Frequently Asked Questions

You can pick up your bikes in one of our collection points in Orléans, Blois, Chaumont-sur-Loire, Amboise, Tours and Saumur. We can also deliver your bikes directly to your hotel, campsite, B&B or guesthouse. Do not hesitate to contact us for a personalised quote at contact@lesvelosverts.com or to call us at +33 2 54 74 57 05.

Of course! On the website, you can easily book uour bikes from one city (Blois for example) and return them in another (Tours for example). On the reservation system, simply select the pick-up and drop-off points that suit your needs. We can also deliver and collect the bikes back in another collection point than those listed on our website. In this context, please send us your request by email at contact@lesvelosverts.com so that we can make you a tailor-made offer.

All our rental points are located near train stations and points of tourist interest. Thus, you can easily reach your starting point or any other destination. Once your booking is done, we will provide you with the full list and exact adresses of the rental points you need for your trip. It is also possible to return the bicycles to a another point than those listed on the website. To do so, please send us your request by email at contact@lesvelosverts.com. We will provide you with a tailor-made response as soon as possible.

Notre service vous permet de profiter de la Loire à Vélo et de ses richesses en sillonnant la région d'un point A à un point B. Une fois arrivés au point B, nous avons besoin de rapatrier les vélos dans nos locaux. Dans ce sens, nos chauffeurs se déplacent à votre point B (que ce soit un de nos partenaires ou votre hébergement de fin de séjour) afin de récupérer vos vélos, ce qui engendre effectivement un surcoût qui varie selon la localisation du point de restitution. Our service allows you to enjoy the LOIRE BY BIKE and its wealth by going up and down the bike lanes from point A to point B. Once you reach point B, we need to bring the bikes back into our own premises. Therefore, we have to come to your point B (whether it is one of our partners or your own accommodation) in order to pick up the bikes, which leads to additional costs that changes according to the location of the return point.

You can find a few examples of Bicycle tours according to your departure city on www.lesvelosverts.com/fr/tour. For more information on the lanes and tours, we recommend that you contact the tourist offices in each departure point.

All of the Châteaux de la Loire are welcoming cyclists. For this reason, specific amenities such as bicycles garages are implemented for you to park your bike near the castles. Thanks to the lock we provide you with, you can easily secure your bicycle.

For all bike rentals, a lock, helmet and bike tour maps are provided. For E-Bikes, when the rental period is longer than 1 day, we provide the battery charger as well.

If you're riding just for the one day, there's no need to overload yourself, simply take something to quench your thirst. If you really want to prepare for all eventualities, make sure to bring with you a jacket, a raincoat and a snack. You can also take your guide book to the Châteaux de la Loire and/or to the Loire à Vélo to be certain not to miss out the good places. The bike lanes are teeming with pubs, open-air cafés and restaurant, and our team is also at your service during the handover of the bikes to give you great tips. In addition, if you wish to be able to bring more things with you, don't forget to add waterproof panniers with all your accessories.

If you wish to cancel or postpone your rental, we offer: - 30 days or more prior to the departure date: full refund of the rental. - From 30 up to 7 datys prior to the departure date: postponement with voucher (usable for 1 year). - Less than 7 days prior to departure date: rental is non editable and non refundable. - Any started reservation will be fully due and non-refundable. For customers who have chosen the "cancellation insurance": you will be able to have a total refund (except for the cost of the insurance) up to 24h prior to the departure date.

It is indeed possible to return your bike before the end date of the lease. However, the remaining days of your stay will not be refunded.

We recommend to book your bikes for several reasons: • Ensure the availability of bikes and accessories throughout the season. • Bikes suited to your size will be prepared in advance. • Bikes can be picked up quickly and easily once on site.

We have different sizes of Hybrid Bikes and children bicycles to suit all kind of customers, but they are subject to availability. That is why it is strongly advised to book the bikes in advance, just to ensure the availibility of the right bike in the right size. On the other hand, our e-bikes are one size fits all.

There is no real age limit for a child to be put in a baby seat or in a trailer. On the other hand, there is a regulation linked to the weight of the child. For the baby seat, the weight limit is 22kg. For the trailer, two children can be seated. The maximum total load of the childrens trailer is 45kg (all together).

There is no age limit for cycling. We offer a wide range of bikes: 2 children sizes (20 inches and and 24 inches), and 3 adult sizes (Small, Medium, and Large). For young and old alike, we have Electric Assistance Bikes (e-Bikes) as well. They are a good alternative, especially for grandparents, to be able to follow the youngest on bike rides. For very young children and babies, we have baby seats, trailers, carrycot. Please let us know the weight, age and height of the participants so that we can advise you on the most suitable bikes and accessories for everyone.

Helmets are mandatory for children under 12, and are available on reservation and included in the cost of bike hire. However, helmets are also recommended for adults. Helmets guarantee safety for everyone, for a trouble-free vacation.

All of our Electric Assistance Bikes and Premium e-Bikes are brand new (2023 or 2024). Our whole hybrid bikes fleet is less than 3 years old. Whether they are fresh out of the box or have already had a season, all our bikes are tested, serviced and maintained. In addition to the rental of equipment, which we want to be above reproach, we want to offer you a great cycling holiday experience along the Loire by Bike and around the Châteaux de la Loire.

We renew our bike fleet very regularly, ideally every year. This rotation allows us to rent bikes in perfect condition. If during your rental period you had a crush on the bike that you rented, it's absolutely fine to buy it. You can reserve a second-hand bike, which will be sent to your home at the end of the season in September. For er-Bikes, you can order a brand new one as well. It will be delivered to your home as soon as possible.

Just before your departure, you will be provided with our emergency phone number. Do not hesitate to call us (+33 (0)2 54 74 57 05) so that we can find a solution to solve the problem. We have a whole network of partners along the Loire by Bike who will be able to help you out. To reassure you, all our bikes have anti puncture tyres and are in perfect condition (new for most of them, less than 3 years old and serviced for the others).

Our team is at your disposal at 0033 (0)2 54 74 57 05. We are also very reactive by email at the following address : contact@lesvelosverts.com.

On our website, you can pay by credit card or via Paypal. We only take the reservation of your bikes and accessories into account once the payment is made.

The luggage transfer service allows you to have your suitcase, backpack or any kind of luggage delivered from a point A to a point B. You will then be able to travel light between your stages and find all your belongings again at your accomodation the end of the day. Warning! Please notre that we only ensure this service in hotels, campsites, gites and B&B. However, we do no ensure luggage transfers in Airbnb accomodations. For each transferts, the distance between pick-up point and drop-off point may not exceed 70 km.

On the home page, when making your booking request, select "Luggage transfer" for luggage transfer only, or "Bike + Luggage transfer" for bike rental and luggage transfer. For each stage for which you require luggage transfer, select the transfer date, and the pick-up and drop-off addresses. Please note that the addresses must be accommodations with a reception. They must not be more than 70 km apart, and we don't deliver to Airbnbs.

An electric bicycle, or officially Electric Assistance Bike (e-Bike), is a bicycle equipped with a battery system. Connected to the bearing, it helps the cyclist in his effort. The e-Bike will make your bike tours easier and proves to be very useful no matter the elevation gain. Our electric bikes are equipped with a powerful battery (14.5 amps.). Depending on how intensively you use them, you'll be able to ride for between 80 and 100km. Our e-bikes are from the Arcade brand, and are made in France. They are flexible, robust and light, with front suspension, a comfortable saddle, and 7 gears to adapt to all levels of difficulty.

It is absolutely fine to use e-bikes in the rain. All of the bike's electronics are protected in the tube. The most annoying part about bad weather is not the bike getting wet but you riding in the rain.

Our e-bikes are very easy to use. There are three main action buttons: on and off switch, the "+" button to increase the level of assistance, and the "-" button to decrease the level of assistance. A dial will allow you to see your live speed, your average speed and the number of kilometres you have covered. Our team will explain everything to you when you collect your bike.

All our e-bikes have a battery life of 80 - 100 km, according to the use of the bikes and the morphology of the users. We chose to equip our electrically assisted bikes with the most powerful batteries offered by the manufacturer (36 volt & 14.5 amp) in order to ensure the peace of mind and the comfort all ride long. We made that decision because we know how frustrating it is, especially at the end of the day when tiredness begins to show up, to pedal without the electric assistance. Please find all the details of our e-bikes and their batteries on our website, on [OUR BIKES] heading.

When renting an e-bike for more than one day, we do provide the battery charger as well. This allows you to recharge your battery, either directly from your bike, if you're able to park it close to a standard socket, either by pulling the battery off the bike and pluging it just like your own cellphone in your hotel bedroom for example. To ensure that the battery is fully charged, we recommend that you leave it charging for 6 hours, i.e. more or less overnight.

When departing from Blois, you can park your car in the underground carpark of the Castle (Parking souterrain du Château). For the other points of departure, there are always at least one carpark close by. We recommend that you ask our teams just before so we can give you our tips.

If you wish to return the bicycle to the point of departure yourself, there are special trains during Summer. They are called "Trains Loire à vélo" and have special wagons for bikes only. You'll find all the details about these trains on ter.sncf.com / Centre Val-de-Loire / Découvrir la Région / Train Loire à Vélo. However, we would like to warn you about the high number of people using this service in summertime and the intensive use of those "Trains Loire à vélo". It is therefore not unusual for these trains to run out of space for bicycles. To avoid an unpleasant situatioin, we recommend that you leave your bikes at your point of arrival and use our bicycle return service. This way, you won't need to come back at the departure point of your trip and you'll be able to enjoy a peaceful end to your holiday.

We strongly advise you to bring the bikes back inside your accommodation (hotel, guest house, gîtes, campsite, etc.) and to tie them up so that they are safe for the night. The vast majority of accommodations in the region are accustomed to receiving bicycles and are equipped to accommodate them.