Prior to my last trip in august I *wanted* to hire a bike, but hearing about the traffic etc I wondered of I would have the courage.
When I got there, I did a double take!! I thought there was NO WAY I could negotiate that safely on a bike, not having ridden for 12+ years.
Getting a bike was the BEST money I spent in Bali. Thjere acutally is a crazy kind of rythym to that apparent chaos on the roads, I went all over the island. have to admit negotiating Denpasar was thew most challenging, and you DO have to put up with fumes and not really relax for a second. The real bonus for me was, as a 40 european-looking woman the locals treated me so much differently, they respected the fact that I rode a bike.
Also, had to teenagers with me who got their own bikes, neither having ever ridden in ANY kind of traffic before, and they had a ball as well.
going back next month, first thing i do is get a bike.
If you are a bit hesitant, take a deep breath, be careful and DO IT:))