JLahr

I'd like to solicit some advice from you all, even if this post probably belongs in another forum. This winter I'm going to Europe for a few months to study and I'm debating wether bringing my bike along would be a good idea or not. Since the only riding I really do is touring, I would bring the bike and a low-profile set of small panniers to do a few short trips. But getting the bike over there and back might be a big headache and since I don't really know where I'll be living and what my schedule will be I might wind up cursing it.

Have any of you done something like this? If you haven't, would it be worth it to you in a simliar situation?

Thanks,
JLahr

mike

I recommend getting a bike in Europe. Unless you have a very special bike that you simply must use, there are plenty of bikes in Europe of all types and all price ranges.

Getting your bike to/from Europe is a hassle. If you plan to check it in as luggage, you will pay through the wazoo. I just returned to the USA from Europe last week and KLM/Northwest checked every bag to make sure it did not exceed the weight limit of 32 kg.

I often tour overseas. Once I brought a bike with me, but only once. It didn't make sense after that.

Jay H

I'd recommend you renting a bike over there too if you don't know where you're going to be. Lugging a bike that isn't say a folding or coupled bike is going to be a pain. Taxis can be tiny over there in parts of Europe so moving by car might be a small hassle.

I flew Air France in July with my bike from Newark to CDG, Paris and wasn't charged for my bike both ways but it's still a hassle.

Jay

mrfix

Both Mike and Jay have the best suggestions, traveling out of the country with the bike may be more hassel than it's worth. Besides, it's a good exuse to get a new bike.
Jay, How did your trip up north go? Did ya make out ok with your route and the weather? I know the day of the great river ride was on the cool side, it was a nice day though.

MichaelW

You could probably buy a used bike and sell it at the end of your trip. The styles available may depend on which country you are visiting. Id recomend taking your own saddle and pedals

JLahr

I like the idea of picking up a bike there but every dollar I spend on a bike is one I can't spend on seeing Europe. How much would you expect to pay for a decent road bike in Europe? Are used bikes fairly easy to get there?

mike

You won't want to spend too much time shopping for bikes.

Do an internet search for bicycle shops in the city where you plan to start your adventure. See if they have or can get a used bike for you before you arrive. If you can't find a bike shop with a search, contact the local chamber of commerce or similar business group - or contact anybody/business you can find in that city and just ask them if they will send you some names from the phone book.

You probably don't need an elaborate machine. You should be able to get something to suite your travel needs for 120 euro or less. You can buy a new Wally-mart grade bike for under $100 if you don't mind that. Less prestige, perhaps, but you only need it for less than 1,000 miles or so.

bikeswitzerland

Where are you going to be and at what time ? The Swiss train stations and rental agencies sell their rentals in October...decent aluminum touring bikes for a few hundred dollars and only a year old. That said, most things go on sale in October.

www.bikeswitzerland.com

newbikecommuter

which country/countries? if the uk - there's good touring bike manufacturers (dawes, thorn from st johns street cycles, edinburgh bike cooperative) and some good shops (evans, condor in london, sjs in bridgewater, ebc in edinburgh). u can get a reasonable compact tourer (dawes horizon, reynolds 520, sti shimano acer) for £375 right now from evans. u can also hope to get a good used dawes galaxy or super galaxy equivalent (reynolds 531, better spec components, full racks, saddle maybe panniers) for around the same price but no guarantees.

check out the following websites:

https://www.cyclingplus.co.uk/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=8
https://www.sjscycles.com/about.asp
https://www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk/n...ws/countr.html
https://www.evanscycles.com/dept.jsp?...ubdept_id=1208

cheers from london