The Bike Brothers

Two wheels, four wheels, or no wheels at all – Marco Island Bike Rentals has you covered. The shop on Collier Blvd., just up from McDonald’s, rents bikes, e-bikes, golf carts, and kayaks, and will even take you on a WaveRunner tour of the surrounding waters.  

Brothers Kaleb and Garrett Chamberlain, the co-owners, have longstanding roots on Marco – both attended Tommy Barfield Elementary and Marco Island Academy. Like Apple, their business was started in their garage, although the bike shop has yet to break the one trillion-dollar valuation of the electronics giant. The brothers bought out and moved into the location of Marco Island Sun-N-Fun Sport Rentals, after working out of, and growing out of, a storage unit facility. The end of October, they said, will mark one year in their current location. 

Younger brother Kaleb began the business while Garrett was studying at Florida State, and then “I found myself working for my little brother,” said Garrett. Now both brothers are owners, with their father, Jim, a “silent partner.” Dad has opened his own rental business, specializing in golf carts, on Anna Maria Island.  

Their focus, said Garrett, is “making vacations easy. We deliver and pick up at your place, for free, even if you’re not there. We tell people, ‘get it as dirty as you want – we’ll take care of it.’ This is the easy way to get around the island.” 

He estimates they have an inventory of “around 1,000 bikes,” most stored off-island. That includes e-bikes and pedaled bicycles all the way down to powderpuff kiddie bikes and beach cruisers. That is a popular category, although on Marco Island, riding that bike on the beach is not permitted.  

Kaleb said he believes that even with longtime competitor Island Bike Shop having been there first, there is enough business on Marco Island for everyone, and they want to expand beyond Marco.  

“We want to take this show on the road. We do deliveries to Naples,” he said. They also offer sales and service. 

Along with the bikes, they have developed a stable of golf carts in four, six, and eight-seat varieties.  

“We went from one golf cart to 25 in a year, and now we have around 40,” he said. “Every Halloween we sell out – it’s the best way for a family to go trick or treating,” and half of the rentals go to locations in Naples, as opposed to Marco.  

Christmas is also a busy time – “we sell out Christmas week in November,” said Garett. While they pride themselves on not gouging during the holidays, they did not want to publish rental rates, and don’t offer a price sheet.  

Like any business focused on tourists, visitors, and part-time residents, Marco Island Bike Rentals is highly seasonal.  

“We don’t see daylight in our condos for six months,” said Garrett. “This is the time when we get everything set to go.”  

He is also out on the water, leading WaveRunner tours through the waters around Marco, from Keywaydin to Cape Romano on their fleet of 10 personal watercraft. And kayak rentals are another business line, with delivery of their “couple of dozen kayaks” to the customer’s home or condo, or the Isles of Capri paddle park. While the brochure mentions delivering to the Caxambas boat ramp, Garrett clarified that currently, there is no commercial activity permitted at the location on the southern tip of the island.  

The brothers see their niche and their mission as making visits to the island as easy and enjoyable as possible, said Garett.  

“We want to be a one-stop shop for vacation fun,” he said.