On 1 October 2026 Spain brings in a new set of road rules that affect anyone on a bike. It does not turn everything upside down, but it changes three things you will notice while renting a bike here: helmets, the way cars overtake you, and where you are supposed to ride. Here is what the text actually says.
Helmets, the real change
Royal Decree 518/2026 of 24 June rewrites article 118 of the road regulations. For bicycles and cycles in general, an approved or certified helmet, properly fastened, is compulsory for the rider and any passengers on interurban roads. It remains compulsory on all roads for anyone under sixteen.
What genuinely changes: the new wording no longer provides for any exception to that obligation outside built-up areas. In town, an adult cyclist still has no general helmet obligation, unless riding as part of a professional activity, in which case the helmet becomes compulsory on urban roads and town-crossing stretches.
Put plainly for a holiday here: the moment you leave town, helmet on.
What drivers overtaking you must do
Article 85 is rewritten too, and this one works in your favour. A driver overtaking a cyclist must:
- use part or all of the neighbouring lane and leave at least 1.5 metres of clearance;
- change lane completely where the carriageway has more than one lane in each direction;
- outside built-up areas, slow down by at least 20 km/h below the road's limit, before the manoeuvre and throughout it.
One useful detail if you ride as a group: a group of cyclists counts as a single moving unit. A car has to overtake the whole group in one go, rather than slipping in between the bikes.
Where you ride
The new article 153 gathers the basic rules for bicycles. Where there is no cycle lane, the bike rides on the carriageway. Where there is one, its use takes precedence, and the competent authority may make it compulsory using the R-407a sign.
Above all, a cyclist rides preferably in the centre of the lane, as far as their own safety and everyone else's allows. On a road with at least two lanes in each direction they ride in the right-hand lane, and may use the others to change direction or for safety. Motor vehicles, for their part, must keep at least five metres behind a cyclist ahead of them in the same lane.
So the instinct to hug the kerb is no longer the right one. Taking your place in the middle of the lane is what the text asks for, and it is what makes a cyclist visible.
Pavements and seafront promenades
This is the most useful point on this stretch of coast, where promenades are everywhere. Cyclists may not ride on pavements, apart from children under twelve where the town hall allows it. The text does allow cycling in other pedestrian areas, subject to whatever limits the town hall sets, and always giving priority and safety to pedestrians.
In practice: on a busy promenade you ride at walking pace and you get off the bike as soon as it fills up. That is what we have always advised along the Orihuela Costa seafront.
Riding at dusk
Also new: between sunset and sunrise, or in significantly reduced visibility, a cyclist on an interurban road must wear at least one lit or reflective item meeting personal protective equipment standards, visible from at least 150 metres.
What it means for your rental
None of this makes a ride any harder. Every rental includes the bike, a helmet and a lock, collected in Torrevieja (Playa de los Locos) or Orihuela Costa (Cabo Roig). A pedal-assist electric bike like ours counts as a bicycle under these rules: they apply exactly as written, with no licence and no paperwork.
If you would rather not think about traffic at all, two of our rides are car-free: the Torrevieja Vía Verde, on a former railway line, and the coast from Cabo Roig to Campoamor, which alternates promenade and quiet streets. To pick your ride, see city bike or electric bike, our city bikes and our electric bikes, or have a look at the frequently asked questions.
The two sources behind this article: the DGT press release of 23 June 2026 and the full text of Royal Decree 518/2026 in the BOE.
