Ray (webmaster) on 6/22/2021 5:51:51 AM:
I was looking for a bike to rent in early May, and was not able to find any in Syracuse or Rochester. There are shops that normally rent, but they all said there is a post-pandemic bike shortage due to supply chain issues, and they were having a hard time getting bikes to sell, much less rent.
That was over a month ago; hopefully the situation has improved by now. Here are the places that I know of, that normally rent bikes between Syracuse and Rochester - try giving them a call:
Syracuse Bicycle 315-446-6816
Mello Velo Bike Shop, Syracuse 315-307-3104
Towpath Bike, Pittsford 585-381-2808
Tryon Bike, Rochester 585-413-4444
Bert's Bikes, Rochester 716-837-4882
And here is a list of all the bike shops I know of along the whole Empire State Trail (Erie Canal plus Albany-NYC and Albany-Canada). The web page has an indicator next to the ones that offer rentals:
https://bikeempirestate.com/bike-shops.aspx
Having said that, the bike shortage did not seem to be an issue further down state or in NYC. I ended up renting a bike from Leisure Ride in Poughkeepsie and riding it to NYC. I had also called a few shops in NYC, who all had rentals available.
Good luck - hopefully the bike shortage and lack of rentals is no longer an issue along the Erie Canalway.
Happy trails!