Vertigo Bikes – Guided Mountain Bike Tours Queenstown New Zealand, Bike Rentals

ADVICE ON COMING TO QUEENSTOWN TO RIDE

If you’re planning on spending a bit of time in Queenstown, it is worth joining the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club as you will be supporting a great cause and it will get you some great benefits around town.  Vertigo offers 10% discount on parts and accessories in our shop to all members and also offers free tool use in our Bike Box Shop in the Bike Park at the top of the gondola.

If you are bringing your own bike it is a hard choice between whether to bring a DH bike or an All Mountain bike.  Us Vertigo boys ride 99% of the trails here on our trail bikes (Giant Trance X0) and find that you will see a lot more of the riding Queenstown has to offer if you bring one of these style bikes.   But if you just want to cut laps on the Gondola for a week then your DH bike should be the one you pack for sure!

DOWNHILL RIDING

Unless you have been living under a rock you will know that Queenstown has recently become the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to have a gondola-accessed mountain bike park – QUEENSTOWN BIKE PARK.  Skyline Gondola in the centre of Queenstown has opened its doors to mountain bikers, giving us access to the awesome downhill mountain bike trails in the Ben Lomond Forest.  There are a wide variety of tracks to cater for all abilities of rider.  Check out our videos on the right of some of the tracks.  Vertigo is the official rental shop of the Bike Park, with the Vertigo Bike Box at the top of the Gondola to help out our customers while enjoying their day on the hill.

There are also other DH tracks in the area, which are easy to shuttle if you have a vehicle, or we can help you with that.  We have the awesome Wynyard Express DH track in town and also the fast and flowy Zoot track on the way to Coronet Peak ski field.

Vertigo would recommend a Giant Glory if riding any of these DH trails for maximum grin factor!

CROSS COUNTRY RIDING

Cross country trails are on the up, with areas like “7 Mile” offering people who are looking to go for a pedal and get out of town a great option.  The area has a mix of technical singletrack to fast flowy man-made trails.  There are about a dozen different loops to choose from and it is worth buying a MTB club map if it is your first time here, as it can seem a bit of a maze!  There are a few videos of some of the trails on the right of this page.

Another classic Queenstown ride, and a locals’ favourite is the Moke Lake Circuit.  This is a nice ride with plenty of climbing in it, and has a genuine New Zealand backcountry feel to it.  High country farmland, beautiful mountain lakes, singletrack, 4wd roads, sheep and cows, what more could you ask for!  The loop is a half-day ride, and you can venture into 7 Mile on the way back for a play also (if you have any energy left!)

For both of these rides Vertigo would recommend a nice XC full suspension bike, like a Giant Trance or Giant Anthem, especially for 7 Mile, making the ride much more enjoyable.  Go on, treat yourself!

SCENIC CRUISE

If you are just after a scenic cruise, we have the spectacular Frankton Arm trail which follows the lake edge from the centre of Queenstown to Kelvin Heights Peninsula, and then further to Jacks Point if you are up for a 50km return ride.  The trail has a few cafes and restaurants on the way, notably at the Hilton Hotel and Kawarau Village, which is a great spot to stop for lunch.

Vertigo would recommend a Giant Talon front suspension bike for riding this trail!

For more info on any of these rides and more, give us a call, or pop into the shop