Great shuttle service - Barney was an absolute legend. He fitted us up for our bikes, then shuttled us to the trailhead while giving us some fantastic facts and history of the area. Really enjoyable and knowledgeable. Our e-bikes were pretty good quality, they got hammered by the mud on the trail and one malfunctioned with about 15kms to go but we managed to get it sorted enough to get it back to the shuttle base. And our stay at the Lodge was very good.

One of NZ’s most scenic rides - Had the best time. Met the shuttle and had very in depth history commentary from Rob shuttle driver. Stayed at the Lodge which I can’t rate highly enough! Food was amazing staff very friendly helpful. The ride itself is real NZ bush so spectacular, and such a great ride. Shuttle service also with Barry was great, so informative. Met us at the end, nothing too much trouble. This is a must do, can’t speak highly enough of the whole experience!

Best way to experience New Zealand! - If you enjoy cycling, then peddling through the Pureora Forest is a must-do when visiting New Zealand. The the old growth forest on day 1 of the ride is truly spectacular, with all sorts of ferns, mosses, and trees like you've never seen before (especially if you live in the U.S.). The trail is relatively smooth, and although we clocked 60 miles and nearly 5000 ft of elevation gain over the course of two days, it seemed much easier than we anticipated. We love cycling, but aren't top-level riders by any stretch. That's the longest off-road distance we've ever done and the most off-road elevation gain too - and we did it on pedal-power hard-tails. What really surprised us was how many older folks were doing the ride! They were in their 60's and 70's and all smiles on their e-bikes. Those really make this trail accessible to everyone. But if you like to pedal yourself, and you can do a 30 mile ride on-road, you should be just fine. Their oldest rider to do it under their own power was 89 !!! I recommend doing the whole trail, but if you only have one day, both of us liked day 1 better (Pureora to the Lodge). The old forest is amazing. Day 2 is less climbing, and has a long, sweet downhill with wide open views, and the Ongarue Spiral, but the logged forest is still in it's scrubbly stage as it grows back. Day 1 was much more dense, scenic forest. The long span bridges are on both sections, so you'll get to see those no matter which section you choose. As far as the bicycles are concerned, we rented the hard-tail Trek Roscoe's. The bikes were like-new and performed flawlessly. Timber Trail shuttle and bike hire has their own set of mechanics that do a great job keeping the cycles in top shape. They have lots of e-bikes, too, also brand-new Trek's, which is what most everyone else had. Their bikes are great, their mechanics super-cool, and I highly recommend using them if you need to rent bikes. The shuttle ride was great and the drivers were local Mauri people who knew so much about the history of the land. Their stories were wonderful and added a richness to our experience that remains with us to this day. Meeting those guys was actually a highlight of our whole trip. We stayed at the Timber Trail Lodge (which I also recommend highly) as it made everything so easy. We parked at the end of the trail in Ongarue on day 1, were shuttled to the lodge with our luggage, provided a nice hot meal and a warm bed. The next morning (after a hearty breakfast) we were shuttled to the start of the trail in Pureora for a 30 mile ride. They give you a tasty bag-lunch to bring with you! We took our time, took lots of pictures, and loved the ride back to the lodge --- where a warm fire and a feast awaited our arrival. The next morning, another hearty hot breakfast was served and we rode out from the lodge to the end of the trail in Ongarue. Our bags were there when we arrived, so we returned the bikes, said our goodbyes, got in our car and rode on. Super easy! Again, cycling the Timber Trail through the old growth Pureora Forest was one of the best parts of our entire 17-day trip to New Zealand - and the Timber Trail Shuttle and Bike Hire was just perfect. I highly recommend them!!!

Excellent - Friendly, efficient service. Excellent bikes in very good condition and well maintained. thanks a lot, Lambert

Top experience! - Amazing experience- helped by the perfect sunny days! Very challenging for us older seniors but definitely worth it! Really appreciated the local knowledge shared by Matua Rob.

Great - Timber Trail shuttles and Bike Hire were great, easy to deal with, very accommodating with a great relaxed kiwi manner. I would recommend for those who do not do much riding that they hire an e bike to enjoy the 2 day ride as the trails are more taxing than riding in a park.

High quality ebikes - The Trek mountain ebike is brilliant for this amazing two day trail and Timber trail staff were so accomodating. They made the whole experience easy.

Great E bike - The MT e- bike had great wide tyres and excellent brakes which was very important with all the down hills and our somewhat nervous group. The frame was a little large for me, hence bruises on my lower back from sudden stops. Also, the seat could have been softer but my fault for forgetting my gel cover. Great battery life and customer service at the midway point lodge to assist with overnight charge was awesome.Thanks!

You must do it - perfect ride , could not be better, try with normal bike but if you do not feel fit hire an electric one, most people were doing electric, the lodge is good, staff very helpful and kind; the whole experience was above my expectations,highly recommended

An adventure with challenges - The rain was a challenge and the track was not in great shape. Suspect that Doc will fix it up when the sun shines. However, it was a great adventure and the timber trail lodge is fantastic. Two of the low gears on one of the hire bikes weren't working. Battery charger not there on arrival. So, room for improvement !!!