Alright, let’s talk about trying to rent a Fuel bike in Barcelona, man. Total pain figuring out their prices at first, trust me. Hit their thing online looking for costs for my dates. Just a big list with names like “City Bike” or “Cruiser,” but the prices?
First shock? No price listed anywhere on that main page. Just pictures. Had to click into each bloody bike one by one. Felt like forever. Finally found prices buried down in the descriptions. Cool, thought I was set. Wrong.
The Price Mess Up Close
Opened up the “City Bike” or whatever. Says “Starting from $X per day.” “Starting from.” Yeah. What the heck does THAT mean?
Tried picking dates next week. Price jumped. Way higher than the “starting from” number they proudly show first. Felt ripped off already and I hadn’t even booked.
Kept digging. Turns out, Fuel? They have about a million different price brackets. Summer? Forget it, price shoots up like a rocket. Weekend? Another nasty bump. Even the exact days you pick matter. A Tuesday/Wednesday ride? Cheaper. Thursday to Sunday? Your wallet starts crying.
And that deposit. Jesus. Different bikes, different deposits. Some need a small fortune blocked on your card. Almost freaked out thinking my card limit wouldn’t cover it.
The Booking Circus
Actually putting in the dates and picking a bike felt smooth online. Easy peasy. Put in my name, passport, license info. Credit card details… done? Felt too easy.
Got the email confirmation instantly. Nice. But then… crickets. No “where to pick it up” or “what time.” Nada.
Panic button time. Called the international number listed on their site. What a mess. Hold music on loop for ages. Finally got someone whose English was… well, we tried. Explained I had a booking number but zero clue about location or time.
Guy sounded totally confused. Kept asking “Which Fuel Barcelona?” Turns out they have a couple different spots? He didn’t even know which one my booking was for based on the number! Had to dig out the address myself from the confirmation email fine print while leaning against some Spanish dude’s motorbike parked outside my flat.
The Money Trick (Thank God)
Here’s the big save, folks. Talking to that manager on the phone finally paid off, sort of. He mumbled something about booking direct sometimes getting discounts if they aren’t busy.
That’s when I tried something:
- Scrapped my original booking dates. Picked a weekday ride ending before Friday. Boom. Price dropped like 25% compared to the near-weekend ride I wanted first.
- Emailed their local shop address (the one I painstakingly found), not the central booking thing. Asked nicely if they could do anything better for that specific bike on those cheaper days I now picked.
- Felt like a total idiot hoping, but hey…
- Got an email back a day later with a slightly better price than even the system showed! They knocked off a chunk, maybe 10%?
How It Actually Went Down
Picked up day: Went to the actual shop address. Passport, license, card. Had to sign like a thousand papers. Showed them the email with my confirmed (and slightly discounted!) price.
The bike itself? Worked fine. Deposit block? Still sucked, but at least I knew it was coming. Dropping it off? They looked it over quickly at the shop, then the deposit unblock email came later.
So yeah, the price list on their site? Basically useless bait. The real deal is juggling dates like a madman, avoiding weekends and peak season if you can, talking directly to the local shop, and having a strong stomach for that deposit hold.
Saved myself nearly 30% compared to my first booking attempt. Mission accomplished, just took way more hustle than I expected. Now you know.