Buying bikes in Europe
stewart...@bigfoot.com
Dahon folding bikes at about half the UK price. Are there any particular
caveats about buying from Europe, apart from the usual Duty and VAT?
Halfords seem to be a semi-reasonable bike shop over there (see
http://www.halfords.nl), not the Clarkson's Toyshop it is here.
Stewart
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Ace
>
> I was surprised to find that Halfords in the Netherlands sell decent
> Dahon folding bikes at about half the UK price. Are there any particular
> caveats about buying from Europe, apart from the usual Duty and VAT?
In many european countries, bikes must be sold with mudguards,
reflectors, bell and lights as standard fitment. Not a problem, of
course, as you can easily take 'em off if you want. Especially not a
problem if it's still half price with extra kit fitted.
Also be aware that the front & rear brakes may well be reversed. I'm not
sure about Holland, but certainly France, Belgim and Switzerland tend to
be left for front, right for rear. God knows why!
--
Bruce
Stewart C. Russell
>
>In many european countries, bikes must be sold with mudguards,
>reflectors, bell and lights as standard fitment.
all my bikes have them anyway. I resent paying extra for essential
fittings.
>Also be aware that the front & rear brakes may well be reversed.
I do that anyway. Left hand front brake makes more sense to me.
Thanks,
Stewart
--
Stewart C. Russell, Kirkintilloch, Scotland - scr...@enterprise.net
"Hang on... This is the real thing... The truth, my friend,
and nothing but the truth" - Mervyn Peake
http://homepages.enterprise.net/scruss/
paul womack
And America. Although this may be of limited relevance. I don't suppose
many are going to "peronal import" bikes from the USA.
Gave me a shock when I hired one in SF though. Perhaps it's a drive
on the right thing?
BugBear
Stewart C. Russell
>
>Gave me a shock when I hired one in SF though. Perhaps it's a drive
>on the right thing?
perhaps.
People tend to fall off my bikes if they borrow them. A combination of
swapped levers and effective Scott-Mathauser brakes make them
stop rather quickly.
DE Belcher
On Thu, 14 Sep 2000, paul womack wrote:
> > Also be aware that the front & rear brakes may well be reversed. I'm not
> > sure about Holland, but certainly France, Belgim and Switzerland tend to
> > be left for front, right for rear. God knows why!
>
Apparently something to do with having the rear brake available whilst
hand signalling for the more hazardous type of turn which involves
going across a lane of traffic, i.e. R/H for UK, L/H across the
channel, hence the reversed brake levers. Or so my dad once told me;
apparently the UK left lever/rear, right lever/front rule is one of
the requirements needed to comply with BS6102 (then again, so are
reflectors, which look damned silly on an out-and-out racing
machine!). Hope this helps solve the mystery!
Regards,
David E. Belcher
Richard
>
> On Thu, 14 Sep 2000, paul womack wrote:
>
> > > sure about Holland, but certainly France, Belgim and Switzerland tend to
> > > be left for front, right for rear. God knows why!
> >
> hand signalling for the more hazardous type of turn which involves
> going across a lane of traffic, i.e. R/H for UK,
If that's the legal rationale, it's daft; if I had a quid for every time
I've been descending a steep hill in the wet and had to juggle between a
right-turn signal and safe braking; I'm sure the drivers behind me think
I'm out of control as I signal right, drop the hand to brake, signal
right again, another bit of brake, another arm flung rightwards...(it's
amazing how many spare arms I have to keep in the pannier...)
Richard.
Marten Hoffmann
news:39BFAFA1...@virgin.net...
> stewart...@bigfoot.com wrote:
> >
> > I was surprised to find that Halfords in the Netherlands sell decent
> > Dahon folding bikes at about half the UK price. Are there any particular
> > caveats about buying from Europe, apart from the usual Duty and VAT?
No. But Halfords in NL is not the greatest place to buy bikes. If the Dahon
you mention is *exactly* the model you want, then you will have the full
advantage of the low price. If you ride through some puddles over here you
can try taking it along as a used bike and avoid taxes.
Other bikes at Halfords NL (like the illustrous Ranger and Kyoso bikes) are
quite iffy. If you want a real bike go see a real bikeshop.
> Also be aware that the front & rear brakes may well be reversed. I'm not
> sure about Holland, but certainly France, Belgim and Switzerland tend to
> be left for front, right for rear. God knows why!
<grin>
Hah! Are you the Brits didn't reverse them?
</grin>
--
Mvg,
Marten
*** Lees niet alles wat je gelooft ***
Ace
>
> Ace <b.ro...@virgin.net> wrote:
> >
> >In many european countries, bikes must be sold with mudguards,
> >reflectors, bell and lights as standard fitment.
>
> fittings.
>
>
I'm intrigued. Why?
--
Bruce
Ace
>
> On Thu, 14 Sep 2000, paul womack wrote:
>
> > > sure about Holland, but certainly France, Belgim and Switzerland tend to
> > > be left for front, right for rear. God knows why!
> >
> hand signalling for the more hazardous type of turn which involves
> channel, hence the reversed brake levers. Or so my dad once told me;
> apparently the UK left lever/rear, right lever/front rule is one of
> the requirements needed to comply with BS6102 (then again, so are
> reflectors, which look damned silly on an out-and-out racing
> machine!). Hope this helps solve the mystery!
I've heard this before too. Unfortunately, it's based on the premise
that the rear brake os the one you should use most, which, as we all
know (don't we?), is a load of cobblers.
--
Bruce
icarusi
news:8po2in$kvk$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> I was surprised to find that Halfords in the Netherlands sell decent
> Dahon folding bikes at about half the UK price. Are there any
particular
> caveats about buying from Europe, apart from the usual Duty and VAT?
>
> Halfords seem to be a semi-reasonable bike shop over there (see
> http://www.halfords.nl), not the Clarkson's Toyshop it is here.
I got mine from Mailspeed Marine in Warrington for £140 badged as
Birons. It was essentially the same as the Dahon bike Halfords
obtained on 'sale or return' for me to inspect. The differences were
the Birons included a carry bag (and wheel nut protectors for the bag)
but a pannier was an option for £20. The Halfords bike included the
pannier but no bag for (IIRC) £260.
Icarusi
--
remove the 00 to reply
Stewart C. Russell
>
>But Halfords in NL is not the greatest place to buy bikes.
I know that; Halfords ain't great here.
>If the Dahon you mention is *exactly* the model you want, then you
>will have the full advantage of the low price.
The NL-spec Helios is *better* than I can get here. Here we have 7-speed
derailleur; you guys get 7-speed hub gears -- better range and less
maintenance.
Fiets technology rocks. All weather biking without expensive, silly
clothes.
> If you ride through some puddles over here you
>can try taking it along as a used bike and avoid taxes.
>Other bikes at Halfords NL (like the illustrous Ranger and Kyoso bikes) are
>quite iffy.
Yes, I thought they were a bit crap looking. But the Helios -- at GBP 220
from halfords.nl -- is less than the UK list price of the Boardwalk,
which was the bike I was considering. It, in turn, is only GBP 166 in
Holland... :-(
>*** Lees niet alles wat je gelooft ***
After a few weeks of my Dutch course, I might actually know what that says.
(I'm not joking; University of Strathclyde offers evening classes in
Dutch. Mine starts in three weeks. Mmm, frites...)
Thanks,
Stewart
Stewart C. Russell
>
>> I do that anyway. Left hand front brake makes more sense to me.
>
>I'm intrigued. Why?
So I can control speed effectively and signal right. Back brake's really
only useful for speed control on long downhills.
Michael John Gayler
back - that's when i found out the frame monted dynamo light is on
the wrong side DUH........ :)
The message <8po2in$kvk$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>
from stewart...@bigfoot.com contains these words:
Stewart C. Russell
>
>> If you ride through some puddles over here you
>>can try taking it along as a used bike and avoid taxes.
(oops, forgot this bit)
Ah, the taxes aren't that much different. I don't grudge them it.
It would still be half UK list price with just about any difference in VAT.
Stewart C. Russell
>
>No problem - bought a bike in Decathlon in France and just brought it
>back - that's when i found out the frame monted dynamo light is on
>the wrong side
nothing wrong with that -- illuminates the kerb, which is a serious hazard
when it's really dark. I don't think BS* specs specify which side the light
has to be on.
Stewart
*: does anyone else find the fact that our standards organization is
known as "BS" immensely amusing? Almost as funny as British Midland's
BM logo...
Myra Van Inwegen
>clothes.
The clothes should suit the task. When I ride 2.5 miles to work I wear
my work clothes. When I ride 100 miles to visit the in-laws in the
Midlands, I wear lycra. I don't know of anyone who puts on specific
bike clothes to ride just a few miles.
--
-Myra VanInwegen mv...@cl.cam.ac.uk
Myra's Bike Pages http://simon.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/bike/
GoFar magazine : UK XC MTB http://www.gofar-mtb.com/
Marten Hoffmann
news:Cx9w5.49$lf.2...@news.enterprise.net...
Oops! Inserted my Dutch signature (ctrl-shift-S is easy). It says ........
> After a few weeks of my Dutch course, I might actually know what that
says.
> (I'm not joking; University of Strathclyde offers evening classes in
> Dutch. Mine starts in three weeks. Mmm, frites...)
........... no I won't tell (yet). Let's wait for the results of you Dutch
course. Or read my other postings if you're curious.
--
Mvg,
Marten
*** Lees niet alles wat je gelooft *** :-)
Becka Currant
Myra Van Inwegen wrote:
> The clothes should suit the task. When I ride 2.5 miles to work I wear
> my work clothes. When I ride 100 miles to visit the in-laws in the
> Midlands, I wear lycra. I don't know of anyone who puts on specific
> bike clothes to ride just a few miles.
I do. But then it's hard to cycle in a skirt, and I get fed up with my
trouser legs flapping. Plus I live in hilly Bradford and you just can't
avoid getting all hot and bothered...
Becka
--
Becka Currant
All views are my own blah blah blah
"Prayer - the last refuge of a scoundrel" Lisa Simpson
Gary Knighton
> nothing wrong with that -- illuminates the kerb, which is a serious hazard
> when it's really dark. I don't think BS* specs specify which side the light
> has to be on.
>
I believe the HC does, but it's not usually a major problem to move the
light. My dynamo is on the near side (Left) but the light is positioned on
the centre line, but it could easily be on the offside.
--
Gary Knighton, York
Fri, 15 Sep 2000 13:08 +0100
Using Virtual Access
icarusi
news:39C1FB17...@bradford.ac.uk...
> I do. But then it's hard to cycle in a skirt, and I get fed up with
my
> trouser legs flapping. Plus I live in hilly Bradford and you just
can't
> avoid getting all hot and bothered...
Bratf'd? Best choice of long gradients and curry houses in the North.