raria

Hi,

We are a family of five all avid cyclist and are moving to Lyon for two years.

We have decent bikes but the cost of them is comparable to the total cost to ship them from the US to Lyon and back.

Any suggestions on where I can buy decent bikes when in Lyon? I can put together bikes (bought a few via Nashbar). Ideally I'd like a website like Nashbar to buy the bikes from as I find there quality to be higher than those you buy at places like Decathalon etc.

Is there a good secondhand market for bikes in Lyon? I didn't want to take that route because it can take a long time to find five bikes but if its popular it may work.

Finally is the cycling in Lyon safe? I prefer to ride MUPs because I have younger children.

Semipedersen

Hi, you can check Chain Reaction Cycles | MTB | Road | TRI | Run. They have sometimes really good deals.

Stadjer

I haven't been there for a while and it wasn't France's most cycling friendly city, but local goverment is fanatic about these days and cycling is booming, so I guess it's on it's way becoming cycling friendly, but not fully there yet so you might want to select certain routes when with kids. And you might want to get used to French traffic first, it's not particularly dangerous, but knowing it makes it more predictable and therefore safer. They have a good bike sharing program, so you can get around town before you've bought bikes.

yves845

It depends on what kind of bike you need : touring, road or MTB.
there's a large second hand market for road, fixies,and MTB
you can have a look at trocvelo(dot)com

As for second hand stuf : leboncoin(dot)fr (I think it's equivalent to craygslist, mostly low end bikes, you have to search a long time and lots of scam, so be careful :always ask to see the bike and never pay anything online) and you have to be fluent in french.

If you want to buy parts online it's curiously faster to go to a german based site like rose(dot)de, prices are really correct, and you can choose english as language.

Lyon is a very hilly city with numerous stepts (escaliers) streets.

rmfrance

If you're able to transport your bikes by car or train you'll find that Lyon is a good place for access to some epic cycling route in and around the Alps.

rmfrance

Following on from my previous comment, here's an offroad route I rode some years ago:
Cycling the Col du Parpaillon | Mountain Biking French Alps | MountainPassions
There are many more (don't take the word 'dangerous' too seriously):
France

avole

The Time bike factory is close to Lyon. Go there, visit the factory, and choose one of the few bikes whose frames are not made in either of the Chinas.