https://freewheeltours.com/blog Notes from building a tool that puts a guide on every hire bike. en Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://freewheeltours.com/blog/what-the-guest-sees https://freewheeltours.com/blog/what-the-guest-sees Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT One scan at the counter. Your tour, your stops, your name, on the phone they already have. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/you-sold-the-bike https://freewheeltours.com/blog/you-sold-the-bike Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Saturday at the counter, when the hire is done and the day still has to be designed. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/the-map-on-your-website https://freewheeltours.com/blog/the-map-on-your-website Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT An embed guests can look at, and a day they can actually ride under your name. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-route-google-maps https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-route-google-maps Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Cycling directions, stops, and a saved map. Then the part Google's help does not cover: getting that day onto a guest's phone. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-rental-waiver-template https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-rental-waiver-template Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT The fields a hire waiver needs, on paper or on a phone. Your words, their signature, and an e-bike section you can add without a second form. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/ride-with-gps-alternative https://freewheeltours.com/blog/ride-with-gps-alternative Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Ride with GPS is the right tool for a training file. A hire counter needs something a tourist can open without joining a club. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/google-my-maps-embed https://freewheeltours.com/blog/google-my-maps-embed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT How to put a My Maps iframe on your site, what the guest actually gets, and the one paste that hands them the day instead. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-rental-qr-code https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-rental-qr-code Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT One code on the counter. The guest scans it, and your tours, your waiver and your name are on the phone they already have. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-rental-terms-and-conditions https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-rental-terms-and-conditions Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT The hire rules and the waiver are two jobs. Here are the fields for each, without wording to paste into a dispute. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/how-to-start-a-bike-hire-business https://freewheeltours.com/blog/how-to-start-a-bike-hire-business Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Pedal bikes and e-bikes, a counter, and an answer when they ask where to go. Motorcycles are a different business. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/komoot-alternative-for-bike-shops https://freewheeltours.com/blog/komoot-alternative-for-bike-shops Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Komoot is for a rider planning their own day. A hire shop needs a tour the guest can open without another app. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/offline-bike-maps https://freewheeltours.com/blog/offline-bike-maps Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Offline cycling apps are for the rider's own phone. A guest needs the tour you drew, still there when the signal drops. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/komoot-vs-ride-with-gps https://freewheeltours.com/blog/komoot-vs-ride-with-gps Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Both are built for a rider with a head unit or a serious app habit. Here is what each is for, and what to hand a tourist instead. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/cycling-cue-sheet https://freewheeltours.com/blog/cycling-cue-sheet Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT A turn list for someone who already owns the ride. A hired guest needs the stops in your words, on the phone they brought. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/the-family-loop https://freewheeltours.com/blog/the-family-loop Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT The flat hour, one stop a child will remember, and the turn that keeps them off the highway. Guests search "near me." They find it because you drew it. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/what-goes-on-a-tour https://freewheeltours.com/blog/what-goes-on-a-tour Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Stops, photos, the streets you would send your own family down, and a name. Draw it once. Hand it over all season. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/self-guided-or-a-guide https://freewheeltours.com/blog/self-guided-or-a-guide Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT A person at the front is a departure. A tour on the phone is every hire, including the ones who never booked a tour. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/a-hotel-that-lends-bikes https://freewheeltours.com/blog/a-hotel-that-lends-bikes Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT The desk has a minute. The bikes are downstairs. The guest still asks where to go, and the answer can already be drawn. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/the-review-at-the-end https://freewheeltours.com/blog/the-review-at-the-end Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT The guest is happiest at the last stop, with photos already on the phone. That is when the review link should appear. Not two days later. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/one-tour-four-places https://freewheeltours.com/blog/one-tour-four-places Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT The counter, your website, the booking email, and your shop page. Draw the day once. Put the same tour in all four. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/en-15194 https://freewheeltours.com/blog/en-15194 Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT The sticker on a legal European e-bike. 250 watts, assist that stops at 25 km/h, and why a software lock on a bigger motor does not count. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/uk-eapc https://freewheeltours.com/blog/uk-eapc Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT An EAPC in Great Britain. 250 watts, assist off at 15.5 mph, rider 14 or over. A twist-and-go that keeps going is a motor vehicle. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/queensland-ebike-laws https://freewheeltours.com/blog/queensland-ebike-laws Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT 250 watts, you have to pedal, and from 31 August 2026 a rider on the road needs to be 16 with a licence. The rules are mid-change, so check the government page. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/california-ebike-classes https://freewheeltours.com/blog/california-ebike-classes Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Class 1, 2 and 3. The motor limit is 750 watts, not Europe's 250. A throttle bike can be legal here and illegal at home. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/germany-pedelec https://freewheeltours.com/blog/germany-pedelec Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT A 25 km/h pedelec is a bicycle. A 45 km/h S-Pedelec needs a plate, an AM licence and a helmet, and it does not belong on the bike path. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/netherlands-speed-pedelec https://freewheeltours.com/blog/netherlands-speed-pedelec Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT A normal Dutch e-bike is a bicycle. A speed pedelec is a bromfiets: yellow plate, AM licence, approved helmet, and not on the mandatory bike path. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/hire-bike-service https://freewheeltours.com/blog/hire-bike-service Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT A private bike gets a service once a year. A hire bike meets that in a week. What to look at before it goes out, and when it stays in the back. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/hydraulic-brakes-hire-bike https://freewheeltours.com/blog/hydraulic-brakes-hire-bike Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT A spongy lever means that bike stays in. Mineral oil and DOT fluid are not interchangeable, and a generic bleed will wreck the wrong system. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/ebike-display-died https://freewheeltours.com/blog/ebike-display-died Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Blank screen at the counter. Check the battery and the plug, give them a different bike, and look up the code for that brand later. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/smartwaiver-alternative https://freewheeltours.com/blog/smartwaiver-alternative Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Waiver software signs the form. A hire counter also has to hand over a day. When one product should do both, and when it should not. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-rental-booking-software https://freewheeltours.com/blog/bike-rental-booking-software Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Reservation systems take the money, the calendar and the bike. None of them ride with the guest. That hour is a different product. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/self-guided-tour-apps https://freewheeltours.com/blog/self-guided-tour-apps Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Three different products share the phrase. Only one of them is something a shop can hand to a guest who is standing in front of them. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/send-a-route-to-a-phone https://freewheeltours.com/blog/send-a-route-to-a-phone Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT A GPX file, a maps link, a photocopy, or a code on the counter. What each one costs you at the moment of the handover. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/the-first-tour-is-free https://freewheeltours.com/blog/the-first-tour-is-free Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Nobody pays to find out whether a thing works. So the design tool is free, the first published tour is free, and the paywall stands in front of the second. https://freewheeltours.com/blog/what-a-scan-actually-does https://freewheeltours.com/blog/what-a-scan-actually-does Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT A customer points a camera at the code on your counter. No account, no app store, no sign-up. Here is every step between that and a rider on the road.