FAQ
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All tours meet at our storefront at 564 Amsterdam Avenue (87th – 88th Streets) please plan to arrive 10 minutes prior to your tour time to check in and get fitted to your bike. Contact us if you are lost or running behind.
We have an orientation on how to operate the eBike and go over general safety procedures. You are provided with a bicycle Smart Walkie talkie helmet free of charge, and you are required to wear it for the duration of the tour.
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We have 10 child friendly tours ages: 8-15 years old. We have a shared eBike that will accommodate a parent and child. Please look at our “Shared eBike” picture so see if you can fit comfortably on the bike with your child. We also offer a caboose on certain tours for children 8-11 years old up to 80 pounds.
All members of my party are knowledgeable in operating a bike and feel comfortable riding around a busy New York City environment.
You should be in sufficient physical condition to comfortably ride an eBike -
In general, the attire on our trips is functional, casual, and suitable for the weather. When cycling, it is best that you dress in layers that can be put on and taken off during the day as temperatures change. We suggest you don’t wear flip-flops.
We recommend that you bring the following items:
- Sunglasses or cycling goggles
- Bottled water
- Sunscreen
- Windbreaker/light jacket
- A warm hat that fits under a cycling helmet**
- Fleece pullover and/or vest**
- Warm socks and gloves**
- Waterproof rain gear **
** These are important for autumn and winter tours.
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An electric bike (eBike) is a regular bike equipped with gears, an electric motor, and a battery. They’re also known and pedal-assisted bikes. The battery has a range of 25 to 50 miles, depending on how much you pedal and how many levels of assist you use. The eBike requires that you pedal, just like with a regular bike, but the engine helps you move, smoothly giving you extra power. The bikes have five levels of assist. If you do a long distance tour, we recommend you use a lower pedal assist number such as 1 or 2. The battery has enough capacity for you to enjoy a tour, but if it runs out of juice, do not worry. The eBike is a normal bike when the motor is off.
Very important: Never walk with the bike if pedal assist is powered on, as it will take off. Always turn the bike power off before dismounting!
Please see our eBikes page for more details.
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For all of our excursion and greenway tours, we require a 21-day notice for a full refund (except in the case of unsafe weather). See our weather policy below.
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Unless it’s an all-day rain event, tours operate as scheduled. An all-day rain event means it will rain for the entire length of the tour. If the tour is canceled due to weather, we contact you and give you the choice to reschedule or receive a full refund.
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Our comprehensive tours are designed with the ultimate safety, pleasure, and comfort of our adventurist guests in mind. We prepare you for a safe and fun bicycling experience no matter the tour you’re riding. The following safety guidelines make your bike ride safer:
- Bicycle riding is much like driving a car — the same basic rules of the road apply. Obey traffic signals and signs — yes, this means no running red lights, even if everyone else does.
- It’s important to pay close attention to other vehicles at all times and yield to traffic already on the road.
- Always ride on the right half of the road and never on the sidewalk.
- You must respect other bikers and pedestrians — especially pedestrians, as they have the right of way.
- Yield before entering a more important roadway or turning. It’s essential to look back and to the side before any movement.
- To keep the tour manageable, we must all follow in a group. No drifting away from the pack.
Please note you are responsible for your own actions. If the NYPD pulls you over for committing a traffic infraction, you are responsible for the ticket(s)!
***If you want to stop and take a picture, never stop short as other riders or vehicles might be behind you. Safely slow down and pull over.
***No talking/texting/posting on a mobile phone or using a camera or walkie-talkie while the bike is in motion. Wait until you are fully stopped.
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Our eBikes are inspected regularly and before issuance to customers; however, damage can occasionally occur when riding. A person that rents bikes take responsibility for returning the eBike intact and without damage, including minor damage or flat tires. Anything that gets damaged during the time of rental will have to be fixed or replaced. The cost depends on what is broken plus the cost of labor to fix the bike.
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We require a security deposit on all eBikes rented. A security deposit can be taken by credit card authorization for $500 and a passport or U.S. license.
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Most streets in NYC don’t have bike lanes, but we try to ride on the ones that do. Most of the tours we offer are on protected greenways and conventional bicycle lane routes. Occasionally, we have to veer out of them for whatever reason (construction, closed road, police activity, etc.), and some areas might only offer shared lanes with cars as you can see in the purple diagram below.
Below is a legend of the different types of bike lanes that are in NYC and that we ride on. Click here to view.
