So, have you thought of renting a mountain bike? If so, that means you are actually planning for an adventurous trip with family or friends. Renting mountain bike is always a great way to ride through the terrain areas. But, there are higher possibilities of things turning out sideways if you want to borrow the right bike. In case you have decided to leave that trusty steed behind on next adventure, remember to ask some important questions to the rental stores before finalizing on the bike of your choice. Unless you find proper answers to your question, keep this idea of central park bike rental to a halt as of now.
- How well and often are these bikes maintained?
When you are riding through the sloppy terrain, there is no chance of making a mistake. A simple turn can often lead to fatal accidents. So, you have to be very sure of the high maintenance of your selected mountain bikes. If these bikes are maintained every day or after coming back from a ride, then you are good to go. There are some stores known to perform awesome jobs in maintaining their bikes. They clean, lube and even repair the broken parts after coming back from each rental. But you can't expect the same with other shops too. So, checking on this point is mandatory.
- What about the years of your rented bikes?
What are the years when these bikes were manufactured? Are they new or quite old? Most of the bike rental firms will replace the rental fleets on a yearly basis but that's not the case with every shop you may come across. The rental bikes are known to be beaten up quite bad after few rides, especially when they have to travel through rough mountain roads. So, in most of the cases, the shelf life of these rental bikes are not more than a year. It solely depends on how often the bikes hit the road. Be sure to check that point out as well.
- What are the pedal types used by these mountain bikes?
Most of the rental bikes have flat pedals, which can be used by wearing regular shoes. But, there are some other options available in the market with Flat or SPD pedals combined. It is going to be flat on one side and SPD on other. There are very few bike options available on rent, which come with SPDs. So, if you are actually planning to ride a bike with SPD shoes on, you have to bring shoes and pedals right with you.
On the other hand, you can ask if shops have proper pedals for shoes and you can put them on. If the answer is no, ask them if that can put the SPD pedal on your rented bike under customized rules and to save you from lugging pedal wrench. You need to be very specific with your requirements before the matter gets out of hand.
- Do you think that the seat post of your rented bikes have quick release?
This is yet another mandatory question that you need to ask your rental company before addressing any of their bikes. Depending on the ride type you are addressing, quick release seat post is quite useful when compared to fixed ones. There are some rental bikes available, which come with fixed options. Be very specific in this regard and do ask this question in advance. You don't want a bike to ride, which you haven't even asked for.
- How can you access damaged bikes versus wear and tear ones?
Rental bikes are always victims of abusive rides, especially when these are used at lift-accessed parks. Most of these abuses result in wear and tear, but it might cross into area of some actual damage. So, be very specific to ask the rental shops first about the policy they follow with damaged bikes and the wear and tear ones. Just to be on the safer side, you might have to do a thorough bike checkup on your own. Even before you take the bike out of the rented store, be sure to check on the existing damages, just like you follow with rented cars!
- Are these components all stocked or have been replaced?
There are some times, when the shops might swap out stock parts on rental bike with some of the cheaper options. To avoid such expensive parts getting thrashed, they may have to take this decision. In case you have set your heart on one particular bike with XT components, then ensure to check if those XT components come with certain make or model of bike. Be specific and you can even ask the members or attendants of central park bike rental shops to help you find your answer. Once you have done that, all your services will get covered for good.
- Can you get any discount for multi-day rents?
Most shops are kind enough to provide some discounts on the rental values if you got bikes for covering multiple trips at the same time. For example, you have to pay more if you are renting bike for a day. But if you are renting it for one long week then you may have to spend less. Even if the companies offer you with that service still they may not always post it on their websites. In case they fail to present any multi-day rate, try negotiating with the members for one. In some cases, you might end up with one free day for a rental package of 7 days!
Do they charge any security deposit or take pre-authorization of cards?
Most of the time, shops might take some sort of pre-authorization or deposit on credit card when you can actually rent it. There are some shops which might charge you quite a hefty amount just to present limited available credit on card. During such instances, find out the amount you need to make under deposit or pre-authorization for avoiding any kind of last minute surprises.
