Rental Questions

Have questions about renting bikes from The Pelee Shop on Pelee Island? Check out these frequently asked questions and hopefully you'll find the answers you're looking for!

  • We have a fairly large fleet of bikes, so we typically don't completely run out, but on holiday/long weekends, and when it is just really nice out we can get very busy and you may not be able to find any reservations available online. If that is the case we may still be able to help!

    We have a select amount of miscellanous bikes that we have not listed online so if you are not finding something available please give us a call at 519.724.2828 or email us at [email protected] with what you are looking for and we will let you know if we have anything left available. Please do not consider yourself to have a reservation without confirmation from one of our employees.

  • Our insurance requires that all riders regardless of age, experience, or the type of equipment they are renting must wear a helmet at all times. This is outlined in the waiver that you are required to sign before renting a bike. Helmets are available and included in the rental price of all of our products however you are welcome to bring your own helmet if you prefer.

  • Yes, all of our equipment is cleaned on a regular basis. We try to give our bikes a quick wipe down at the beginning of each day however it can be quite labour intensive and depending on how many reservations we have toprepare we may not get through all of the bikes before the first ferry arrives. Bikes that have been set aside for reservations are the first to be cleaned.

    All worn helmets are kept separate from clean ones when they are returned where they are promptly sprayed with a disinfectant, left to dry and then returned to our bins of clean hemlets.

  • Yes, children must wear a helmet even if they are sitting in one of our trailers. In addition to it being a requirement by our insurance company, it is law in Ontario that anyone under the age of 16 must wear a helmet regardless of if they are on a bike or in a trailer being pulled by a bike.

  • No, you may not attach any accessories of your own to our bicycles. This includes seats for children, training wheels, baskets, racks, beverage holders, etc.

  • In general there is not really a required age. With that said children under the age of 1 or that cannot sit on their own are not to be put in a trailer as per the manufacturers specifications. 

    Anyone under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian sign a contract and rental agreement
    on their behalf.

    Anyone under the age of 18 is not allowed to rent or ride any of our e-bikes.

  • Anyone renting or riding any of our e-bikes must be at least 18 years of age.

    If you have someone younger than 18 looking to rent an e-bike you can check with Pelee Island Adventures as they have a small selection of e-bikes and have a minimum age requirement of 16 to ride them.

  • Cancellations are subject to a 3% cancellation fee. If you need to cancel your reservation due to the cancellation of ferry transportation services to Pelee Island by the ferry transportation service provider you may not be required to pay the 3% cancellation fee.

    All cancellations must be made by 10:30am on the day of your reservation, or within one hour of ferry service cancellations by the ferry transportation service provider. No-shows and cancellations made outside of this time frame are not eligible for a refund of any sort.

    You can contact us to cancel your reservation by calling 519.724.2828 or emailing [email protected]. If we do not answer please leave a message. We will call you back or email you back to confirm your cancellation.

  • While we do our best to ensure our bikes are well maintained and ready to go worry free for the day some things happen that are out of anyones control.

    If you find yourself with a flat tire, or other issues throughout the day please call us right away at 519.724.2828, let us know where you are and what bike you have and we will bring you a new one and get you back on the road as soon as possible.

  • E-bikes are entitled to one fully charged battery per day. We almost never see people coming back with half a charge let alone a completely depleted battery.

    Should your e-bike battery run out they are still rideable as a regular pedal bike. If you would like a replacement battery you can come back to our store and get one for $5 or if we need to deliver a battery the charge is $10.

  • No, you may not share your equipment with anyone else. The reasoning for this is that all riders must fill out and sign a waiver, if you are sharing with someone else that means that they have most likely not signed a waiver and are not covered to use our equipment. Additionally if someone else damages your rental equipment you will still be liable to pay for those damages.

  • This is dependent on what the issue is. For general wear and tear you will not be required to pay anything - The most common problems that we see here are flat tires and broken derailleur hangers, neither of which are typically charged to the customer.

    If however equipment is damaged due to neglect or misuse you will be responsible to pay for the repair. This includes crashing bikes, laying them down as opposed to using the kickstand, knocking them over, breaking helmets, double riding, overloading racks or baskets, and more. Cost for repair is dependent on the damage done.

    Small scratches and chips in the paint from stones flinging up from the road are considered general wear and tear and are not charged as damage to the customer.

  • Yes we offer free delivery to anywhere on Pelee Island.

    If you would like your rental equipment delivered somewhere please let us know the address and time you would like it delivered. If you are unsure of the address or time please note that and give us a call when you do know. If you are having your bikes delivered to the East Park Campground please let us know which campsite number you are at - You will have to give us a call when you arrive as the site numbers are not assigned before you arrive.

    Please note that while we do our best to deliver bikes at the specified time we may need to deliver them earlier or later depending on how busy we are.
    We are typically unable to deliver bikes during times when the ferry arrives as we need all hands on deck at our store to help with pick-ups and walk-ins. If this is the case we will deliver your bikes as soon as possible after the boat rush is gone.

    Typically our busy ferry rushes are from 11:30-12:30 and 3:30-4:30. Rushes may be longer or shorter depending on the quantity of people coming to rent from us.

  • Due to the potential of allergies for some children we ask that you do not allow dogs or any other pets in our child carts.

  • Children or any other human absolutely may not ride in any of our bikes baskets or on any of our bike racks. The baskets and racks are not rated to hold too much weight, and it is just an unsafe idea in general.

    We do occasionally have people with very small dogs that will ride in the basket. If you choose to do that it is 100% at your own risk. Our baskets do not have any padding on the bottom so you may want to bring a small blanket for the dog to lay on.

  • Obviously this depends on how fast you ride and how often and long you stop. In general if you are planning to ride around the entire perimeter of the island we usually say it will take somewhere between 2.5 - 4.5 hours. You can view our suggested bike routes along with distances, approximate times, and places you will ride by here: https://www.thepeleeshop.com/bike-maps

  • If you are planning on renting 10 or more items on the same transaction we can offer slightly discounted rates.

    Please contact us via email at [email protected] or phone at 519.724.2828 to make these group reservations.

  • While we appreciate it if your bikes are returned on time we understand that it might take a little bit longer getting back than you expected. For this reason we do allow a 30 minute buffer on return times, we do appreciate if you can call us to let us know you will be a little bit late. Anything later than that and we will charge your card for the next increment of rental time up until the equipment is returned (ie. if you rented for 3 hours then you may be charged for a full day. If you return the bike the next day within 24 hours of pick up you will be charged for 24 hours, and so on).

  • We are located pretty well right across the street from the ferry dock. When you get off the ferry there are two blue buildings across the street - The Westview Tavern to the left and Pelee Island Heritage Centre "Town Hall" Building to the right. Follow the driveway between the two of them toward the pavilion at the back of the parking lot and you will find us in another blue building directly behind The Westview Tavern. 

  • All of the bikes listed on our website are categorized by style and size. Each morning we pull out all of the reserved bikes and set them aside based on what we think will be the most suitable for you. It is easiest and quickes if you take the bikes that we have set aside for you as each bike is linked specifically to your reservation number in our system, however if you chose the wrong size, or style of bike you are welcome to switch it as long as there is something else available and one of our staff approves of it.

    Our Townie bikes are almost identical to what you see on our website and are available in a handful of different colours. The main difference is that they all have baskets on the front of them but the photos on our website do not show the basket.

    Our hybrid/mountain bikes on the other hand can vary a fair bit in terms of what you get. We have a much wider range of hybrid and mountain bikes. The ones listed online are similar to the ones shown, but they could vary. If our website is showing that we are out of availability for them and you call and are able to reserve some you will most likely recieve a different style from what you see online. 

    For our tandem bikes we have one cruiser style with a basket, the first tandem reservation always gets first dibs at that one as it is the most popular of our tandems, the rest of our tandem bikes are more of a "moutain bike" style tandem and are all fairly similar.

    All of our tricycles are identical with the exception of colour.

    Our kids bikes consist of a very mixed sort of brands and styles so we will simply choose the one that we think will best suit your child based on the height provided.

    We have two different styles of e-bikes, the Ecolocycle MaxSE is what most people end up with. We do also have two Ecolocycle Monza e-bikes that are slightly smaller if need be.

  • There are a few different factors that play into what size bike is best for you. We've tried to simplify bike sizes to make it easier for you to choose which bike to reserve. Please note that if the size that you choose does not seem like the right fit when you get here to pick your bike up we will be more than happy to let you swap it out for a different one that is available.

    As a general rule here are the sizes we recommend based on your height for the our different bike styles.

    Youth Bikes

    Youth Small - Recommended height range of 3'6" - 4' or 4 - 6 years old
    Youth Medium - Recommended height range of 3'9" - 4'8" or 7 - 9 years old
    Youth Large - Maximum recommended height of 4'11"
    Children over 4'11" are recommended to reserve an appropriately sized adult bike.

    Townie Original Cruiser Bikes

    Small - Maximum recommended height of 5'1" (Step-thru frame only)
    Regular - Recommended height range of 5'2" - 6' (Step-thru or step-over frame, we recommend step-thru for people on the lower end of this range)
    Tall - Minimum recommended height of 6'1" (Step-over frame only)

    Mountain/Hybrid Bikes

    XS - Maximum recommeded height of 5'1"
    Small - Recommeded height range of 5'2" - 5'4"
    Medium - Recommended height range of 5'5"-5'9"
    Large - Recommended height range of 5'10" - 6'
    XL - Recommended height range of 6'-6'2"

    If you are 6'3" or taller and don't think one of our tall cruisers or XL mountain/hybrids will be suitable for you we do have one larger mountain/hybrid bike that is available if you reserve over the phone (519.724.2828) or email ([email protected]).

  • We do not provide bike locks. Rental bikes have been available on Pelee Island for decades and while we don't want to jynx it, theft has never really been an issue or concern. While there are some bike racks located here and there throughout the island there are certainly not enough for all the bikes on the island so often times there isn't even somewhere for you to lock a bike up. If you have a lock and would like to bring it to ease your mind you are more than welcome to do so.

  • YES! Once you make your reservation you should recieve an email as well as a text message with a link to sign the wavier.

    If you have made a reservation on behalf of others it is imperitive that you forward that link to each person in your group so that they can also sign the waiver. If they do not use that link to sign the waiver it will not be properly linked to your reservation and may cause additional delays when checking in.

    If you are walking in to make a reservation PLEASE SIGN THE WAIVER BEFORE COMING IF POSSIBLE! The waiver is lengthy and typically takes a few minutes per person to fill out and we only have three tablets available to be used to sign waivers so if there is a long line of people that need to sign waivers it will drastically increase the amount of time it takes to check in!