Rude! Rude! Rude! I went to Catalina island for the first time to celebrate my birthday and decided to stay an extra day. On the Island there are many birthday specials and the first day I didn't get to do everything and I thought that I could just do the things I missed the next day. Where I live most birthday specials are good to use anytime in the month. Most places were accommodating of this and made my birthday a pleasant experience. I went to Browns Bikes for their birthday bike rental special. I gave my ID and attempted to pay, but was told I couldn't use a card, but I was able to find almost the needed amount in cash (I was only short a couple dollars) so I said that I could either go and get all of it now, or I offered to leave the money I had, and pay the few dollars that I was missing when I got back. The gentleman seemed friendly and said, no, "Just pay when you get back." I said "OK" and was told to just pick out a bike. I picked one out and went about town making sure I went somewhere to get cash back. When time got close, I arrived to return the Bike 15 minutes earlier than it was due. I was met with a younger guy. ( I won't call him a gentleman, because he wasn't) I was smiley and polite and he was super rude. I pulled out my money to pay, and he told me that I owed MORE money because it wasn't actually the day of my birthday. I was shocked because I wasn't told anything about this at the beginning and I didn't know that it had to be the actual day. I tried to be polite and say no I was told this price but he keep arguing with me and treating me like some kind of criminal. I finally had, had enough and told him that you can't extort money from people after you already made an agreement about the price and that's how proper business works. I then paid the original amount and took back my ID after asking him if he had anything else to add. He also tried to claim that because I hadn't paid when I got the bike that I owed more; this is after I originally offered to pay the guy before, but he said not to worry about it. What I found to be more odd was that the older man that I originally talked to (maybe 40-50ish) stayed in the back and made comments here and there that the young guy relayed. he didn't even come out to say "no I told her to pay later" or "this is the price I told her to pay" It was very cowardly in my opinion. Thankfully I am not the type that condones bullying so I was firm with the young guy and I almost grabbed the police that were standing near by because this was just too ridiculous. To be abusive to your customers for a few dollars is crazy. I plan not to ever go back there, and will recommend that everyone do the same. Rudeness and bullying in business should not be supported EVER read more

The bikes are very nice. We rented electric bikes for the day and they beat a 40.00 per hour golf cart. Electric bike at 45.00 for the day is well worth it. My low stars are due to the woman that works there and rents the bikes. crabby old unhappy with her job lady. You work on an Island thats beautiful! enjoy it! read more

I WISH I COULD GIVE ZERO STARS!! My family and I went to rent some electric bikes here, and were treated very rudely by a older white lady with short hair. We were speaking Spanish and are brown, and felt quickly judged by the white lady, she constantly stared at us and made us feel unwelcome. She quickly told me I couldn't rent out a electric bike without even asking her what I was trying to rent out. She tried to find anything just so we couldn't rent out the bikes. And it irritated my family and I because we were just trying to have fun at the island. I don't know if she's the owner or not but she was interrupting the conversation I was having with the worker helping us as well. It was like she didn't want to rent it out to us just because we were Hispanic. But the second some other white customers were there she quickly attended them and gave then the electric bikes without any type of hesitation. Horrible service don't come here and waste your money. Go to the other rental shop with an older man with a little desk in the front. It's a couple shops down, He was extremely nice to us when we asked him for the electric bikes. You should not go here because you're just gonna feel unwelcome and treated badly. The older white lady needs to do better, and stop treating people of color badly for no reason!!!!! read more

Had a great experience in July... rented a couple nice sturdy beach cruiser bikes for $15 each for the day! The employee even went as far as to go to the back and get us baskets for our bikes However, yesterday we didn't have the same experience! My first complaint is Bill, the employee we dealt with, gave us a hard time for not having cash! The price this month was $20 each for the day. My friend and i were paying separately with our credit cards but there was a $24 each minimum!. Bill's attitude after that point completely changed! My second complaint is we had a difficult time getting girls models and wouldn't even look for baskets! The bikes weren't as good quality and seemed a bit wobbly. Just a bit disappointed!! read more

They did not have any charged electric bikes left when I got there, so I waited for one to charge. The lady was a bit rude about it. Then, the man came up and was even more rude, talking to me as though I were stupid for thinking that there were no bikes ready and insisting that he had the real info. The electric bike ride was awesome though! read more

Wow! what a pair knuckleheads working at the front desk. they acted like they were doing us a favor by renting out bikes. the bikes that don't make it around the island in one charge. But their attitude come from the owner as we first called to see if they had anymore available and she was not much better than the two behind the counter. their are other electric bike rental companies close by. we tried them out the next day and are sooo sorry we did not stop there first. read more

I wrote my review of Browns Bikes on the other yelp page http://www.yelp.com/biz/browns-bikes-avalon, but I just gotta chime in here and say that it's not really cool to give a business a bad review just because the patron rents a tandem bike (which requires more effort) in a hilly place and can't deal with it. Yelp reviews should focus on stuff like quality of service, pricing, convenience etc! If ppl aren't in great biking shape and can't handle cycling in hills, it's the patron's own fault, not the business' fault for a bad biking experience. The patron could have rented electric bikes which makes biking up the hills much easier. Okay..off my soapbox! read more

Overall I had fun with the all day electric bike rental. We did the entire route that was available; went up both larges hills and to the botanical gardens and zipping through town. The only thing I was disappointed with was when my battery died, close to the end of the day. I called them up because I was told to if I ran into any problems. I asked if they could send a new battery to the Casino, a little grumbling and then they sent someone over. The man they sent over was not happy. He told me I could have just ridden it back to the shop, which is across the town. I didn't say anything but thanked him and appreciated what he did. However, I paid more for an electric bike and I'm not going to pedal, dammit! read more

I haven't rode a bicycle in years and my girlfriend and I had to get a random tandom. If you want a real good work out I suggest renting a tandom bike all day, because chances are the person youre with will take in the scenery while you pedal your heart out. read more

Definitely rent electric bikes while on the island, it's worth it! You will not need more than 2 hours to see the Avalon area. Cons: bike seat would not stay in place. We had to stop numerous times to fix it and even crashed along the way. read more

Brown's Bikes, low cost electric bike rentals for $45/day or $40/day if peeress even online a day prior. Lowest price I found on the island for an all day rental. They aren't Pedago bikes and mine had some trouble with the accelerator handle in 0 gear but they aren't bad. Even come with a speedometer so you can see how fast you're coming down the hills. read more

Upon getting on the avalon express, I was given a phamplet that stated that I would get discounted rates at brownes bikes due to it being my birthday. My friend and I arrived at 5:45PM, which most people would agree would be a little late to rent a bike, so early the next morning right as they opened, we asked if they'd still honor the birthday rate, seeing as we got in late the night prior. The counterclerk didn't think it would be possible, but called the owner of the business to check as a courtesy to us. The owner proceeded to make the associate feel bad over the phone for even asking that question. The answer was still no, they wouldn't honor it. I felt bad for the kid, just because I knew he wanted to, but was limited by the cheap owner. The take home point is this. Had the owner honored the birthday rate 1 day after we arrived, we would've given this bike shop the business. We ended up going next door because they honored the birthday rate, we were given an extra half hour, and were way more personable than the bikeshop. Business isn't about just making an extra $20. its about how you treat the guest AND your employees. read more

We were hesitant to rent from this place due to the poor reviews. Despite the remarks and low ratings we took our chances and attempted to rent our bikes here only to be shot down because we had wiki wacky hats from Luau Larry's (we only bought the drink for the silly hats). This was a bad experience for poor service and being denied. I find this extremely unfair and judgmental If the owner(s) really made that rule to have their employees turn down visitors for this reason. read more

We had a great experience here! Not only was riding the ebikes around the island a total blast, but the guys at the shop explained everything well and got us out on the road quickly. We had an issue with one of the bikes, and they gave us extra time to compensate, without even being asked. I would absolutely use them again! read more

Catalina wonderful. Electric Bikes wonderful. The owner/management- idiotic!!! Two times here and same thing! I don't think it is the fault of the younger guys working here. I think the lady/owner is one unhappy lady. First time called ahead and employee was real nice and I told me they had bikes and if I was there by noon he would hold them. I get there early and they say they don't reserve bikes and don't have any. I ask for the owner and the guy I spoke too and it was real awkward and the lady is the issue. This time it's worse. The guy with long hair says u have to be at least 5-4" and they have a mark to stand next to. My 22 year old daughter is above the line!!! He says she is just a little above the line??Yes I agree ABOVE THE LINE" This guy dismisses us with complete disregard. Good example of attitude when u are the only game in town. He says but her 5 year old license says something different. (Because she was 16 years old then? So basic but the guy just looks at u and says sorry. I hate stupidity and bad attitude. read more

i love the beach cruiser bike!! especially with the basket in front for my little dog!! $5 per hour and $15 all day, for the beach cruiser $6 for a mountain bike per hour they even have the 2 seater bikes!! haha i warn you they are hard to ride for the first time!! there are alot of bike racks around the island... so its really convienent! i loved the bike rides around the island!! it was one of the best ideas to do all day!! read more

We rented 3 electric bikes for the day. Paying $60 for the day for each electric bike rental, you would think that they would have more comfortable seats. The seats were small and hard. Completely uncomfortable. Our friend started out with a bike that had a "wonky" pedal. We immediately returned the bike. Then a bit later took my bike back to hopefully exchange for a bike with a more comfortable seat. When we got back, the only bike they had was the bike our friend had originally returned with the bad pedal. When I simply asked if the pedal had been fixed, I was met with a crappy attitude by the maintenance tech who proceeded to tell me (in a completely rude manner and tone) that "of course it was fixed ... that is HIS job", and that was the only electric bike they had left to choose from. We reported this attitude when we returned the bikes and were given measly 10% discount coupons to some neighboring store. In addition, my husband had issues with his bike the entire time. It wouldn't kick into peddle assist most of the time, and my husband had to push really hard on his pedals to get the thing to move. It turned out to be a battery issue from what we could tell. We would have taken his bike back for an exchange, but knew from our last trip back that they didn't have any replacement bikes available. Being told at the beginning of our rental, if our batteries run low to just bring the bikes back and they'd just switch out the bikes ... well, how do you switch out the bikes if you have no replacement bikes available to switch out? read more

Brown's Bikes is right off the dock for the Catalina Express (120 yards to be exact, according to their website). Only $15 to rent a 6-speed cruiser for the whole day! Tandems are $30 for the day. Incredibly reasonable and the bikes are in great condition. Many of the cruisers have baskets too! When we asked for a bike lock, they said "not necessary!" They are responsible for the bikes if anything should happen. Apparently Avalon is a bike utopia- no one steals them and there are plenty of racks around the main drag. Finally, we had a problem with one of our bikes and they came over in less than 5 minutes with a new one! Great service. Riding a bike all day in beautiful weather without the responsibility of keeping track of it every two seconds? Sign me up! read more

If only there was a no star rating for the bad service and lack of communication between employees. I brought my boyfriend here for his birthday and we love seeking adventure. Which is the reason we chose to ride a bike together instead of renting a golf cart. I was going to pay with credit card when the female employee assisting us advise that we pay with cash instead. She said we would get a partial refund if the bike was returned at a certain time. Once returning it another employee was there and told us we got false information. So instead of letting us take it back he just went about his day. read more

Good prices but the bikes need a little maintenance. Not the business' fault but there's only so many place you can go. You can't go into the mountains of the island. Rating not reflecting the restrictions. read more

Pay cash only! I was told that if I decided to rent a bike for the day instead of an hour they would refund my credit card the difference, if I decided not to rent it the whole day. When I returned the bike after ONE hour they told me they don't do refunds on credit cards! Renter beware RENT SOMEWHERE ELSE!! read more

My wife and I were in a great mood when we went to Brown's Bikes to rent mountain bikes and go riding for the day. Unfortunately, the employee that helped us seemed like he had a personal grudge against tourists (I think his name was Mason). He was so unpleasant that we ended up abandoning Brown's and going to Pedego across town. We were so thankful that happened because the people at Pedego were very nice and helpful and we had an awesome day biking with ebikes instead of mountain bikes. read more

I loved the electric bikes. I had seen people ride them last year and I was adamant I would do it this year. It is $15 dollars an hour and we actually went over an hour because we were having so much fun. Going uphill is so easy. They gave us a map of where we could and couldn't go and we ended up going almost everywhere we could go. I have been going to Catalina my whole life and there were still streets I had never seen and which I was able to explore. My only complaint is that I wish they had given us written instructions on using the bike. At one point I got off the bike thinking it was turned off and it rammed my back leaving a nasty bruise. If you like bike riding, I recommend trying the electric bike. read more

They are very friendly and very helpful! I rented an electric bike and loved it. Super easy to use. They provide a helmet for safety. I road around the island for about 3 hours until the bike ran out of juice. Luckily it wasn't too difficult to ride it back to the shop. I just simply switched it for a bike full of juice and continued on my way. Drop off was just as easy! What made me most happy was that it's a block from the dock! Talk about convenient! read more

Pedal assist bikes were a great idea! It gives you the option to do the work or flip a switch and have your energy matched. Totally worth it! I'm definitely up for a challenge, but didn't want getting wiped out to interfere with continuing our adventure and I wasn't sure how strenuous the roads would be. Not too challenging, but for someone who doesn't ride regularly, some of the uphills might be frustrating. The pedal assist was a great option. Super fun! It was recommended to my husband and I to rent some bikes to explore the island. Definitely was a fantastic recommendation. The staff was kind, helpful, and patient even when I asked a lot of questions. My husband rented for a couple hours and I got the birthday deal. It was so great we ended up extending our rentals for the whole day! From what I understand, this is THE bike rental place to really explore. Go early, before they run out! read more

Friendly service. Bikes are pretty good quality. Just don't ever take the advanced routes--they are crazy!!! Don't do it unless your are "advanced" :) stick to the beginner or intermediate read more

We had so much fun on our bikes! I would suggest anyone who goes to the island to take a bike for a couple of hours and ride along the shores of the island. It was so breath taking, plus the breeze of the ocean made it that much more enjoyable. The owner was very sweet and gave us advice on where to ride plus a map. He also said if the battery gets weak just bring it back and they will replace it with a new full one (we had electric bikes). Convenient location right where the boats are and just to the right is Lovers Cove (A must see). Over all great place to get bikes! read more

Had the best customer service experience here!! Came to Catalina for my bday and rented a mountain bike as a part of their bday promotion - rent for 2 hrs., get the bike for the full day. Due to an unfortunate incident of bike vs cart (cart won) the incredibly nice guy @ Brown's agreed to switch me out to an electric bike so that I could still enjoy my day. They were so cool and I had a blast zipping up and down the steep hills on my motorized bike. The lovely owner was even kind enough to forgive me for being a bit late to return my bike - yet one more bday gift! You guys are the best and I will definitely be back :). read more

Renting an electric bike was the best decision we could make! They were sold out when we got there but took our name and number down and called an hour later with two electric bikes available. They changed out our batteries as well. Over all a great experience! I would recommend them. They take reservations 24 hours in advance! read more

Great service overall. Worth every $. Adrian and his fellow colleague helped me and my wife narrow down on bike selection. They were both extremely cooperative and helpful. Would def recommend renting bikes from Browns bike when on Catalina island :) read more

They were able to accommodate our group of 7 with electric bikes for $45/day. A couple of our batteries died about midday (lots of hills around the island), so we brought the bikes back and they swapped the batteries for some freshly charged ones. Customer services was great. Bikes were fast enough and a ton of fun. read more

Boyfriend and I aren't from California so we weren't aware of the law requiring someone to be 21 to rent an electric bike. So, this was probably the worst customer service I've ever had... I am a very nice and friendly gal and the guy who works there, I didn't even care to get a name, so I'll describe him as accurately as I can and I don't even care if it sounds harsh, he was THIS rude and condescending. He looks Samoan, he's a chunkier guy probably like 5"6? Seemed gay/flamboyant or was just a sassy guy, black longish hair. I'm sure you know who it is with that description. Anyways, during trying to rent this bike, he lets out the BIGGEST sigh like I said something ridiculous? I deal with people every day I get it people can be stupid but all I said was "why do you have to be 21?" Like oh my god i'm so sorry your job is so dreadful renting bikes out to happy people in Cataf**kinglina. Oh the agony. And when I got tired of his attitude I just said I want two bikes please and he started laughing! I wish he was there when we returned them so I could've told him personally he needs an attitude adjustment! Karma is a real thing people! bikes were fine. EVERYONE ELSE WAS SO NICE EXCEPT FOR THIS GRUMP. He needs a new job, he seems miserable! read more

Awesome!!! Went to Catalina for husbands bday. We decided to take advantage of some of the birthday specials on the island. Browns bikes offered a "pay for 2 hours get the day free" plus free water bottle. Best decision we made on the island. Cruising all around Avalon on those bikes was soooo fun! They climb hills pretty easily. If your wondering if you should get regular cruisers or electric bikes, definitely go for electric. It was so much better being able to climb the hills without working too hard lol. The guy helping us at the shop was very nice. The bikes were new and in great shape. The shop was so convenient right near the ferry landing. Love this place. The only bummer is that the bikes have to be back by 5pm. Our ferry departure time was 6:45pm. Other than than that, it was perfect. Thanks browns bikes, we'll be back! read more

Not a bad deal, got two mountain bikes for the whole day for $50 all together and road around the whole city of Avalon, it's a lot of work to ride the hills up but going down is a blast! read more

Thank you Browns Bike for coming to my sons rescue! The wheels on his stroller all went flat and they fixed it for us!

We had a good experience here. The people were friendly and everything wasn't to over priced although we did find a cheaper place to rent bikes later. We rented motorized bikes for $45/person for the whole day and it was worth it! There is another bike store a couple buildings down that had similar bikes for $60/person all day. If your battery gets low you can bring it back and change it out without any charge. You also are not responsible if something happens to the bikes while they are parked. We also rented beach cruisers for $18/ person for the while day. Both types of bikes can come with a basket and I recommend getting one especially if you have some sort of bag. All the bikes must be returned by 5 pm. The only complaint we had was the brakes were horrible on almost every bike we had so be careful. read more

Poorly maintained bike! Seat post clamp did not hold seat in correct position. Cassette needed to be replaced. Chain worn and kept skipping. Notified front office employee after ride. Offered another bike, by then had to return to cruise ship. Asked to talk with shops mechanic. Seemed like he was very uninterested in any repair or concerns. read more

Oh those electric bikes were just too fun on that island!

I rented a bike (non-electric) for the day and had a great time riding about in Avalon! For $25 bucks and a full business day, I saw so much of the city and had a great exercise, too! ( That incline hill on Hogsback Loop is intense, as well as biking on Wrigley Road leading to The Inn on Mount Ada; a workout, but was soooo much fun!! ) Thanks Brown's Bikes! read more

Tried to rent bikes for my wife and myself. They opened ten minutes late and then had a policy that wouldn't allow me to rent both bikes on my own. Both people have to be present. Next time will just bring our own bikes or rent from Cartopia, who I hear will have bike rentals starting in April read more