Bamboo Bikes — Local services in Chiang Mai Province

We rented a bike from Bamboo bikes and had a truly awful experience. I will preface this review by saying that we should have inspected our bike more thoroughly before riding. That being said, the way we were treated as customers was shocking.

We picked up our bike from a bamboo bike partner this morning, and noticed that it was definitely worse for wear. We took the customary photos (scuff marks, etc) and took off for Doi Suthep. Right away we noticed our gas gauge was falling. Before leaving the city, our tank had fallen from full to 2/3. We thought this was odd, but thought we would continue to watch the gauge as we rode towards the temple. Before we had gone much further we were at a 1/2 tank. We filled our tank a couple of times before we realized something was very wrong. Our entire rear tire had split open, and the wheel was horribly flat. Now the awful efficiency of the bike made sense. We pushed the bike up the very steep hill in the heat until we were lucky enough to find a repairman, who was so thorough in cleaning up what we then realized was a very very worn bike. We paid him 220 baht, tried to salvage our day, and immediately came back to the shop once we got off the hill. Given how dangerous this day could have been, I was shocked at the behavior of the employees at Bamboo. Far from sympathetic, they shook their heads in unison when we showed them our horribly split open tire. “You are unlucky,” they repeated when we asked for the repair cost of the bike. I pointed out how the gas was surreptitiously falling as soon as we left in the morning, and one employee told me gas efficiency has nothing to do with flat tires, which was prettty shocking to hear from someone renting out bike for a living. Finally, two employees suggested we split the tire open ourselves, for a refund. One said such a rip could have only been made on purpose, with scissors. I could not believe it.

We finally seemed to have made some of the employees understand how dangerous this situation was, when we were patched through to the owner, an Australian man named Phill, on the phone. He was a complete jerk. He first kept telling me to calm down, then started laughing when I told him what had happened. “You’re jumping all over the place,” he kept saying on the phone. I offered to give him a chronological explanation of the morning, when I accidentally misspoke and said the bike was at half tank and fell to 2/3. As if he caught a child in a lie, he cackled saying “ah you should be happy, the gas increased as you rode!” His explanation was that perhaps the gas gauge was off balanced and the tire just happened to split just minutes later. I asked him if he even checks the tire pressure before renting out bikes and he laughed at me some more and tried to explain what PSI meant. Super super condescending.

At the end of the day, we concluded that this shop does not invest in their bikes and at best gave us a bike whose tire split open because it had had no maintenance. We were so lucky and were able to get help. I can’t imagine what could have happened to someone riding in the middle of traffic only to have their tire split open from negligence by this shop. Interestingly another reviewer on TripAdvisor recently noted their bike also was dropping gas and the back tire was flat and they had to pay for it (just two days before our experience). I wonder if this is bamboo bikes business practice- have the customers pay for maintenance by renting intentionally poorly maintained bikes? In either case, you’re welcome for the FREE new tire, Phill and bamboo bikes! We will certainly not...

On July 25, I rented a bike from Bamboo Bikes with the intentions of picking it up on July 26. At first, everything seemed normal; local Thai staff seemed knowledgeable on what kind of bike I should rent for my day trip adventure, very friendly with plenty of bikes to choose from - perfect!

On July 26, when I meant to pick up the bike, I woke up with swollen eyes. I was hardly able to see but I managed to cycle to the shop to ask if I can pick it up the following day instead (July 27). The Australian manager said yes yes no problem and actually recommended a hospital I should check out after showing him my eyes. Turns out I had tonsillitis and it spread to my eyes. Got my pills and the swelling went down on July 27th so I decided I was going to follow through with my day trip to the national park.

Bike was fine, had no issues with it. Returned it July 28th at 7:40AM to a Thai lady and she asked for 250baht... I was confused because I had an agreement with the manager on the 26th about picking it up on the 27th. He seemed so understanding at the time but on the 28th when I went to drop it off he acted confused like we never even had the conversation. Zero empathy. Just money hungry. I mean, I’m pretty sure I’m the only dark skinned female he had a conversation with between the last two days so I was extremely baffled at his response. Mind blowing to be honest. Excellent actor.

For those who are sick and unable to use the rental bike on the day you planned to, visit the shop and return the keys so you don’t get a surprise charge. I was unaware of the protocol because the manager never mentioned this to me on the 26th. He just said yeah no problem, take care of yourself and pick it up the next day. If I was told I should return the keys, I would’ve done it, easy next question. But again, wasn’t set up for that opportunity. I have a feeling he knew what he was doing.

Poor customer service on all parts of the staff and warned my Instagram followers to avoid renting at Bamboo. Plenty of other reputable shops that don’t have ill intentions.

If you look up customer service it states "Customer service is the act of taking care of the customer's needs by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality service and assistance before, during, and after the customer's requirements are met."

They certainly didn't check the box of for being helpful or professional after. Anyway, something for you...

I just rented today (20 Nov 2017) and had a great experience. We were helped by Bond who thoroughly checked the bike and found a cracked fairing, writing it down so I would not be charged.

If you are kind and understanding, then please go here. If you are pushy and entitled, please go somewhere else.

They also do not raise rates in the high season.

I did read the scooter reviews from others. Here are my thoughts: -the smaller scooters are for puttering around the city and not for the mountains. Don't go to the mountains with the 99baht scooter. -Go slow and find someone who looks stable and follow them. Thai traffic patterns are confusing. -The scooters are in good condition, but not new and not perfect. -If something cracks, even some small piece of plastic, you will pay for it. I asked Bond how much it would be for various items, and it would be 500-1000 Baht to replace any plastic piece. This is reasonable because they have to buy the piece and install it. -mentally accept that maybe you'll have to pay an extra $10 if something goes wrong, even if you think it is not your fault. It will make your life and their life easier. I did not feel like they were likely to rip you off, but they have procedures that they must follow. -take pictures. My salesperson recommended I inspect carefully. -be courteous and they are courteous back.

If you don't normally ride, don't ride. If you don't know how to check tires tread and brakes (by feel), don't ride here.

Be accepting that issues come up. This is thailand. They aren't trying to screw you, but for 99baht, they aren't able to call a tow truck for you.

If you want full service, do a tour with TBB or hire a driver for a day.

But I loved my time on...