Mike's Bike Tours Amsterdam Reviews

When I booked the countryside bike tour for my 12-year-old daughter and me through a third-party website, we had the option to select which type of bike we wanted at checkout, an e-bike or a regular bike. It was advertised that we could choose an ebike if we wanted a little extra help with peddling, and not knowing if we would be going up and down hills or not, we thought it would be a good idea to choose an e-bike. Again, this was packaged as an “ADD-ON” for an additional fee. It stated that to ride an e- bike you needed to be at least 12 years old and at least 5’. At the time of booking, my daughter was just under 5 feet tall - and growing, although she is still very small looking. There was absolutely no indication when selecting our bikes that these would be two completely different tours. A reasonable, prudent person would look at the booking site available to us and think that it is the same tour - you just could choose the type of bike you wanted. (Had it been clear that these would be two separate tours, we would of course chosen regular bikes since there would be no opportunity to switch bike types if it was determined, they would not be a good fit for us.) Anyway, when we arrived, and while I was in the bathroom, Ashton approached my daughter and his first words were to her: “You look too small. How old are you? Where is your mom so I can see if you are telling the truth because you don’t look it.” She said he used a very rude tone. When I came out of the bathroom, I confirmed that she was 12, and he said that he was worried she would not be able to ride along distance, would fall down or slow down and hold the rest of the group up, and encouraged us to not come. I agreed that the ebike did look larger than we expected. He informed us that this was only an bike tour and there was no option for riding a regular bike because that was a totally separate tour. Unfortunately, we were going to another country that evening, and he could not get us on another tour that day. He offered one for the next day, but again, we were only in Amsterdam for that one day. All of this was still OK until I asked for the refund and he said that likely we would not get one and that he would have to “ask the owner“ which sounded a bit fishy. After we left, I sent an email to the company, assuming it would go to the owner. However, Ashton was the one who replied and said that as he told me there would be no refunds because he offered us a tour the next day which I declined. It appears that either he never asked the owner or that he is the owner himself and lied. So, in a nutshell, the trip registration process is unclear (as it appears, you are only selecting the type of bike, you want to ride, not categorized into different tours), Ashton is rude, and the company/Mike’s Bike Tours Amsterdam simply does not simply do the right, “human” thing when THEIR registration is unclear - packaging the bike type as an “add-on.” Being kind, doing what is right, and being able take responsibility for the part the company may have played in the misunderstanding goes a long way. With that in mind, I recommend you avoid this company.