for commuting to classes and getting around town. 

Students, faculty and staff can rent bikes for the week, the month, the semester, both semesters or the summer. Here are the rates:

• Week: $25 for students / $50 for employees 
• Month: $46 for students / $90 for employees 
• Semester: $70 for students / $145 for employees
• Two Semesters: $110 for students / $200 for employees
• Summer: $70 for students / $145 for employees 

***All bicycle rentals include U-locks, lights, helmet and free maintenance. 

Meet Elissa White - Transit Operations Manager

Elissa is a UM alum and former student UDASH driver entering her 10th semester with ASUM Transportation. She manages both UDASH transit operations and our Griz Gears bike program. She is in the process of becoming a League Certified Cycling Instructor (LCI) with the League of American Bicyclists. She is passionate about connecting the campus community with sustainable transportation options that fit their needs. 

 Why should someone rent a bike from Griz Gears?

Elissa says renting a bike from Griz Gears is “a great opportunity to not have to buy a bike and then figure out what you’re going to do with a bike when you graduate,” giving students more flexibility without committing to their own bike. Not only that, but “you can just come here and we’ll do all the maintenance for free on it”, says Elissa.

How is Griz Gears different than other bike shops in Missoula?

Griz Gears, unlike most bike shops in Missoula, operates under a “bike kitchen model”. Elissa describes this as “all students teaching other students … it’s more of we’re helping you learn how to maintain your bike yourself so that you don’t need us in the future”. If you need new parts, no problem! Griz Gears will “tell you the exact part number to go buy and what you need” if they don’t already have the tools in the garage.

Traditional rental services in Missoula are also “far more expensive, and it’s for usually a mountain bike or E-bike, not normally a cruiser bike like for commuting like we’ve got” here at Griz Gears. This makes Griz Gears not only the more affordable option for students, but also the more convenient and better suited to your needs.

How can students with their own personal bikes benefit from Griz Gears?

You don’t need to get a rental from Griz Gears to support them either! Elissa says, “we’d love to help you out with seasonal maintenance, especially if you’re planning to be a four-season biker”, which includes getting studded tires and reflective lights to prepare your bike for the winter months. Griz Gears will also “help you with routine maintenance you’ve got,” so you only pay for new parts if you need them.

How does Griz Gears interact with the Missoula community?

Along with rental and maintenance services for students and staff, Griz Gears is active in the Missoula community! Elissa lists various services Griz Gears is involved in: “for large concerts on campus, we do bike valet services … we participate in a couple of community events like the Safe Kids Fair and the Roll and Read, and do free bike tune-ups for the community, and bike lights” and other similar events.

What is the Griz Gears pledge program?

Griz Gears also has a car-free pledge program for first-year residents on campus. Elissa says “it’s a great opportunity to defer bringing your car to the Missoula community if you don’t need it”. She describes how students can get “a bike for free for the first year of school with all the maintenance and get you trips to the airport with our car-free pledge program”.

How can students support Griz Gears?

The best way to support Griz Gears as a program, Elissa says, is to “come by open bike shop hours, share our social media posts on ASUM, especially bike safety tips and things like that. Come see us when we’re tabling on the Oval this fall … If we can catch you early and get you going, we’d love to help you out”.

Madison Knapp is a student at the University of Montana majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in French. She is an out-of-state student and is thoroughly enjoying her time at UM. She is also a DHC student and a proud member of the Grizzly Marching Band.