mimiywan

My husband has always loved the Dutch commuting bikes and he is planning on riding on our nearby trailway to teach summer school. Is it crazy to get a used Dutch bike from the Netherlands and have it shipped? Are there bike brokers that might help us purchase a good bike, package and ship as a service?

StarBiker

If you are buying from a bike shop check with them. Bike shops do ship international. But not all.

$250+ to get it here.

I was looking at a bike and the place that has the best price currently is in Jakarta. And that includes the $300 shipping.

Darth Lefty 

Are you looking to import because you just can't find one in stock here? I had an impression that you couldn't throw a rock in Brooklyn without hitting a bakfiets but maybe that fad is passed.

Inisfallen

Nope.

debade

Here is one site with recommendations for shipping a bike. I think we used Bike Flights when returning from France. It was our own bikes and we packed them there. But bike store are more than happy to charge for this service.

dedhed

https://www.godutch.ca/pages/about

​​​​​​https://www.jclindbikes.com/

​​​​​​https://www.amsterdam-bicycle.com/

​​​​​​https://www.peacebicycles.com/

​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...e-bike-us.html

jamesdak 

Yep, my first thought was go new like I did. But the OP said used so I didn't go there.

That said, the purchase experience working with Steven as the Amsterdam Bicycle Company was really easy. He was responsive and informative. Now I'm just about a month out from the bike arriving.


Not cheap but they have a rep for lasting forever and so I think the price was well worth it.

mimiywan

I think the omafiets were really big a few years ago. We just thought that it made sense to go with a used high quality Dutch bike rather than a "Dutch adjacent" new bike made in China but designed in Brooklyn.

mimiywan

I suggested new from Holland but I am also concerned that for $1.5K he won't actually ride it.

njkayaker

Quite a few scams with selling bikes out of Indonesia.

jamesdak 

Yep, it's a lot of money to spend if any doubt.

Stadjer

Good choice of brand. Is it of the shelf or did they let pick the frame and the parts and all, the 'design your own bike' idea?

If you buy an Azor it's mostly the sturdiness you're paying for, it doesn't ooze 'be careful with it'.

Buying used makes sense, if it is a proper Dutch bike with the proper build quality, and not just Dutch looking or just assembled in The Netherlands. But I don't think many used bike sellers have the infrastructure for it. Used Dutch bikes get to the 100-300 euro range very quickly here and shipping costs just as high might be a bit uncomfortable. Shipping is a quite a bit of work if it's a first for the used bike shop. I don't think it will work.

I'd say get a good used Dutch bike for 400-500 dollar in the USA, or spend the 1500 or a bit more to get exactly the bike he wants of high quality and let him and future generations enjoy it. It will last. Azors are actually quite cheap for the hand build quality they provide.

jamesdak 

Yep, I got on Azor's site and used the bike configurator tool to build it. Then I sent the build spec to the one U.S. dealer and they reached out right away and worked the purchase.

I pretty much upgraded everything I could as well as picking a custom color. I expect this to last a long. long time and also wanted it to be a fully capable as I could make it.

StarBiker

Oh that thought crossed my mind. So did the ability to get my money back if I made the purchase.

I am not spending 2K on a bike. I wouldn't spend 1K on one. I have never paid more than $130...

njkayaker

[QUOTE=StarBiker;22077920]Oh that thought crossed my mind. So did the ability to get my money back if I made the purchase./QUOTE]
It's odd to make a post about something that is certainly a scam and one where one wouldn't be able to get money back.

It should have also crossed your mind that talking about it isn't helpful.

StarBiker

[QUOTE=njkayaker;22077931][QUOTE=StarBiker;22077920]Oh that thought crossed my mind. So did the ability to get my money back if I made the purchase./QUOTE]
It's odd to make a post about something that is certainly a scam and one where one wouldn't be able to get money back.

It should have also crossed your mind that talking about it isn't helpful.[/QUOTE

12 thousand posts........

njkayaker

To think you could have just replied "yes, I know". But you got all defensy about your silly post.

People ask serious questions about those Indonesian sites fairly regularly.

exile

Dutch bikes have their purpose, but as a gift for your husband he should really ride one first. They are heavy and slow and if you live in hilly terrain they are not ideal. However they are great bikes.

2_i 

Delta dropped their surcharge for bikes that then became treated as an extra suitcase. I am not sure whether this became the case for other airlines in their alliance, KLM and Air France. We had a right to an extra free suitcase in our flight to Europe and Delta then just took the bike we wanted to move across for free. In the past we used a cargo option that flies at a hugely reduced price when the shipping is within a few days from the flight. The boxes for packing the bikes can be obtained for free or very cheaply at bike shops. Even though this has not come up, I would strongly advise against dealing with shippers over water for smaller items - the variety of out of the blue surcharges make it a scam for practical purposes.