Mackinac Bike Barn — Local services in Mackinac Island

I had a terrible experience with Mackinac Bike Barn. The staff and manager were rude, and they overcharged me without explaining any policies upfront. I rented a tandem bike around 3:45 PM, and no one mentioned the shop’s closing time or late return fees. When I returned at 6:30 PM, the shop was already closed. I noticed a missed call from them around 5:45 PM, but the voicemail only mentioned they left a lock for me at the counter to lock the bike upon return(still no mention of late fees). I followed their instructions, locked the bike, and left a message letting them know the time I returned the bike. The next day, I was shocked to be charged $150 for a about 3-hour rental. The rate for a tandem was $20/hour FYI. When I called to discuss it, the staff was dismissive and rude, even hanging up on me. The manager was no better, telling me, “We’re charging you $150, end of story, and don’t come back.”

This isn’t about the money. If I was told these policies upfront and I was late knowing the policies. I would pay them without questions asked. This is about how they treated me, despite doing everything they asked. I felt completely mistreated. Be warned if you plan to rent from here. BTW, the bike seats moves easily, so check the seat out before you ride it out. I read couple other reviews and they had similar experiences so be warned...

We took a bicycle trip from South Bend, IN to Mackinac Island, MI over the course of 10 days. We needed to have our bikes boxed up so that we could put them under and Indian Trails bus to head home, and it just so happened that we were on Mackinac Island for Memorial Day (their 2nd busiest day of the year!). The owner and mechanic (Jaime) were both extremely helpful for boxing up our bikes, and they had them done in time for us to catch the ferry back to Mackinaw City. The staff was extremely laid back and friendly, and their customer service was second to none. After they boxed up our bikes, they put them in a little wagon and wheeled them over to where the ferry picks up which was above and beyond our expectations! They were a life-saver for our trip and helped us get home on schedule for a friend's wedding.

After they were done boxing our bikes, we had about 20 minutes to kill, so we talked Jaime. During the winter months, he heads down to Florida to perform street magic. He showed us a few incredible tricks just using rubber bands. If you have some time to talk to the staff, it is definitely...

Pros: -Nice folks -Free water and use of baskets IF you ask. -Their half-day rental includes 5 hours instead of most on the island that only give you 4 hours. -They gave us a courtesy call to let us know we had to turn the bikes back in by 6pm. -Locally owned. -Have a cool logo

Cons: -It seems like ALL the bike shops on the island are terribly disorganized...at least the two we rented from were. -If you plan to take them up on their offer for the half day rental be sure to ask about their closing time. We didn't and they called us to say we had one hour left on our rental. We planned on keeping them for 5 hours...nope. -Their "mountain bikes" were NOT traditional mountain bikes but instead women's multispeed cruiser-style bikes...for mountain bike prices. Others have actual Trek mountain bikes. -Shop was HOT and one of their coke coolers was not working.

If you are on the island, don't overthink bike rental...they are all similar priced...but DO overthink fudge and wait until you get OFF the island and buy it at St Ignace or in Mackinac City...unless you plan on taking out a...