Update on Loaner Program (and new Service Rental Program)
A question we get often is whether we have loaner and rental bikes available. I just wanted to get in writing some answers about the current availability of rental and loaner bikes here.
We know having your bike in for service can be a big interruption to your day-to-day. We believe offering loaner bikes while your bike is in for service is essential to being able to fully sell a bike as a car-replacement. We have been working to improve our loaner availability and hope to continue to do so as the supply chain continues to stabilise.
We are presently offering two different kinds of “loaner” bikes while your bicycle is in for service: complimentary Courtesy Loaners and a flat-fee Service Rental.
Courtesy Loaners
Courtesy loaners are available during scheduled services on bicycles that you purchased from G&O, subject to availability.
We presently have seven loaner bikes available for reservation for courtesy loaners:
two Tern GSD S10 two-kid, cargo bikes
three Gazelle Arroyo low-step single-occupancy bikes
one R&M Homage Vario single-occupancy bike
one Tern Vektron Q9 folding bike, kids-seat capable
More fine print:
A loaner must be requested at least 7 days before your scheduled dropoff
Loaners are first come first serve; we cannot guarantee a bike will be available for loan for your desired time frame
We cannot guarantee a bike comparable to your bike will be available
You must sign a release form
Loaners must be returned within 5 days of when the service on your bicycle has been completed, if not a $60 fee will be added for each day past that.
Loaners are only available free of charge when for a service on a specific bike purchased from G&O, for the original owner. If you are requesting a loaner and your name/contact info does not match the original purchase info, this is okay, but please clarify in the request!
Service Rentals
For those who do not qualify for a Courtesy Loaner, we still want to offer an affordable option to have a bike while your bike is in the shop. For this, we are introducing a discounted rental at a flat rate specifically for while your bike is in for service. These must be scheduled in advance for scheduled service appointments similar to Courtesy Loaners.
Service Rentals are available for bikes at a flat rate of $50. That is, regardless of how long it takes us to fix your bike, you get to borrow a bike from us for just $50 – this is to help cover the costs of upkeep on these bikes.
We chose a flat rate because we aim to offer an affordable rate, but also so this will be a predictable cost to you. As long as you return it within five days of when the service on your bicycle is complete (else accrue $60/day fee for each additional day), it is a flat $50 + tax for your rental, on top of the cost of the repair to your bicycle. Whether you put 200 miles on it, or just ride it home and back, it is still a flat $50. That also includes if we have to unexpectedly wait for a part to come in once your bike is already in the shop, and it takes two weeks before we can finish your repair.
More fine print:
A Service Loaner must be requested at least 3 days before your scheduled dropoff.
Courtesy Loaners will be prioritised over Service Rentals, so they may not be able to be confirmed until 6 days before your appointment if requested earlier.
We cannot guarantee a bike will be available for Service Rental
You must sign a release form
Service Rentals must be returned within 5 days of when the service on your bicycle has been completed, if not a $60 fee will be added for each day past that.
How do I arrange a courtesy loaner or a service rental?
For now, please submit these requests via email to service@familycyclery.com. We will do our best to catch requests coming in through other channels, but email is strongly preferred. Please let us know what sort of kid or cargo capabilities you would like, and if you are still open to receiving a bike that does not meet those criteria.
We will confirm availability in advance of your appointment, so you have not heard back please do not assume it will be available and follow up!
Rest of Rental Program Remains on Hiatus
Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, we ended the rental program where you could rent basically any of the bikes that we sell. That was an incredibly cool thing to offer but it remains infeasible with the supply chain and the way our business structure has changed. I really hope we can return to that someday, but we do not anticipate that program reopening in the near future.
For questions about rentals, please reach out to sales@familycyclery.com, but we appreciate your patience and understanding that it is unlikely we will be able to accommodate rental requests this season.