Rent a Bike NYC

Customer service is below average, beware of old bikes that lack maintenance. Bikes are very old and dangerous if you ever bring this up they will argue with you and basically call you a liar. My friends bike was so old and rusted that the bike chain continuously jerked and got stuck several times. That is not safe if you’re riding in Central Park downhill and your bike jerks or you can not stop because the breaks are faulty. We found out that the bike was very dangerous once we started riding in the park, we didn’t notice at the shop because we decided to walk the bikes to Central Park since it’s a 5 – 10 min walk. I suggest you ask them to test drive the bikes they give you to make certain that all the components are working correctly and are safe to ride before heading off. A nice bike ride became an annoyingly dangerous one.
If you want dismal customer service and don’t mind taking your life in you hands then feel free to use them, if you cherish your life then go elsewhere. There are tons of great bike rentals in NYC area but they are not one of them, stay clear.

I usually wouldn’t write a bad review, but I felt compelled to let ppl know that this bike rental shop is not responsible.
I bought the groupon, before going there I called and asked if I needed to reserve and they said not necessary. It was a different story once I got there.
I am 5’2″ and I need to ride a kid size bike bcs it just fits my height a lot better. While riding in Central Park, I noticed there was a clicking sound from the chain and the pedal became stiff. that made it hard to pedal especially up any hill. The chain was also making it hard for me to have my foot from not sliding. It just got to be too much. Had to called them while around 85^st. In the end walked back to this location. I explained it to the person inside the store, not only did she tell me I am too old to ride this kids bike, but that I am too fat. Mind you I have ridden kids bike before, and I had no issues, this bike was a DMX bike. she also said she should have not given me this bike to me in the first place. Needless to say I just walked out, I saw no point in staying there to be insulted. Planning to dispute this with groupon.

Horrible unreliable company.
We booked nd paid in full for two bikes a month before coming to NYC on their website
When we got to the office we were told same things as you may read in other reviews: that there are two companies there and the one we rented from does not give safe bikes, that when I write to them they will give me a refund (no refund in store, though, cause this is ‘another company’), that ‘it is my problem, not theirs’, oh my goodness! This argument went on and on.
One word: HORRIBLE! This place is not where you want to spend any portion of your vacation in NYC! Absolutely disgusting customer service, some made up stories about a second company and very very rude cashier named Arzuv.
In the end we were offered to rent a bike from this ‘second’ company for 40 USD instead of 20 USD per day! Does this seem legit to you?
Would not go back there!
On a positive note: we did get our refund through paypal.

Would not recommend.
Instead of bikes that we booked online, they gave us headache, bad attitude and bad aftertaste!
Rude, incompetent woman behind a desk and some very fishy business going on there. We could not pick up the bikes we booked online, because apparently they do not cooperate with this company anymore. The price for the full day rental at the location is 40 instead of 20 dollar. And get that: you can still book a bike on their website as of today (September 25), despite the fact that they ‘do not cooperate with them’!
What a scam!
Do not waste y. our time there

We rented bikes here because we wanted to ride around and explore NYC. They rented us two bikes without a bike lock because they were «out of them.» I wanted to ask for our money back and go elsewhere, but my fiancé, who was eager to hit the road after we already had to run to the ATM since they don’t take credit cards, said we’d just buy a lock at a bike shop along the way, something you should never have to do when renting a bicycle. We didn’t find a bike shop, so we could not go in any museums, and we could only stop at an outdoor café where we could sit with the bikes. If it were up to me, we would have left the stupid bikes unlocked, and if they were stolen, it would have been the bike rental company’s fault for not giving us a lock. When we returned the bikes, I expressed my frustration only to be reminded that they did not have enough locks. They should have one lock per bike, and we rented two.
Their baskets also fly off when you hit a bump, which is a safety hazard.
Go to Bike & Roll, an established and respectable company with locks and bike pouches for every bike.

The worst place. Could not give us any bikes although we booked in advance and payed. We did not get our money back.

Wow is this place a disaster. Made a reservation online, but the girl at the counter wouldn’t honor it. She said the site belongs to the previous owner and they don’t get the money. Instead of frantically calling the owner because there were several dissatisfied customers armed with smartphones and itchy review fingers, she said he’ll be here at 6 (several hours later). Well, here’s your reward. One owner is possibly a criminal, running an online fraud operation. The new one is an idiot because he doesn’t understand how customer satisfaction works. And his clerks are scared and worthless.
PS — don’t know if they’ll change their name or address, but if you see a «bike rental shop at 40 W55th street» — RUN!!!

DO NOT RENT BIKES HERE!
This bike shop has a legitimate website with a sophisticated-​looking reservation system, but its business is far from legit.
Background:
I reserved 2 bikes via the website. When we arrive the bike shop with my confirmation yesterday at the requested time, the store lady, named Akay, told us that they are having some business issues and that all their bikes, being old and broken, are not suitable for us. Right away, she offered a refund, where she asked me to fill in a form and send an email to their general email address. Apparently, the refund will be processed in a day or two — stay tuned to hear if I actually get my money back.
Scam:
1) If they are in fact close for business, why do they take reservation online? When we asked the store lady, she said they are taking the website down. So far, the website is still up and running, claiming that they have «the best prices for rent a bicycle in NYC Manhattan» and that booking though the website can save 70%.
2) As we left the store, we saw at least 4 people holding lollipop signs, advertising the bike rental store, along 6 Ave between 55 St and 57 St. Why advertise when you don’t have bikes?
My conclusion is that this business targets tourists and provides them with broken bikes. Alternatively, on a nice summer day like yesterday, they might be saving their bikes for walk-​ins only, so that they can charge more (vs honoring the 70% discount for those who made reservation online). Since I have not yet seen the refund hitting my account, they might not even return my money. Regardless, this rental store is a total scam. If possible, I would rate it 0 star here.

We booked two bikes the evening before on their website, because it said you’ll get a 70% discount and don’t have to wait in the line.
As soon as we got there the next day they made us wait in the same line as walk-​ins. When it was our turn we were told that there were no more bikes available, despite giving bikes to two customers in front of us – who didn’t pay in advance.
Outside of the fact that they didn’t reserve our bikes, the customer service was horrible! The girl behind the counter kept making excuses that they were new employees and the management had changed recently. She also mentioned that they had the same issue two days ago, which makes me wonder why they hadn’t addressed the problem earlier.
Anyway, we filled out a form to get our money back and also sent an email to them right afterwards. We got our money back in less than 24hrs, which is the only positive feedback that I can give this place.
My advice: You can try and get a bike by walk-​in, but don’t reserve online! Although without the online discount they are kind of expensive if you compare them to the billion other bike rental stores around central park.

Terrible. Made a reservation and was told there were no bikes. Cannot get refund. No answer on phone line. Do not use.

I bought the groupon deal before reading the terrible reviews of this company and I braced myself for a bad experience but I never expected my experience to be SO BAD.
I made a reservation online at 1pm and reached at 1pm only to be told that they are closing at 2pm? Who closes at 2pm on a beautiful sunny day? anyway the man at the counter denied that we had a reservation, which was exactly what happened to other reviewers as well. It was awful because we felt like we were being accused of lying when we indeed made a reservation. why have a reservation page online when it does not work properly?
Anyway to girls came in and the shop promptly ‘reopen’ again for bike rentals. however, there were no tandem bikes working they were only going to get fixed when the mechanic comes in ‘maybe mar or apr’ and our voucher expires in march?? Why advertise that you have tandem bikes when you don’t? I only bought this voucher because I thought I could finally cycle around Central Park with my husband since I cannot cycle. I could easily sue them for false advertising. So despite all the trouble and disappointment I still had to negotiate with groupon for a refund. Really wna thank this company for ruining our day!

I wanted to use our Groupon bike deal this weekend so I visited
to make a reservation (as instructed).
I have completed questionnaire on the next page, and put my Groupon# in the Groupon Voucher field but the website indicates Groupon code «invalid.»
Since the weather is nice today, we took a trip to the rental location at 40 W 55^th Street, New York, New York 10 019 hoping to pick up the bike for today. When we got there the business is closed with no notice. I have called 334−245−3692 and was told that, «We’re closed.» Then he hung up the call.
This is a bad experience and a waste of my time. Don’t go to @rentbikenyc!!!

I called the day before the marathon and the guy Mike told me that the bikes for the whole day were just for 20 dollars. That was the cheapest price for bike rentals.
I went to the shop with my friend the next day and the bikes were perfect and we had so much fun.
Thanks again Mike, I would definitely recommend this place.

Poor bicycles, poorer service…
The bicycles we got had broken gears, considering they only had 3 gear to begin with I ended up paddling only 1 gear for the entire day and the guy wouldn’t replace the bikes! The helmets we got were all messed up and unwearable… By far the worst service I ever got in the city. Do your self a favor and avoid this place.

One of the things I really wanted to do on my first trip to NYC was ride a bike around Central Park. Always looking for a deal, I found this company on Groupon and was excited that I only had to pay $ 16 for an all-​day bike rental. I arrived late in the afternoon to pick up my bike, knowing I only had a few hours before they closed. The man at the counter hesitated for quite some time when I asked for a bike and told me that I had to be back right on time or he would keep my driver’s license and charge me for an extra day. I left and enjoyed my time checking out Central Park. When I returned (about 15 minutes early), the man was waiting outside for me and grabbed the bike from my hands and pretty much through my ID back at me. Overall, this place is fine. I got what I wanted: A bike rental for cheap. They lose a few stars because of their (lack of) customer service.

Pretty happy with these guys. We looked at the citibike rentals and it gets really expensive ($ 24/​hr) for longer than 30mins. This place gave us a deal where we got bikes for $ 20 total for 4 hours! We had a great ride all through Central Park (where the citibikes don’t have any stations).
The bikes aren’t exactly new, mine had very loud brakes and a broken pedal, but it still worked okay, and overall still happy to give 4 stars.

These guys are fast and quick to the point. Easy and fair priced rentals at $ 10/​hour which is the same rate as renting a public city bike by the park.

I was a bit put off by the person who answered the phone, he was very curt/​rude and I felt very awkward while talking to him. I don’t expect red-​carpet treatment but as a paying customer I do expect courteous behaviour. I was fully prepared to have to deal with unpleasantness after reading the reviews. Thankfully, we didn’t face any issues when we reached their store. We had a Groupon for all day bike rentals (2 bikes for 30 $). The store hours listed on various sites are confusing, so make sure to ask what time you need to return the bikes .
If you don’t have a Groupon, booking online is also a good option — if you book through their website you can save upto 50% off. If you’re renting a bike on weekends, it’s best to make reservations to avoid issues when you get there. You need to leave your ID or credit card as deposit before taking out the bikes. You can ask for helmets, baskets, chain lock, or a map of the park — all are included in the price of the rental. Their website doesn’t show options for the kind of bikes you can rent. We got the Jamis Explorer bike — the bikes were ok, not very comfortable. Pedalling up-​hill on that bike was tough, I thought biking in Central Park would be easy-​peasy but it’s quite a work out! My husband seemed to be cruising on the bike, so maybe it was just me.
We biked the outer loop twice, stopping in between to explore the bridges/​arches and the gardens, break for lunch and relax on the lawn. Biking is a great way to explore Central Park!

Book online and you get a full day for $ 24.99.
It doesn’t get any better than that.

I wanted to give these guys a break – and an alright review, but they were very disorganized and confrontational, when both picking up the bikes and dropping them off.
The bike riding was a highlight of our trip, but dealing with these guy had us frazzled when we went in because they couldn’t find our (paid up front) reservation, and then coming back they were sulky like little kids giving us the silent treatment until they became very confrontational about being late for check in time.
If you rent online you get a good price break – and they’re decent bikes that don’t have logos splashed all over them, but if you don’t have your (Paypal) receipt with you – not like a real confirmation from the store – they have an especially hard time finding it, searching your name through various gmail accounts.
In this process I gathered that they use at least three different web sites that have conflicting information – which they’re aware of, but in a thick Russian accent they challenged me: «What web site?! Where did you read that! Show me!» So I did on my cell phone, then they backed down, and said it was okay that we came in a little after 7pm because the web site I reserved on says they close at 8pm…
Hey, I just want to rent some bikes and have some fun here… it’s way NOT okay to be treated like that in front of my girlfriend, then dismissed in a pissy attitude that we’re «free to go» because of their disorganization and incompetence?
It took a lot of patience to not go all NY Postal back at them.
I would look elsewhere first.