PANewbies

My husband and I are looking to purchase new bicycles. We recently moved to Pocono region with our 3 kids (6, 3, 4 months) and want to start riding for fitness and fun. Our 6 year old is riding on his own and neither of us have bikes to join him at the moment. In the long term, we'd like to get the younger kids involved via. bike seat/trailer. We plan to mostly be riding on paved with some gravel and dirt potential. There are some hills in our area.

My husband is 6'3 and I am 5'3 and neither of us are light weight. Pre-kids, we both had bikes and periodically rented for city touring. There is currently limited stock but we've been able to find: Some GT Bikes at Dicks (Laguna for me, Aggressor for him), Schwinn Bikes at Dicks (Standpoint), A small Cannondale Treadwell 2 for me, A Kona Dew for him, or Marlin 5 small for me, Marlin 7 large for him. We are willing to go up to around $1000 for bikes. I am leaning towards the Treadwell 2 for me and a Kona Dew for him. We'd like to optimize for family riding in the future. Any thoughts?

jpescatore

There's another thread on here with a similar question and a bunch of responses - check out https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...se-newbie.html

I know someone who is very happy with the Kona Dew, good long term hybrid bike.

Never heard of the Treadwell but took a quick look at the specs. The derailleurs are really low end, seem to get OK reviews but I've never seen anyone using them. It also has a semi "walkthrough" (sometimes called mixte or "girls bike") frame. Not as bad a a full "girls bike" but those have no advantages for women who aren't planning on riding in long skirts, and often are a pain to put on a bike carrier on the car. The Marlin 5 has neither of those issues.

Bike choices are so limited now it is hard to find the optimum bike at the lower price points!

Thomas15

Welcome PANewbies to PA and to bicycling for fun and fitness!


I'm in the Pocono's in Carbon County near Lehighton, a transplant from the Jersey Shore. Been here 16 years. To say there are some hills in our area is somewhat of an understatement. In my view, there are really two options depending on exactly where you are. First option: the roads. My street, typical of the area, is less than mile long beginning at a "T" intersection and ending at another "T" intersection. My home is on a flat part roughly in the middle between the two "T"s. In one direction it's 7% downhill, the other is 8% uphill. No kidding it took me at least 10 (prolly closer to 20) tries over a number of weeks/months to ride from one "T" to the other "T" without getting off and walking the bike. And this with a reasonably light road bike with fairly low gearing.


The other option and possibly the better is one of the MUPS in the area such as the D&L Trail or the D&H Trail. Here is a helpful link to find MUPs in the Poconos, check out Trail Link https://www.traillink.com/?utm_sourc...n=RTCreferrals


The D&L is fairly flat but still has a slight grade but considered a beginners trail and scenic, family friendly. Of course there are some more advanced single track trails in the area but these are beyond the abilities of most beginners and your not pulling a trailer on them. Here is a link to find those https://www.mtbr.com/trails.html


Pocono Biking in White Haven (and Jim Thorpe) rents bikes and bikes with trailers for use on the D&L, this might be a good way to find out what you are getting into.


One thing to consider looking at the big picture when using MUPs in general is it is necessary to have some kind of bike rack to transport the bikes to the trail. Depending on how you do it, it can cost several 100 dollars for a suitable rack. Also need helmets and other bric-a-brac, sometimes it seems like the cost of add-ons is higher than the cost of the bike!


If I could summarize things, in general the Pocono's is a great place to live and there are good bicycling opportunities but the learning curve for road cycling can be a challenge. It all comes down to how determined you are. If Mr. PANewbie would like to go for a ride on the D&L let me know, I will give you my contact info and lend him a hybrid and some company for a few hours.

VegasTriker

Check out the Recreational and Family forum https://www.bikeforums.net/recreational-family/ further down on the opening page. You will find lots of information on kids trailers and things like tag-a-long for accommodating young children.

A basic bike rack is all you need for carrying bikes as long as you get ones that are not heavy as heck. I tried putting an old Schwinn one speed bike from the 50s and owned by a friend on my RhodeGear rack and could barely lift it to get it on. Took it right back off because of the weight.

I looked to see if any bike racks were available on CL for the Poconos but the only thing that came up was this Bell brand rack near Allentown but it is a good example of one that would work for 3 bikes. https://allentown.craigslist.org/bop...163804394.html At $20 it is a bargain.

PANewbies

Thanks for all the info! We decided to pull the trigger on the Kona Dew for my husband and Treadwell 2 for me. Biggest factor being in stock at a proper bike shop within a reasonable distance plus they seem like solid bikes. We have a tow hitch & bike rack for the car already, just needed some bikes We are excited to get riding!