diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index bffecfe8a..ba731494f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -597,7 +597,7 @@ traffic:
 
 ```ruby
 stack = Faraday::RackBuilder.new do |builder|
-  builder.use Faraday::Retry::Middleware, exceptions: Faraday::Retry::Middleware::DEFAULT_EXCEPTIONS + [Octokit::ServerError] # or Faraday::Request::Retry for Faraday < 2.0
+  builder.use Octokit::Middleware::Retry
   builder.use Octokit::Middleware::FollowRedirects
   builder.use Octokit::Response::RaiseError
   builder.use Octokit::Response::FeedParser
@@ -631,6 +631,22 @@ x-ratelimit-reset: "1377205443"
 
 See the [Faraday README][faraday] for more middleware magic.
 
+### Retrying
+
+If you want to retry requests, use `Octokit::Middleware::Retry`.
+
+It uses [Faraday Retry gem] for Faraday 2.x. Add the gem to your Gemfile
+
+```ruby
+gem 'faraday-retry'
+```
+
+Next, insert `Octokit::Middleware::Retry` before `Octokit::Response::RaiseError`:
+
+```ruby
+Octokit.middleware.insert Octokit::Response::RaiseError, Octokit::Middleware::Retry
+```
+
 ### Caching
 
 If you want to boost performance, stretch your API rate limit, or avoid paying
@@ -655,6 +671,7 @@ Once configured, the middleware will store responses in cache based on ETag
 fingerprint and serve those back up for future `304` responses for the same
 resource. See the [project README][cache] for advanced usage.
 
+[retry]: https://github.com/lostisland/faraday-retry
 [cache]: https://github.com/sourcelevel/faraday-http-cache
 [faraday]: https://github.com/lostisland/faraday
 
diff --git a/lib/octokit.rb b/lib/octokit.rb
index b029d8bc9..db9c9fcbd 100644
--- a/lib/octokit.rb
+++ b/lib/octokit.rb
@@ -76,6 +76,12 @@ def method_missing(method_name, *args, &block)
       super
     end
   end
+
+  module Middleware
+    # In Faraday 2.x, Faraday::Request::Retry was moved to a separate gem
+    # so we use it only when requested.
+    autoload :Retry, 'octokit/middleware/retry'
+  end
 end
 
 Octokit.setup
diff --git a/lib/octokit/default.rb b/lib/octokit/default.rb
index ca2e2fb73..3d4d84833 100644
--- a/lib/octokit/default.rb
+++ b/lib/octokit/default.rb
@@ -6,14 +6,6 @@
 require 'octokit/version'
 require 'octokit/warnable'
 
-if Gem::Version.new(Faraday::VERSION) >= Gem::Version.new('2.0')
-  begin
-    require 'faraday/retry'
-  rescue LoadError
-    Octokit::Warnable.octokit_warn 'To use retry middleware with Faraday v2.0+, install `faraday-retry` gem'
-  end
-end
-
 module Octokit
   # Default configuration options for {Client}
   module Default
@@ -31,16 +23,6 @@ module Default
 
     # Default Faraday middleware stack
     MIDDLEWARE = Faraday::RackBuilder.new do |builder|
-      # In Faraday 2.x, Faraday::Request::Retry was moved to a separate gem
-      # so we use it only when it's available.
-      if defined?(Faraday::Request::Retry)
-        retry_exceptions = Faraday::Request::Retry::DEFAULT_EXCEPTIONS + [Octokit::ServerError]
-        builder.use Faraday::Request::Retry, exceptions: retry_exceptions
-      elsif defined?(Faraday::Retry::Middleware)
-        retry_exceptions = Faraday::Retry::Middleware::DEFAULT_EXCEPTIONS + [Octokit::ServerError]
-        builder.use Faraday::Retry::Middleware, exceptions: retry_exceptions
-      end
-
       builder.use Octokit::Middleware::FollowRedirects
       builder.use Octokit::Response::RaiseError
       builder.use Octokit::Response::FeedParser
@@ -147,7 +129,7 @@ def login
       # from {MIDDLEWARE}
       # @return [Faraday::RackBuilder or Faraday::Builder]
       def middleware
-        MIDDLEWARE
+        MIDDLEWARE.dup
       end
 
       # Default GitHub password for Basic Auth from ENV
diff --git a/lib/octokit/middleware/retry.rb b/lib/octokit/middleware/retry.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f442b16eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/octokit/middleware/retry.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+module Octokit
+  module Middleware
+    base = if defined?(Faraday::Request::Retry)
+             Faraday::Request::Retry
+           else
+             require 'faraday/retry'
+             Faraday::Retry::Middleware
+           end
+
+    # Public: Retries each request a limited number of times.
+    class Retry < base
+      def initialize(app, **kwargs)
+        super(app, **kwargs, exceptions: DEFAULT_EXCEPTIONS + [Octokit::ServerError])
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/octokit/client_spec.rb b/spec/octokit/client_spec.rb
index 3d3d81fcd..3b5f6458b 100644
--- a/spec/octokit/client_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/octokit/client_spec.rb
@@ -514,6 +514,27 @@
     end
   end
 
+  describe 'retry' do
+    it 'retries for 504 response' do
+      client = oauth_client
+      client.middleware.insert Octokit::Response::RaiseError, Octokit::Middleware::Retry
+
+      requested = false
+
+      request = stub_get('/foo').to_return do
+        if requested
+          { status: 200 }
+        else
+          requested = true
+          { status: 504 }
+        end
+      end
+
+      client.get('/foo')
+      assert_requested request, times: 2
+    end
+  end
+
   describe 'redirect handling' do
     it 'follows redirect for 301 response' do
       client = oauth_client