STROUDSBURG, Pa. — At Pocono Bike Company on Main Street in Stroudsburg, bikes are on their way out the door.
Chris Sozio from Long Island, New York hauled out two bikes that he couldn't find anywhere else.
"He calls me when they come in and I have a lot of people that ask me because I collect them and stuff. They ask if I can get them a bike. I will take a three-hour drive for a bicycle," said Sozio.
The COVID-19 pandemic weighed heavy on the bicycle manufacturing supply chains starting nearly one year ago. The result is a worldwide bike shortage that continues.
George Halas is co-owner of Pocono Bike Company and says the shortage could stretch into 2022.
"If you really want a bike, you have to be super proactive. We have bikes back-ordered like several hundred, normally we have around 300 bikes in stock and right now we have about 75. People are excited because they see we have bikes but it's not like the bread and butter bike that you would normally sell at a bike shop. Those bikes are almost impossible to get right now," said Halas.
Some bike riders we spoke to say they even know people who have been on waiting lists because it's so hard to get a bike right now.
"Oh, there are waiting lists. I heard for one bike, specially called a Big Ripper there are 88 people who have left deposits on that one specific bike and they aren't getting 88 of them," said Sozio.
BMX bikes and higher-end mountain bikes are mostly what's in stock at Pocono Bikes Company and supply stays as consistent as possible.
"Our supply picked up because my partner Danny has been excellent staying on top of things and just getting anything in that we can. We are stocking things like tires in quantities we would never imagine because we are seeing the writing on the wall. Come summer when tires aren't going to be available, we literally have 1,000 tires in stock which is ridiculous but in all of our inventory, we couldn't buy bikes, we needed to buy something," said Halas.
Anyone with hopes of purchasing a new bike in 2021 is advised to shop early and don't wait long to decide.