It started out well, the day was sunny, a walk through the park, and then it began. It went downhill quickly, literally, we saw a sign for something called Carmel bike share Zagster. It looked simple enough, it looked like a bike rental service. We decided to give it a try, it seemed like it could be fun renting some bikes and exploring a new area. The directions on the sign seemed to be easy enough to follow, the technology behind the easy to follow directions however was flawed and did not work as easy as intended. The process to rent and bike and the time it took was not user friendly. Each user who wants to rent a bike needs to download the app, turn off wifi and turn on bluetooth. Then you select the bike you would like to use and after a few seconds or minutes or in our case never the bike becomes unlocked and voila, free bike. Not really but it is a bike to use to explore the nearby area that has multiple bike paths through a wooded but well traveled path and a downtown area that is friendly to bikes. With each of our users selecting a bike to unlock on the app, two bikes did not unlock, a call to customer service and after being on hold for only a matter of minutes we were finally off to explore the area. I was already a little frustrated because our time was wasted with how the bikes did not unlock as the app would show that it was. However as we pedaled into the tree lined bike path that had big mature trees to my left and right with a large canopy over us I quickly forgot how much of a pain it was to get started with my bike rental experience with Zagster. The bikes were very heavy and took a little effort to use, and I say that as an avid mountain bike rider myself. These bikes are heavy and not easy to maneuver. The bike path does pass right through the downtown area not before you do have various other which ways you could follow as well. We kept on and as we neared what looked like a good place and be it that it was time to stop for a few minutes there was what I thought was a restaurant with outdoor seating and a fire pit. We parked our bikes but not before one of the riders encountered a sudden problem with the brake locking up on the wheel causing the bike to violently and suddenly veer to the side, right down the embankment and crash throwing the rider from the bike! The rider was hurt with cuts and scratches and was bleeding. We took a few minutes to clean up as best we could with the no first aid kit that we had. With the injured rider hesitant to get back on the same bike I offered to ride that bike back as we attempted to make our way back to where we started. The brake was locked on the wheel and not having any tools I had no choice but to do whatever I had to do to get the brake unstuck from the wheel, which I had no success in doing. I rode the bike back and just to give you an idea of how that went, the next time your on a bike ride, hold the brake in and pedal at the same time, yeah not fun. I stopped a few times to try to fix the locked brake but I was unsuccessful in my attempts. At one point I even just walked the bike back instead of pedaling with the brake on, which I felt embarrassed and silly doing. We made it back, finally, and now it was time to lock up the bikes, which was as difficult as it was to unlock them. I took pictures of the bikes with the numbers so if any bike was reported as not having been returned I could show otherwise. We finally secured the bikes with too much an effort and left. Left we did and won't be returning. read more

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It is the worst share service in the world. This service uses your credit information and charges you without your consent. Their bikes have GPS and record where you go. That is, they follow your private activity by their bikes. I never recommend Zagster. read more

We have Zagster service provided by the property management of my office complex. Tried it twice. First time, could not lock the bike. The second time, made a quick stop at a coffee shop nearby and could not unlock the bike after locking it. Called support and got a person after a 5 minute wait. After explaining the issue she gave me a code and I was off and riding back to the office. Got back to the Zagster station at my office, parked the bike, locked it, and noticed the app was glitching. I could not end the ride, meaning the charges would continue. Had to place another call to support to get them to end the ride. The bike itself had tires under inflated and sounded like you would expect after sitting in the station, in the open, all through the winter here in Rancho Cordova/Sacramento. Needed a real tune up. I suspect all the bikes in the rack do. Overall, the support was helpful but having to use them twice in one very short ride is ridiculous! Don't think I'll be using it anymore. I'd be better off bringing my own bike and storing somewhere on site. read more

Zagster is a bike sharing service located in the Carmel area. Most of the locations are near the Monon Trail. The wife and I decided to go ride the trail on a Sunday afternoon after walking past the bike station the previous night. When we got there luckily there were 2 standard bikes available for rent. To rent the bikes you have to download the Zagster App and fill out your information. You select what location you are going to and then enter your credit card information. When everything worked correctly it only took about 4-5 minutes to set everything up. I set up an account on my phone and then repeated the process on my wife's phone as one individual account can't rent 2 bikes at the same time. I had issues trying to set up the account on my wife's phone because the map to select the station would not load. Although this was probably more of an issue with the phone than the App itself. Once everything is set up, you walk over to the bikes and find one you like. There will be a number on the side of the bike that you enter into the App. The App then gives you the combination to small safe at the back of the bike that has the key to the lock. A U lock is provided for you in-case you plan to stop somewhere and you don't want the bike stolen. The process is that simple. Once you are done riding, you bring the bike back to any Zagster location in Carmel and lock it back up. Press the "end ride" button on the app and voila! You are done. The rental rate is $3/hour or you can even purchase a monthly or yearly membership that will give you one hour free before it starts charging you. You can choose from two bikes: a standard two-wheel bike or a trike. The bikes are 8-speed with LED light, bell, and basket. The bikes my wife and I had operated flawlessly although they had some wear on them (my basket was deformed. It was a fun time and I would definitely use the service again. It is very convenient if you don't happen to live near the trail or have no one of getting your own bike there. read more

I rented Zagster bikes last night with three others adults. Every person has to download the Zagster App (inconvenience), put in your credit card information, etc. before you can ride. We had an incredible amount of issues with this service. Arriving at the bike stand, we were trying to figure out how to get the key out of the padlock, which took some time but wasn't a big issue. Many of the padlocks were not in working order, so finding a bike with a working one was a bit challenging. A friend of mine accidentally picked a bike which wasn't locked up initially, and we then had to call service and they said she had to lock the bike up with a different bike or SHE would be liable..... OK.... we will just get her a different bike. Shortly after this my friend rents a bike with a bad tire. *Go through hassle of returning bike with bad tire*. Then my other friends phone dies once we finish the ride. He now cannot unlock his bike pad without HIS phone! Great!.... So now we have to attach HIS bike to another random bike (strike #3), even though there are so many opportunities for error! Someone could easily steal this bike if they really wanted to, and we were told we would be liable! *YIKES* This service needs to iron out the kinks before opening up to the public. read more

My boyfriend and I wanted to ride bikes at Wheaton Park. It is the worse service ever! The app took forever to understand and once we got the codes they didn't work ! We talked the customer service rep for 20 min trying to get things correct. It was so confusing ! Hence, are rental period ended and we never rode . What a waste of 30 min. Never using their services again . read more