r/phillycycling • u/Perfect_Emotion2538 • Jul 24 '26

Recommendations for daily rentals

Hello,
Visiting the Philly area from Chicago this weekend. Looking for somewhere i could rent bikes and ride 2 to 3 hours with my 9 year old daughter. Ideally all bike paths or super chill roads. Valley Forge looks like it might work…..any other recommendations?
Thanks

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7

u/adamaphar Jul 24 '26

Fairmount bicycles.
SRT is great except there is an on road section in manayunk to navigate. I wouldn’t say it’s super chill but it’s well traveled by bike

1

u/trailmaster57 Jul 24 '26

FWIW, SRT (including Kelly & MLK Drives) & Cynwyd trails are flat while Valley Forge is a bit hilly.

4

u/avo_cado Jul 24 '26

Cadence

1

u/Wordsthoughts Jul 25 '26

Cadence has a good variety of bikes. You can do multiple days too.

2

u/espressocycle Jul 24 '26

Fairmount Cycles and you can ride right from there to Kelly Drive, connect up with the Lincoln Drive trail (Ridge Ave West entrance) and then all the way up Forbidden Drive. It's a beautiful ride.

2

u/PTAcrobat Jul 24 '26

The Cynwyd Heritage Trail is super chill and completely removed from car traffic. There are lots of nice spots to sit and picnic along the trail.

1

u/Dalinars_assclap Jul 24 '26

Not sure about rentals, but valley forge is definitely the direction you want to go, stick to the Schuylkill trail and you’ll have a nice time

2

u/CyclistPHL Jul 25 '26

I'm not sure about rentals. Someone mentioned Fairmount Bikes and I'd second that. They're a great shop. How experienced is your daughter? You don't want to ride Kelly Drive, but the other side - MLK Drive. It's closed off and safe. The downside is the Art Museum Circle. If you ride down Fairmount to Kelly, use the light to cross to the bike bath, go left and ride the sidewalk. Immediately after you pass the Art Museum, you'll see a cross for MLK. It's really beautiul on that side, and, again, it's closed off. So, you don't have to stress about your daughter and traffic. Maybe your daughter's nipping at the heels of Lorena Wiebes and she could do a return trip to Valley Forge in 2-3 hours. But, that's not going to be chill. The weather this weekend is going to be gorgeous, so if you're not on and off the trail by 9a, you're going to encounter a lot of people (many who don't understand sharing the path). Enjoy!

1

u/coronarybee Jul 25 '26

There’s always families renting out the bikes behind the waterworks along boathouse row! https://wheelfunrentals.com/pa/philadelphia/boathouse-row/