Looking for a wacky idea for a hen party? How about a bike ride? It’s the latest craze for brides-to-be and their guests, according to a new Oxford bicycle business which has experienced a boom in orders, using new technology.

The power of the Internet is such that a trickle of people from all over the globe find their way to the headquarters of Bainton Bikes in a residential street in North Oxford.

Despite Oxford's reputation as a cycling city, it's not easy to hire a bike here. Now, if you Google Oxford bike hire, the first thing you see is several references to Bainton Bikes. This is no accident. Co-founder Kevin Moreland, 29, works in IT, but he wasn't a website expert until he decided to set up the business with his partner, Honour Tomkinson, 30.

He said: "I designed everything myself — it was a learning curve for me to crack the search engine system. It has been amazing. We have been holding back on the publicity. We haven't put out any brochures, but people just turn up."

They launched the website in October, intending to spend several months preparing to launch the business, but events overtook them.

Ms Tomkinson said: "We thought we would spend the winter getting ready for the summer, but a lot of visiting students saw it on the Internet and hired bikes straight away for six months at a time. We have 30 bikes out at the moment, and 15 went out in December, just through the website."

Mr Moreland said: "Large parties come up from London and want to get out from the city, and it's awful that we have to turn them away because we've run out of bikes."

They are now working flat out restoring more of the abandoned bikes they are given by Oxford City Council, which has recently stepped up its efforts to clear precious space in city centre bike racks.

They are obviously plugging a huge gap in the market, but they say they are not surprised most Oxford cycle shops don't have enough hire bikes to cope with groups.

"It's hard work, hiring out bikes," said Ms Tomkinson. "Some people like road bikes, some people like mountain bikes; maybe they want a basket or a bell. It's a bit time-consuming."

Breakdown support and routine servicing is included in the bike hire, and they will even deliver to the customer's home or hotel.

Not surprisingly, they are mad about bikes, and each own several different models — for shopping, touring or off-road adventure. They started by doing repairs for friends, then lending out bikes they had restored for fun.

It was only after a few years that Ms Tomkinson gave up her teaching job to run the business full-time. She said: "We are looking to employ someone else now. We decided not to take out any loans, but to build up the business ourselves. Now we are becoming profitable — we expect to be turning over a profit by the end of the year."

Their constant stream of customers has included several groups who asked for guided tours, and they point out that they are perfectly placed for the trip to Blenheim Palace via the Oxford Canal.

They are now planning a link-up with Oxford Tourist Information Centre to offer regular guided bike tours. They will also use more modern technology, which Mr Moreland assures me is perfectly safe, to offer audio tours — booked online, naturally — helped by markers around the city.

"We have to get translations on to an MP3 player. You get a map telling you where to stop and then you stop and listen to the description of the attraction."

The only snag is the Oxford traffic, which takes some tourists by surprise. Ms Tomkinson said: "Some of the cycle tracks are terrible. We try to go across country where possible, and keep people off the main roads, but sometimes you can't avoid it. We are trying to do something about it through the pressure group Cyclox."

Cowley Road is a particular bugbear for their customers, they say. Mr Moreland said: "We haven't had anyone come back and say they had a terrible time. They come back for more."

After a bumper May Bank Holiday, with all their 65 bikes hired out, they have ambitious plans for growth, including franchising, offering tandems and children's bikes and trailers.

As for the hen parties, they are part of a growing trend, according to Bainton Bikes. Ms Tomkinson said; "We had a party going out for a stag do, an Australian rowing team and a lot of hen parties.

“One group went out wearing big white knickers on top of their clothes, across Port Meadow."