IN BRIEF
Decathlon is launching re-lease in Belgium, a service that puts leasing bikes back out on hire once their first three-year contract has run its course. The machines go back through the retailer’s Circular Hub in Mechelen, where they undergo a technical inspection, any repairs needed and a series of tests before heading out again. The press release gives three examples: €55 a month for a Stromer STR3 leased at €110 when new, €40 for an RCR-F Pro road bike against €80, and €23 for an E-three 500 cargo bike against €45. Decathlon sees it as the logical next step for the growth of its own bike leasing business, whose new contracts are up 71% year on year.
| Model given as an example | Value when new | Lease when new | Second-hand value at 3 years | re-lease |
| Stromer STR3 | 8 200 € | €110/month net (€3,420 all-in over 3 years) | 4 100 € | €55/month net (€1,710 all-in over 3 years) |
| RCR-F Pro road bike (Ultegra Di2 2×12) | 6 200 € | €80/month net (€2,690 all-in over 3 years) | 3 100 € | €40/month net (€1,345 all-in over 3 years) |
| E-three 500 cargo bike | 2 700 € | €45/month net (€760 all-in over 3 years) | 1 350 € | €23/month net (€380 all-in over 3 years) |
Bike leasing has brought a particular seam to the surface: recent machines, serviced for three years by a professional, that are reaching the end of their contract. With re-lease, Decathlon turns them into an extra outlet, on top of its conventional second-hand stock.
How Decathlon re-lease works
The principle fits in one sentence: according to the press release, a bike that has reached the end of its three-year lease sets off for a second hire cycle. In between, it passes through the Circular Hub that Decathlon runs in Mechelen, Belgium. The press release describes a technical inspection there, the repairs judged necessary and a series of tests; only the bikes that come out of it fault-free enter the programme.
The retailer points out that refurbishing its bikes at the end of a lease is nothing new for it: it has been doing so for more than five years. What changes is that a further outlet is added to second-hand sales: depending on its condition, the bike joins either the refurbished market or a new hire package, insurance and mileage allowance included, over a three-year cycle.
On the distribution side, the press release names o2o Bicycle Leasing, Joule, Cyclis and VDW leasing as leasing partners, along with Hellorider in the Netherlands.
What a second-hand bike on lease costs
This is where the offer becomes readable. Decathlon publishes three complete examples, from the new price through to the re-lease monthly payment. The press release sums up the gap in one sentence: “re-lease costs half as much as leasing”. According to the press release, the Stromer STR3 speed pedelec is worth €8,200 new and hires for €110 a month on a conventional lease, for a second-hand value estimated at €4,100 after three years — and €55 a month on re-lease; the press release also puts the total cost over three years, insurance and mileage allowance included, at €1,710 against €3,420 for the first cycle.
Same logic on the RCR-F Pro road bike fitted with Ultegra Di2 2×12: €6,200 new, €80 a month first, €40 afterwards. And on the E-three 500 cargo bike, sold at €2,700, the monthly payment falls from €45 to €23. In all three cases, the press release also puts a figure on the total cost over three years, insurance and mileage allowance included: €2,690 then €1,345 for the RCR-F Pro, €760 then €380 for the E-three 500.
A leasing market growing fast
The service arrives on a widening base. Decathlon reports a 71% rise in its new bike leasing contracts and an 81% rise in revenue from that business, with an average basket of around €3,000. The retailer has set itself a target of 1,500 leasing bikes sold by the end of 2026 and is banking on 65% growth a year through to 2030.
Leasing already weighs heavily on some parts of its catalogue: according to the press release, 23% of the cargo bikes and 26% of the Van Rysel bikes the retailer shifts go through this channel. Mechanically, the bigger that fleet grows, the bigger the re-lease reservoir grows with it — and that is exactly the argument put by Nathan Goddefroy, “Second Life” manager at Decathlon Belgium: “The more leasing bikes are put on the road today, the bigger the supply of quality, well-maintained second-hand bikes will become in the coming years for a second leasing cycle.”
That leaves the question readers in France will be asking: the 17 September press release is signed by Decathlon Belgium and describes the scheme for that market only. It says nothing about a rollout in other countries.
