Lord, could I give them no stars? OK, a half star for being able to get where I was going yesterday, but that's it. With all the excellent reviews, I am stunned by my experience. Rollin' Rentals has an outfit at the HI-Austin hostel, where I rented the bike for $15 for the day (with no deposit in this case) through the hostel staff. The bikes were all looking a little rough, but since they're left outside, I wasn't surprised. I set my sights on the Trek hybrid bike, which I figured would suit my needs.
Thankfully, I checked the brakes before peeling out of the hostel. The back brake was slack--WTF? So I peeked behind me, and sure enough, the whole thing was disconnected. I reattached the brake line, then borrowed an allen key from the hostel to tighten the cable. The real problem, however, was with the line at the handlebar, which I assume was why a previous renter had detached the cable in the first place. I was starting to understand why I'd signed a waiver.
I decided the bike was unrideable and returned the borrowed allen key to the desk. My next pick in the lineup was the green "Eddie Bauer" hybrid, which initially I had avoided because it was full suspension (an abomination, in my opinion). Aside from some roughly shifting gears and a slow ride as a result of getting no power to the wheels, it worked for awhile ... and then the chain started popping off. Repeatedly.
Bottom line: a low-quality bike in bad repair.
I arrived at Barton Springs with greasy, grubby fingers, overtired from a difficult ride on a full suspension bike, and an extremely bruised ischiopubis from the bizarre seat which seemed cushion-y enough (but the way I'm walking today says otherwise). I rented a bike to have fun and get around the way I do when I'm back home. If I'd known it would be such a pain in the ass, I would have rented a car, or at least called him directly than just accepting what was available at the hostel ... read more