E Bike Rental

[giralda]

Would appreciate any recommendations for renting 2 ebikes starting in Sevilla in April and stopping in Gijon 3 weeks later to begin the walk to Santiago on foot on the ruta de la costa. I have contacted both Cycling-rentals.com and Cyclingthecamino.com. Does anyone have anything to say about either one? Thanks for your help! Margarita

 

[jony jony]

Hello Giralda........I rented a bike ( not an E-bike ) from cyclingthecamino.com in Santiago , it was delivered to a transporters depot on time , it was in good condition , it was not the type of bike i asked and paid for , but was fine . On delivery at their shop in Santiago ,the owner apologized and refunded me the difference , so no quibbles there .
I have a slight concern about the proliferation of E-bikes being used on the camino's as to the charging of the batteries every evening in the Albergues . Already it is not easy, in many to find a socket to charge phones , i pads , and a plethora of other electronic devices that require charging . Some of these Albergues are run on a shoestring budget and as more and more people need to use more and more electricity then i suppose in the end we will all have to pay more .
This year on the Via de la Plata /Sanabres camino i saw maybe 6 or 7 E-bikes on the route but only encountered 1 in an Albergue so maybe they were using private hostels .
Best wishes for your ride/walk.

 

[t2andreo]

At your first large town or city, perhaps BEFORE YOU START, go to a ferreteria or China Bazar shop and buy a GROUNDED 3-way 'cube tap' or plug that converts one outlet to three. This way, you can convert the limited number of outlets available to share with two other people.

Your fellow pilgrims will appreciate the gesture. The grounded feature is likely required by your e-bikes charger transformer. Smaller, non-grounded plugs, will also fit this adapter.

I will not address the issue of using expensive electricity. That is a cost of doing business and running an albergue is a business. They might consider an extra charge for folks arriving with e-bikes as they know additional electricity will be used. One € should cover it. Even a donativo albergue should implement this optional charge, in my view.

The other charger uses for phones, cameras, tablets, etc. are so tiny as to be inconsequential, at least IMHO.

But either way, carrying a Schuko 2-pin, Euro style, 1 to 3 plug converter is a wise and friendly thing to do. I always carry one. I have several in a box at home and grab one before I leave for the airport.

One day, a few years ago, I came upon a heated argument over a single available outlet. Several folks wanted to use it and one person was 'hogging' it. I merely reached into the top pocket of my rucksack, pulled the 3-way adapter out and politely contributed it to the cause. I gave it to the one woman in the group and told her to keep it and use it to 'pay it forward...' I also suggested the others buy their own at the next ferreteria or China Bazar shop.

Note: I was not one of the folks involved in the argument. My phone was already fully charged (piggyback battery pack case). But, having one of these handy-dandy devices is a very good thing, and worth the few added ounces IMHO.

Hope this helps.