singingcyclist

Next month I plan to fly into Amsterdam, buy a bike*-- then see where I can get to in 6-8 weeks. Hoping folks here might have recommendations on what bike to get, and where to get it.

I'd would like to keep it < $1,000€ if possible. Any thoughts on hybrid vs touring/trekking-- and/or model, brand recommendations?

While I could save money buying used, I'm leaning toward new. Can anyone recommend a local or chain retailer in or near Amsterdam?

Here's some additional info that might matter...

- I'll probably average 50-70k daily, with a rest day every week or so. (Probably add bar-ends or swap bars if I go hybrid)

- My (pre-tour) weight is 280 lbs. Lodging will be a mix of WS, hostels and hotels, so I won't need to carry a lot of gear with me.

- I know there will be hills and headwinds, but overall ride profile will be fairly flat. Not sure whether I'll need to upgrade the rear cluster.

Thanks much for the help!

Joe

* Doing this because neither of my bikes (carbon road bike, beastly heavy mountain bike) is the right tool

alois

Your budget of €885,- combined with your weight limits you to a second-hand bicycle. Buying a new bicycle for this price in the Netherlands will mean your trip wille have an abrupt ending because of material failure. I once bought a Fuji Touring for this price, which is a good bike, but bikes like this aren't sold in the Netherlands. But luckily there are lots of bike shops with lots of good used bikes. Avoid the ones aiming at students which only sell very cheap second-hand bikes, but go to a dealer who also sells new bicycles (people who buy a new bike trade in their old ones). Or try marktplaats.nl (the dutch E-bay). A lot of dealers post their used bikes here.
Also, keep in mind that if you are going to cycle fo eight weeks you will be running out of flat country, unless you go in the direction of Northern Germany, which I wouldn't recommend (it's dull). Your intended minimum mileage of 1800 miles? will get you to Spain if you want to.

Caretaker

https://www.decathlon.nl/p/stadsfiet...405475&c=ZWART

€600 from Decathlon still leaves some room to maybe fit a trekking bar. Perfectly okay for hilly rather than mountainous parts of Europe and the wider tyres/front suspension good for off-road and cycle-tails. 50-70kms. average daily is perfectly achievable.

You should have a great time.

jefnvk

https://www.fiets.be/toerfiets?order=product.price.asc

Touring bike selection from a large bike chain just south in Belgium, prices were largely similar to the NL if I remember correctly. Remember, drop bar bikes outside of the performance/racing realm aren't really popular in Europe. We were a bit of an oddity in France, a few people asked us why we had "racing" bars on our trekking bikes

Outside of neither of your bikes you currently own working, have you considered buying a bike now and taking it? Gives you a month to set it up how you like it, and bike prices are generally much more friendly here than in the EU (presuming you are in the US/Canada, which I just realized I don't know).

3speed

I vote for buying now and taking it with. That’ll give you a couple weeks at least to make sure the bike is well sorted and comfortable. I’d go CL or bikes direct(maybe with some upgrade parts) if the bike would get here in time. I don’t know that you’d get anything decent at a LBS for $1,000 these days.

PedalingWalrus

agree with the suggestions too. If the $$ budget is limited then why add all this stress at destination of finding a good bike, test it, fit it for a price that is below what bikes like this go for in NL ? Too much hassle, probably more hassle than flying with your bike ;-)

djb

joe, the suggestions of buying here, is a very valid one, and to me, the main reason is about how a used or new bike there will fare with your weight (and of course the time and hassle spent , setting up, flirting with fit issues)

you are basically two of me, so the rear wheel of any bike has to be able to live with this, and the bikes you own obviously do and you know that spokes arent going to break when you go out for a ride.
So take into account a used bike, which probably will have tired spokes (depending on bike of course) or even if you find a great used bike, or frankly a moderately priced new hybrid, the wheelsets are going to be on the cheaper side, improperly tensioned spokes is common with new bikes, and you are also adding on a couple of panniers with easily 20lbs ---so the chances are pretty darn high you'll be dealing with busted spokes, finding bike shops to get them fixed, maybe getting them fixed and then still having busted spokes......

for me at half your weight, I can get away with riding a bike with not so strong wheels---and just to be clear and honest, Im not saying this stuff to be mean, it just seems that as a big feller, this is the reality of bikes and do you want to have to deal with this on a trip?

also, in Canada and the States, its easy to just pay a bike shop to properly box up your bike for a flight, and do the same thing in a European city where there are lots of big and small bike shops. Taxi to airport with box in it, and the only other aspect is chosing an airline that has reasonable costs for going with a bike in a standard cardboard bike box. Dont know if you are American, but here in Canada, there are a number of companies like Air Canada, Air Transat, that have reasonable fees, like 35-50 bucks each way.

hope some of these suggestions from strangers make you consider your options.
and hopefully you will come back and be part of the discussion

indyfabz

^^^This^^^

Slap some road-friendly tires on the MTB and ride it.

singingcyclist

I appreciate the advice, both on places in EU to buy a bike, and suggestions to bring my own. it's embarrassing-- and touring vets here may laugh / shake your head-- but the idea of boxing up a bike, getting it there, and putting it back together seems daunting, more even than riding a thousand plus miles. Expensive too-- I'm looking at 2-3 flights to get to Amsterdam.

DJB, thanks for concern-- I know the comments on weight weren't mean. The reason I included my weight is because I know it's a factor to consider on bike. That said, I haven't busted a spoke or had a bike fail on me yet due to weight, even when I was 20lbs heavier (which is more than weight of gear I'm taking. Just figured I'd need to be mindful of spoke count of wheels, steer away from anything that looked too delicate.

Thank you all!

jefnvk

You only pay with the first airline from wherever you embark. It will be ticketed through to the destination for their rate, unless you are buying two or three tickets to get there.

As to weight, I'm 220# in clothes, and I've carried 50# on a bike before. Yeah, you're on the heavy side compared to many here, but I've never had an issue in that range. Biking in the NL is flat and generally on good roads/paths.

fietsbob

I happened to get a Used Bike , not sold in the USA, that someone bought in Europe, and brought back ..

then sold, and was resold again once over here..







..

indyfabz

As djb explained, spoke count is not the only wheel issue. Spoke quality and proper tensioning are just as important as spoke count. Hell. I had two separate spoke breaks on a 48H wheel while touring in Andalucía. Fortunately, after the second break I was staying in a large city for several days so the LBS had time to get everything right and I was problem-free for the rest of the trip.

I will not even get into all the wheel problems I had during my cross country trip, which was my first tour. I was about 200 lbs. but carrying a lot of weight, including some heavy film camera equipment. 36H wheels. They didn't look delicate and were from a reputable manufacturer. They just were not the right wheels for the weight I was carrying. The rear rim eventually developed cracks around the spoke holes and had to be replaced in OH. (Discovered cracks in the front rim shortly before heading off the Andalucía the following winter.) I can say definitively that frequent wheel trouble on really, really sucks.

I am sure there are videos on how to box a bike. It's not that hard. I can box my bike and re-assemble it with a set of hex wrenches. IMO, anyone going out on tour would serve themselves well by learning how to do basic bike work like that needed to box a bike.

Also....What are you going to do for racks and/or bags or whatever you intend to carry your minimal gear with?

singingcyclist

Thanks Jef. If I could get bike there for a low price I might do the boxing/unboxing, but I'm in Boise. Looking at Southwest or Alaska to SF Bay Area; then KLM or Norwegian to Europe. A KLM round trip to London is *much* less expensive than Amsterdam, so prob another flight to get there.

djb

not embarrassing at all, completely normal. It can feel daunting because you wonder about doing something new, but getting a bike store to box it up in Boise would be doable, and also doable to get a bike shop in "whereever, Europe" to box it back up also.

generally, a bike with a rear rack on just needs the front wheel removed, and seatpost either removed or pushed down all the way, to fit into a bike box that bike stores throw out all the time after assembling new bikes. Rear wheel and rear rack stay on

look at numerous youtube vids on it, research it, and use the plastic protection bits that get thrown out at bike stores , the same things that all new bikes have on them in the box

even if you pay a store to do it, knowing how its done is a good idea and doesnt cost anything to learn, or heck, even try.

taxis or suv's can take bike boxes, in airports baggage carts are available. You usually can fit one pannier into the bike box, and carry other as carry on.

oh, and this hasnt been touched on much, but riding a bike that you know fits you, and that you can ride for hours and not have physical issues, is super important. Sure, you could buy a bike over there, and all could be fine, the fit, how the bike works, etc etc,
but then again, it might not.

my experience, as most of us here, is that its just worth bringing your own bike for all those reasons. Pretty darn important reasons in my opinion.

all the best with exploring all the options and planning.

PedalingWalrus

If You do not currently have a bike then I wonder whether it isn't too much planning to buy a bike and go on a tour while flying to Europe. There seem to be way too many variables for a $1000 + purchase.

What if You hate it on the second day and want nothing to do with biking? Are you going to take that loss?

singingcyclist

Thanks PW. Good question, but I'm not a stranger to cycling. I've been riding for years, have done six centuries, and a charity ride from SF-LA. Right now I have two bikes-- a carbon road bike, and a front suspension mountain bike-- but haven't been riding them enough lately. That's actually a big driver for doing this tour-- jumping into the water so I have to swim.

I expect the first week may be a challenge, but I'm not in a rush. I'll be on flat roads, and can do light miles while riding myself into shape. That strategy worked two years ago, when I walked across Spain without training (and that journey started with a climb over the Pyrenees!

jefnvk

Ah yeah, that dampers it a bit, and may make it worth buying there.

What were your return plans?

PedalingWalrus

I stopped counting years but maybe 6 years ago I got back into cycling. I was 30 lbs heavier at 265. I amortized bike commute savings into a purchase of a high end ebike. It worked, and after 2 years I hardly wanted to ride the ebike yet continued to ride regular bikes. Ebike was built to handle heavier loads...

Steve B.

Rent ?.

There are likely a gazillion bike tour companies that provide bikes for self-guided tours, typically they arrange bikes out of local shops. Source those rentals and do a loop, or just end up somewhere and take a train back. Lot of places provide bikes with racks and panniers as well and if this is a credit card tour you can get away with just a rear set for clothing and lunch.

Personally, my tourer is the most practical bike I own and I would fly it over and back and pay the cost. I know it fits, it's what I will train on, I'll have everything mechanical ready to go, etc....

Just for giggles I went to see what Koga Bikes has currently. They are a Dutch bike manufacturer who used to sell the Miyata line of bikes (my tourer is a Koga Miyata). Now they do either local manufacture or source carbon racing from China I assume. In any event, all the trekking bikes are flat h-bar bikes. I understand that's a popular style, but I've always thought that a drop bar for long distance riding is more comfortable. Seems that's not the European thing though so flat bar is all you get.

https://www.koga.com/en/home

singingcyclist

Congrats- that's a great story!

fietsbob

you busking as you go, singingcyclist ?

singingcyclist

LOL, no fietsbob-- wasn't planning on that. But if any of my warm showers hosts want a concert-- or if I meet/make some friends along the way who want to hit a karaoke bar-- then I'm absolutely down for some singing

DropBarFan

I agree. Many touring/trekking bikes aren't so light either & with flatter route, weight is not so important. Suspension fork would be comfy for the bumpier velo routes & town pavé streets. You're already used to the bike which is a big plus. W/O need for camping gear, fitting bikepacking bags should be easy enough.

I don't know exact price for the 2-3 RT flight fees but hard to imagine it would be more than buying a nice trekking bike in Europe. Buy a bike in NL & after tour then what? Sell it quick/cheap, abandon etc? Just take the plunge with boxing the bike, IMO you'll probably find it was the simplest part of the trip.

fietsbob

I brought a Pocket Mandolin on my tour to sit in in pub sessions in the British isles; Ireland Scotland..




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