Indonesia: Buy a bike locally or ship from the USA?
I will be moving to Indonesia in a few months, for language school. So far, most of my information is limited to English-language sites. From what I can see, there are plenty of cheap bikes imported from India and China, but are better quality bikes and parts also available?
We will be near Semarang in central Java at first.
Can we buy good quality 3-speed city bikes with dynamo/generator hubs?
How about touring-style road bikes?
We currently own a Batavus with a 7-speed SRAM internal gear hub, and front/rear B&M generator-powered lights, a Globe Live 2 with Sturmey-Archer dynamo/drum brake front hub and 8-speed Shimano Nexus rear internal gear hub. And we have a REI Novara road bike and a Trek 520 touring bike from 10 years ago.
Should we pay to have our touring bikes shipped from the USA to Indonesia? I suspect it may be hard to find similar, steel touring frames.
How about the city bikes? I would be happy with a 3-speed if the 8-speed Shimano hubs are not widely available, but I consider dynamo/generator lights to be essential (especially with sunset at 5:45 pm every day!)
Can we buy Shimano generator hubs and good dynamo-powered LED headlights locally, or would we have to pay for them to be shipped from Singapore or Japan?
Any recommendations on a good bike shop in Semarang?
Thanks!