Ski Valet

Overall: Don’t come here if you want to get out on the mountain right away with excellent bikes. You will go through a lot of confusion, waste a ton of your precious vacation time, and get the worst bikes and service.
We should have went to Unilocal first. This is our story:
Tried to reserve 2 downhill bikes: there were no smalls in the downhill and was told I would be just fine on a mountain bike.
Arrived to Vail, called the office to confirm directions, no answer. Called the other number which led to the same voicemail.
Eventually found the place anyway, showed up around 11:30−12. No one was in the office. I went to the front desk of the Four Seasons and they were able to call the owner over.
Total confusion about us not having a reservation, and not recognizing our information at all. Suddenly he remembered us, but said that he assumed we blew off our reservation because he was expecting us at 10, even though we never communicated what time we would be arriving. He took our phone number and credit card.
He said we would have to wait 30 minutes because he has to kick off a tour.
One hour later, he came back, now 1pm.
He took our phone number and credit card again, and we had to remind him 3 times before he got us the bike pads, of which they charge extra for. The cost to rent them is way more than they are worth, they were like Walmart pads for a 10 year old’s roller-​skates.
Finally up on the mountain, we wanted to tackle some of the intermediate downhill trails like Big Mamba. The bikes, especially mine, were so awful! Every tiny pebble on the trail was felt in the hands, spine and legs. It was like I was sitting on the back of an empty trailer! The suspension was awful and the brakes barely worked! My husband’s «Specialized» bike was in really poor shape as well, it wouldn’t pedal, and he described it as Frankenstein’s bike because of all of the poorly done repairs.
To top it all off, we were only able to go up/​down twice in four hours (plus a late lunch) because of the constant breaks for our hands.
When we got back to the office, we were charged for a full day! The owner tried to convince us that we were gone enough to apply the full-​day rate, which wasn’t true. After realizing this, it took him around half an hour to talk with support to fix the charge.

Their rates might be competitive, but their customer service is awful! We rented a bike during the offseason. Brought the bike back and no one was there. They had changed their store hours from when we picked up the bike to when we returned it a couple days later (could have told us that when we picked up the bike). When they arrived after we called, I was told that I still owed a half day of use, even though I was there before they were. I could totally understand this policy in the busy summer season, but when even Starbucks down the street isn’t open because it is offseason? Maybe that’s why their rates are competitive… they nickel and dime you for every minute.
Just got back from a fantastic trip in Asheville NC where we rented bikes and the customer service was fantastic… reminded me how bad this place was!

These guys know their bikes are extremely helpful giving tips on where to bike in Vail and around the valley. They offer a fine selection of nice bikes at comparable pricing to some of the larger bike rental shops. There did seem to be a little bit of confusion around the pricing for a rental that extended a little bit beyond 24 hours. I was told on day 1 that I’ll be charged 1 full day, plus a half day for a few hours surpassing the 24. However when I went to return the bike, I was told my 28 hour rental would cost me 2 full days. I explained that another employee had advised me differently. They did correct the price, however keep in mind when doing a multi-​day rental that spans 28 hours is not 1 day + ½ day — not really sure why to be honest. Overall a good experience with these guys — even serviced my bike quickly when the brakes got a little funky.