Newbie here thinking of starting an e-bike tour company!

[Phil Peyton]

Hey folks!

I have yet to purchase my own e-bike, but fell in love with e-bikes after recently taking an e-bike tour around Paris!

It was awesome (as many of you already know and agree with)!

I hope to gain as much knowledge from the forum and site and make some new friends!

 

[GeorgeE8]

I agree about renting if possible from a local shop, if they let you. My shop where I live, they don't rent them out. But I did my home work and got to do a test ride before the final purchase. Buy one to fit you pacific needs. The e-bikes are like cars/trucks. They have already gotten expensive and for the price of some models, I'd rather buy a car!

 

[beast775]

Hi Phil..Things of importance.
1 batteries over 12ah are expensive,and you will need bigger ah if you have rentals..
2 insurance.
3 mechanic, or at least someone with DIY experience of ebikes on hand.
4 luck.


Mark.

 

[munchmeister]

Hi Phil..Things of importance.
1 batteries over 12ah are expensive,and you will need bigger ah if you have rentals..
2 insurance.
3 mechanic, or at least someone with DIY experience of ebikes on hand.
4 luck.


Mark.

I'm curious about your #1 for a rental operation. The length of the usual rental period would dictate what amp/hr you would need, wouldn't it? For example, if you were renting to tourists in, say, Paris (like the OP) and 90% of your customers wanted to ride down the Seine along a designated path to see the Eiffel Tower and then return (assuming this is possible, I don't know, but just for the sake of my question...) and this was relatively flat, and your standard rental period was for, say 3 hours, it seems you would be able to determine what you would need in a battery. Right? 12ah might be plenty, especially if you have several spare batteries, all charged and ready to go for the next customer. Just thinking "out loud" here. I've thought about a rental service as well. As for insurance, most places that rent things like motorcycles or scooters have waivers, etc., or you pay for the added insurance, for the equipment, etc. And luck? The best luck always seems to come with the best preparation, the best research and a great plan. To @Phil Peyton I say GO FOR IT ! And report back !

 

[beast775]

Spent a brief period 9 days helping out a shop doing ebike rentals, first thing i noticed is 70% didnt pedal the bikes and ran out of battery 12ah in 30-45 min and 20 miles from the shop. i would designate someone to just ride the rental till it quit, then cut 15% off the total and that would be there mileage and or time. theres alot more to it than that -weight- wind -hills, but thats a simple start. but a dedicated map would be the best,but i personally would take off somewhere new in a few minutes if i was visiting somewhere new.

 

[Phil Peyton]

All of this feedback is great and I'm still doing research as well as reading every history book about the city and going on preservation society free walking tours to learn as much as I can about the competition and what I think they are doing well vs. not, all the while researching the ebikes, etc. Also just to specify, I will not be renting the e-bikes out at all. They will only be used by tour participants on the tours which I lead (at least initially). Your feedback has all been helpful!

 

[Nirmala]

There is a ebike tour company like the one you are considering here in Sedona, AZ. You might want to contact the owner and ask her about her experiences:
https://ebikesedona.com/

She uses fat tire ebikes even though her tours are all on roads, not trails. She finds they are more forgiving for people who may not be so familiar with riding bicycles.

 

[Ann M.]

@Nirmala & @Phil Peyton, there's also the 'trendy' factor that the Sedona company is utilizing. Fat tire bikes are all over the ads so folks are curious about them and they do give a cushy ride. I imagine the tour company owner also focused on bikes that didn't have too many gizmos to run it; thus less confusing for the rider. Simplicity of Ebike operation was a consideration when renting to inexperienced or older riders--they just wanted to get on it and go without having to focus too much on the bike.

Phil, you may want to examine the tour system that Pedego has set up for some of its dedicated dealers. Our Austin TX Pedego dealer does food truck tours & haunted mansion tours (gets the city history in the picture) and a few other focused tours that draw in a variety of groups. We had a fair amount of success with tours that included both historical places and some special scenic city sites, primarily looking at what territory could reasonably be done in an hour and half or 3 hour tours. Riders spent time with the tour guide before starting to learn about the bikes and safety and it was emphasized that the riders did have to do some pedaling. Same with rentals, we made sure that the riders understood that if they chose to ride the bike as a scooter and it ran out of juice in 40 minutes or the motor cutout to prevent an overheat situation on a steep hill, they would need to stop and recharge. All of the bikes had some rudimentary battery gauge so some responsibility lies with the rider. On tours, the guides would carry 1 or 2 spare batteries just in case!

One other suggestion, market your tours to the hotel concierges and to company HR departments. The hotels are always looking for fun new offerings for visitors. Your local visitors bureau and downtown associations will also be good resources for showcasing your tours.

 

[munchmeister]

Hmmmm, many good points here, as I also think about renting or a tour company. The point about running out of juice by tourists who just use the throttle makes me think a pedal assist only type bike might help alleviate this problem. Or tours short enough or flat enough to have plenty of battery available. And, learning as much as possible as your own mechanic!