Just back from a day out on the Barclays Cycle Hire bikes in London, I’m feeling rather smug. Smug because only the biking cognoscenti are out on them this month, and I felt like something of a pioneer cruising around on the hulking bike.

Those in the know registered their interest in trying the new system a few months ago – the hoi polloi can join in from September 1.

I can’t take the credit for my involvement. My mate Dilger – who incidentally rides the heaviest, rustiest jalopy I have ever had the misfortune to see – organised it all. If the Brompton from my wife was the most exciting birthday present ever, then this was the most thoughtful.

“A day out on the Barclays Cycle Hire bikes – all expenses met, no expense spared,” the card read, for Dilger is a (properly published) poet.

We set off from Oxford by bus just after 9am last Thursday. We alighted in Baker Street, found a nearby docking station and rode our first hire bikes.

Initial impressions were good – and they lasted. The bikes are heavy, sure, but rigid and sprightly enough for London’s mainly flat roads but there’s a three-speed hub gear to help you up the odd incline.

The brakes and lights (LEDs, permanently on) are all cased in vandal-proof housings, and there a small U-shaped front rack with an extremely sturdy bungee cord to hold your bag in place.

The side-stand wasn’t much use and we didn’t find the lack of a lock a major problem – you simply leave the bike at a docking station if you need to park.

After an initial, minimal set-up cost, the bikes cost nothing for the first 30 minutes of hire, then £1 for the next 30 minutes.

After that, the costs soar, the idea being to encourage users to keep the bikes for as little time as possible. In 30 minutes, you can traverse most of central London if you know where you’re going.

We brandished our plastic smart-keys, released our steeds, consulted the maps (sent with the key) and set off.

Our gambit was to take as many bikes out as we needed for up to 30 minutes at a time – in other words, to ride the capital for free.

Our 15-mile tour took us via Little Venice and a café in Regent’s Park, where we discovered that if you don’t pull your bike out of the stand almost immediately, it locks and keeps the bike, and you have to wait a full 29 minutes before you can hire another one.

In the end, we were out on the bikes for about seven hours with generous breaks for the British Library, the Wellcome Foundation, Tower Bridge and the South Bank.

The verdict? Already, all sorts of people were using the bikes and there was strong interest from envious passers-by.

Both for commuters wishing to avoid Tube fares and tourists who don’t mind aggressive black cabs, my hunch is that the scheme will take off like wildfire in September.

Reserve your smart-key now.