Fancy Apple Bike & Scooter Rentals and Tours at Central Park — Attraction in New York

1 hr e-bike for 28.81 USD taxes in. Priced steep, but most affordable I could find for Central Park. Most of the staff were friendly, but curt. For example, a helmet, lock and map are included, but the only thing offered me without having to ask for it was the map (and I forgot to grab a lock).

Bike worked great. I rode the entire perimeter of Central Park! It was my first e-bike ride ever, and I was delighted to leave all the uphill effort to the electric juice 😝. The feeling of gliding up and downhill was spectacular. I highly recommend giving these things a try.

I hoped to climb a tree or two (I saw Redwood the night before) but, like I said, I forgot to grab a lock. I made a $200 damage/theft deposit, so I was anxious of anything happening to the bike.

I only had an hour anyway. I returned the bike a few minutes early because I was anxious of paying $20 an hour for going over. I haven’t paid that much per hour for anything since dial-up internet 😆

All this anxiety isn’t uncommon for me. The 4 staff were all dudes, tall, and muscular, and I felt intimidated. Their bike shop reminded me of the dark paintball shops I went to in my youth. To be clear, I’m responsible for my feelings, but I was hoping to develop a little more trust for the staff when I met them.

The big guy at the counter put the deposit back on my card no problem. He was happy to ask where I was from, and even offered me a free bottled water from their fridge—so, great final...

Hidden costs! We booked a central park bike tour. First of all, some of the bikes were in quite bad condition. We had to sign a paper saying that everything was fine with the bikes before even seeing them. After this, they scanned our sightseeing passes, redeeming them for the bike tour ticket. Now that wie had already paid for the tour and could not cancel anymore without paying the full amount they told us, that a bike insurance was mandatory and we had to pay an additional fee. On the paper we had signed earlier, there was an option for that where you could chose "no, I don't want an extra insurance" but now they were telling us that it was mandatory. After that, they even wanted us to leave an ID there as a deposit although we were doing a tour with a guide, not riding their bikes unattended with a risk of us not coming back. The tour itself was ok, but a bit of a rush. The tour guide didn't really plan enough time and had to hurry, so sometimes she started explaining things when not everybody had made it to the stop. Also, the tour guides are third party and don't seem to get paid so well. She asked for tip, although the tour itself is already quite expensive for riding bad bikes for 2 hours. All in all: beware of the hidden costs, you will not read this...

To begin, their marketing messaging is misleading. When you look at their website to select a bike, you will see many Trek bike options. We reserved a Trek for my wife and one for me.

They did not give us Treks. When I told the attendant that we had reserved Treks, he mumbled something like “Trek is only for mountain bikes, and anyhow they break down all the time”. I told him that I’ve ridden Trek bikes at home for years and have never had issues like that. I pushed him a bit further on the fact that I had reserved a Trek bike. His response was something along the lines of “Well in the fine print it says we will give you a usable bike.”

Our bikes were basic, utility three-speed bikes. The gears on my bike did not work. It did not bother me as I ride frequently; however, for someone who does not ride often, the modest hills of Central Park would have been a challenge.

When we returned, I told both the attendant and the person behind the counter that the gears on my bike did not work. Did they apologize? No. Did they offer a credit for my bike? No. But as we walked out the door, guess what they were doing with my bike? Stacking it right back with all of the other rentals. I reminded them again. the gears did not work but did not get a response from...