I have to agree with Acidfast7 and Telly on the high cost of living in Europe. For example, a movie ticket in Geneva, Switzerland costs the equivalent of $21. A sandwich in a restaurant can easily cost over $30 (just the sandwich, no drinks or fries or anything like that). Bikes, too, are very highly priced. A couple years ago, I saw a stock Surly LHT in a bike shop for 1395 euros (about $1900). These same bikes are about $1300 in the U.S. Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, etc are other brands that I see a lot here and the prices are typically 50% higher than in the U.S.
Now, I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to call a £300 bike (about $500) a BSO, but it would surely be a low-end bike.
That said, there is one thing that is cheaper here: bicycle tires. I have no trouble finding Marathon Supremes for under $40 at online shops in Germany. Same goes for other Schwalbe models. Continentals are cheap too, at least compared to prices I see advertised on U.S. sites. So, we've got cheap tires. Yay!
