fat tire tours dc

See DC by Bike

Washington, D.C. Bike Rentals

Grab a bike & go!

Washington D.C. is the perfect place to explore on two wheels. Whether you’ve joined us for a public tour and enjoyed riding around or you’re a D.C. local looking to use bike without the commitment of owning your own, we’re here to help! From visiting the memorials, to museum hopping, and beyond, one of our comfy cruiser bikes is the perfect way to move from spot to spot. We provide you with a bike, a helmet, and a lock.

Our friendly customer service is here to help plan your route, from route directions, to restaurant recommendations, to visitor tips, and beyond.

OUR BIKE SELECTION

• We offer two sizes of our adult beach cruiser bikes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the 3 speeds, fat tires, and a comfy seat.
• We have kid mountain bikes available with 20 and 24-inch wheels. These feature hand brakes and multiple gears.
• All riders over 45kg (100lbs) and 12 years of age must ride their own bicycle. Tandem attachments are not an option for adults.
• Kids bikes and equipment like trailers or tandems are counted as a separate rental and charged accordingly. You can inquire directly with the office in DC on availability or note on your adult bike rental your preference and we’ll do our best to accommodate.
• We also have electric bikes available.

Rental Details

What’s included, good to know.

• April-October:9am-7pm
• November-March: 9am-5pm
• Bikes arriving after closing time will be charged for a 24 hour rental.
• Anyone suspected of being under the influence of alcohol will not be permitted to rent a bike.
• All e-bike riders must be at least 16 years of age.
• Please note that those under the age of 16 are required by law to wear a helmet in D.C. (helmets provided free of charge for all ages)

Things to See

• 1 The US Capitol Building
• 2 The White House
• 3 The National Mall
• 4 The Lincoln Memorial
• 5 World War II Memorial
• 6 MLK Memorial
• 7 Jefferson Memorial

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Fat Tire Tours

Review Highlights

“ They take you to all the sites, starting from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial and the White House. ” in 5 reviews

“ My family and I did a day bike tour around DC which included the White House and other monuments. ” in 6 reviews

“ Really recommend the night tour because traffic is much lighter and the monuments are a different experience when they are lit up. ” in 2 reviews

Location & Hours

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502 23rd St NW

Washington, DC 20037

N E St & N Virginia Ave

Foggy Bottom

Serving Washington, DC Area

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About the Business

Business owner information

Our mission is to provide safe, fun, and unforgettable experiences through superior customer service that creates memories and smiles that last a lifetime. Fat Tire Tours (formerly Capital City Bike Tours) is excited to take you for a spin around DC's greatest sites. Our bike tours combine a casual beach cruiser ride with a fun and knowledgeable tour guide. There's no back breaking handlebars or uncomfortable seats on these tours. No boring tour guides reciting dates. We make sure that your ride is both fun and relaxing. Fat Tire Tours is a great way to see more, with less effort, while having more fun! We offer a speical 10% off to our Yelp customers who book through our "Book Now" button. While we have a variety of tours, if you can't seem to find what you're looking for please contact us so we can discuss our private tour options! …

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Recommended Reviews

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• 2 star rating Could’ve been better
• 3 star rating OK
• 4 star rating Good
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Overall rating

I was very disappointed when I arrived at my DC "Fat Tire" bike tour. I have been on Fat Tire tours before and all of their bikes are street cruisers that are super comfortable and easy to ride. When we pulled up it was clear that this was not an actual fat tire tour. Fat Tire as partnered with a local existing bike company called "Bikes Unlimited". To make sure that I got a tag-a-long for my youngest, as I know those go faster, I reached out to to fat tire customer support for instructions since I didn't see the option at check out. They advised that I put that in the notes section of the reservation. Bikes Unlimited informed me when we got there that they don't even see these notes. The only bike they had that would fit me and pull a tag-a-long was a men's mountain bike. The bar on the bike was so high that it was up my butt when I had my feet on the ground but the bike was overall too small for me when riding because the seat had to be low so I could touch the ground with the high bar. The seat was rock hard and I tweaked my back from being bent in half. I had been expecting a road cruiser they advertise on the fat tire website so riding around on a mountain bike that was both too big and too small was a bit of a disappointment. They did have cruiser style bikes that my other family members were able to use but they did not have a way to connect those to a tag-a-long. All of the other people in our tour were on standard type mountain bikes and not fat tire cruiser type bikes. Also when I reached out to the customer service line there was not option for US tours. This is because this is not a US Fat Tire Tour. This is some sort of agreement where the Bike's Unlimited Company is paying Fat Tire to be listed on their website as a Fat Tire tour. So I could not even reach the company to let them know we had gotten lost and would be there shortly when we were running behind. All that said, our tour guide was great and aside from being uncomfortable the bike tour was a great way to see all the monuments. It looks like it was also a little cheaper to book with kids via fat tire. I recommend you check out the bikes unlimited website to understand what types of bikes they have and then call them directly if you have issues or want to make sure to reserve a specific type of bike in advance. If you need a tag-a-long make sure to bring a tall person with a good back who can ride a mountain bike and you should be fine. Had I known ahead of time what to expect might not have been so disappointed with my overall experience. Starting out stressed and frustrated sort of soured the whole experience.

Bait and Switch / Misrepresentation of Tours vs. what is received / affiliate company is non-accountable Fat Tire Tours DOES NOT OPERATE the DC bike tours. Their affiliate "Unlimited Biking" does and as a result, the Integrity, Professionalism, and Experience you are used to from a Fat Tire- run tour is absent from the unaccountable, dishonest, and unfriendly staff that Unlimited Biking provides. After showing up to check in ahead of our 10:30 AM tour time today, we were told what we booked is not what we would be receiving. When asked if we could receive what was represented on the websites, we were told no. No refund was offered - a classic bait-and-switch. On July 11, we booked the "Best of DC Electric Bike Tour" on the FatTireTours website for $79 each X 4. What was supposed to be a 3.5 hour tour, ended up being 2.5 hours. For this tour, the description says " Our electric bike tours operate in groups of a maximum of 8 people", however there were 14 people on our tour. The description indicates that we would be seeing the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, Union Station, The Jefferson Memorial, and the Tidal Basin. None of attractions were on our tour. The description also represents that we will be making a "Brief stop for lunch", however this did not happen either. Most importantly, the representation of this particular tour was that it would be an "Electric Bike Tour". In fact, the description of the tour boasts " No other tour on our menu covers as many sites as this one!". But instead, we were on a regular tour, with regular bike riders. We were given Electric Bikes, but since all the other riders on the tour had regular bikes, we could not take advantage of the benefits of the electric bikes. We spent the majority of the time, coasting, or braking while we waited for children on the rest of the tour on their non-electric bikes to keep up the pace. The tour was slow and we saw less. When I asked for the tour that we paid for, Emily M said "you are getting an "Electric Bike Tour....you are on a bike Tour and you have Electric Bikes", ignoring the fact that all other representations on both Fat Tire and Unlimited Biking websites clearly differentiate the Electric Bike Tours from all other tours. Subjectively adjusting the English language to defensively tell me, the customer, that I was incorrect, is a disgrace to customer service. At the end of the tour, Emily said "I understand there was a miscommunication on the Fat Tire Website that hasn't been updated" and offered us TO PAY MORE to take the 6:30 PM tour for half-price. When I asked for a refund, she refused, saying that it's a third-party mistake. When I told her the description on the Unlimited Biking website says all the same things in the description of the Electric Bike Tour, she said "oh, we'll have to look into that" and ended the conversation. For your reference, here are the representations of each tour made on your respective websites; neither of which is what we received today. https://www.unlimitedbiking.com/tours/monumental-electric-bike-tour/ https://www.fattiretours.com/washington-dc/tours/best-of-dc-electric-bike-tour

We had a fantastic time touring Versailles with Nick! Was the highlight of our trip to Paris for my 10 year old daughter. Well organized, we learned a ton and loved seeing the grounds. Highly recommend

Great Tour. Jason is a great tour guide and was very funny. We had a great experience even though our previous tour guide was sick and our Segway tour was cancelled. They upgraded our bicycles to electric which made my wife very happy. The tour was a lot of fun and we learned a lot. Jason was a wealth of information and was willing to go above and beyond to make sure we enjoyed ourselves.

I would definitely recommend taking a bike tour with Capital City! Rain or shine you'll be out there, I know because about 10 minutes into our tour it started raining. You get to see all the spots while your tour guide points out cool things and provides you with tid bits of info that you can then pass on to your friends. Do you know how lobbyists got their name? I do now, thanks to our great tour guide Greg- who did an awesome job guiding us through the city despite the pouring rain. If you're not about the bikes, they've got segways!

Highly recommend Fat Tire Tours. We took the 5hr electric bike tour. It was incredible!!! What a perfect way to take in all of the sites as a first timer. This tour made our trip!! A truly enriching experience. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable. She knew so many fun facts about every site that my mom and I would not have captured on our own. She really was terrific! We had plenty of time at each site too. We never felt rushed to move to the next monument and the bikes were easy to use. Thank you Fat Tire tours for a lifetime of memories!

I'm only hear for two days and I did moajority of my site seeing in 3 hours because of this tour. I Haven't been on any bike tours aside from this one But it was everything I imagined. Nice easy route. Knowledgeable tour guide, with good advice for your stay and information about the city. It's a great way to see the city. It last 3 hours hitting all the major building and memorials. The tour guide goes at a slow pace on a low incline route.

See all photos from Christopher V. for Fat Tire Tours

Booked the day tour and our tour guide was Ben. Awesome tour--accentuated by the fact that it was November and my family was the only one booked, so we essentially got a private tour. Very clean facilities, clean bikes, and clean trailer for my 2 year old to tag along in. We hit all the major Washington DC spots: Old Postal Building, White House, National Mall, Washington Monument, a few Memorials, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Hill within a 3 hour span. What amazed me was just the amount of history and knowledge Ben had memorized in his head. Presidents, dates, stories, about practically every single building/monument I saw. More awesome is the fact that because it was a private tour, we got to see some things not normally on the schedule, and we also had our own personal photographer. Lol Very chilly November day to have the tour, and we were greeted with hot chocolate upon arriving back at the store! The girls at the front desk and Ben were all so friendly and even provided some tips as to what restaurants were "kid friendly", neighborhoods not to stray to, museum hours, etc. I'd definitely recommend starting your DC vacation with this tour!

Biking through the national mall on our private tour. Little one toasty in the trolley.

Biking through the center lanes.

Great bike tour for 3 hours! Got to see all the major monuments and stop to take pictures: White House, Lincoln Memorial, Smithsonian Museums, WW2 Memorial etc. There were only 4 people in my group including myself and my boyfriend, which was really great. I would definitely recommend this is a great way to see a lot of downtown DC, and then you can decide what you want to go back to. My boyfriend felt that our tour guide could have been a little more knowledgable on DC history, but I thought it was a great overview tour. The staff at the rental place was very friendly.

Best day of our trip to DC and would definitely rent again when we visit. Rental process was simple. Shop is just up the street from Lincoln Memorial. Our family of five saw the entire Mall, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial. War memorials, MLK Memorial, Across the Potomac to Kennnedy Center....all in a day with time to spare. Much more relaxing than a tour bus. I recommend a day on the bikes to anyone who will listen.

Our most amazing day in DC because of this company. Easy checkout. Great service. Bikes are great and ready to roll. Lots of helmets (make sure that kiddos get the right size!). Location is great to start at Lincoln Memorial and ride the whole mall. The ride is easy for even the most beginner rider. They have bike sizes for whole family and tandem too. Also Fanny pack on front for small items to make camera accessible for all those great pictures. This is a must do for your trip to D.C. It also helps that we had the most glorious spring day!!!

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Budget-Friendly Guide to Washington DC

January 7, 2013

Fun that Doesn’t Break the Bank

Looking to avoid your own fiscal cliff this year? Well, that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the weekend fun or cancel that vacation! Although rent and hotel prices in DC can be pretty high, believe it or not, DC is one of the best cities to stretch a buck. We got a few ideas for making the most out of your time in the city. Whether you are a local, a weekend traveler, or coming from across the world, these spots are worth checking out. We’ll be checking in over the next few weeks with a new post on things like cheap eats, drinks, experiences, and culture. This week, we’ll be looking at the big stuff in DC. If you are visiting here for the first time, these are some must sees. And if you are a local, be honest, when was the last time you went exploring the amazing city that you live in? So, lets take a look!

The Big Stuff

DC is really unique from other cities where you don’t need to pay $20 to get into this Museum or $30 to take an elevator to the top of this building. Almost every site worth visiting is free! Most people know that all the Smithsonian Museums are free here Washington, but have you checked out the view from the top of the Old Post Office Building ( visitor info here ). Sure, the Washington Monument is closed for renovations and typically offers a great free view of the city, but we also like the Old Post Office Building because you can see everything from up top and the lines were typically much shorter.

Don’t forget the Capitol Building and its relatively new visitors center complete with Capitol Museum . And right across the street is the incomparable Library of Congress Jefferson Building –one of the most beautiful buildings in the city–as well as the Supreme Court Building ( plan your visit here ). Just down Pennsylvania Avenue is the National Archives, home to the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution along with a host of other famous historical documents and a series of rotating exhibits. Did you know you can research your family’s genealogy for free there? No need for Ancestry.com!

Lastly, there are the breathtaking memorials. You probably know about the Lincoln, the Jefferson, the World War II Memorial and all the most famous ones around the National Mall. But have you hunted down the Teddy Roosevelt Memorial on Roosevelt Island? Just a short walk from the Rosslyn Metro Station, it makes a great day hike and is rarely crowded. What about the relatively new 9/11 Memorial or Air Force Memorial near the Pentagon. The Air Force Memorial has some amazing views of the city and the Pentagon while the 9/11 Memorials rivals anything on the National Mall for stunning imagery at night. You can get to them via the Metro at the Pentagon Station Finally, when was the last time you walked around Arlington Cemetery . One of our true National Treasures is a short walk from the Lincoln Memorial or right off the Arlington Cemetery Metro Station.

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• District of Columbia

Fat Tire Tours

502 23rd St NW, Washington , District of Columbia 20037 USA

• Independent
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Wheelchair Accessible
• More in Washington

Learn more about this business on Yelp .

Reviewed by Melissa A.

Highly recommend Fat Tire Tours. We took the 5hr electric bike tour. It was incredible!!! What a perfect way to take in all of the sites as a first timer. This tour made our trip!! A truly... Read more

Reviewed by L.A. P.

I was very disappointed when I arrived at my DC "Fat Tire" bike tour. I have been on Fat Tire tours before and all of their bikes are street cruisers that are super comfortable and easy to ride.... Read more

Reviewed by Wesley M.

Bait and Switch / Misrepresentation of Tours vs. what is received / affiliate company is non-accountable Fat Tire Tours DOES NOT OPERATE the DC bike tours. Their affiliate "Unlimited Biking"... Read more

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