Overseas Bike Purchases

[Crankarm]

Sooooo indecisive........ I have eventually managed to persuade a bike shop to put their Koga Miyata from the storeroom into the store for me to trial. But! I still have reservations......it is an expensive bike, I think it will be great for touring, but how often am I likely to go on tour. I want a bike that I can also take out for a local ride, maybe even keep up with the others on a group ride. I don't think the koga is that bike. I have done my once in a lifetime big tour. So any other tour is likely to be two weeks or shorter.
If I opt out of the koga, then I'm likely to get another tricross ( wife says no) or a genesis croix de fer........and then have to add mudguards, racks, pedals, etc etc..... Maybe the Ridgeback Panorama, is that the bike I'm after?

Only you will know, we can't decide for you.

 

[Crankarm]

If value for money in a tourer is what you are after, your best bet is probably a German Fahrrdamanufaktur bike. They are excellent quality, completely specced with hub generators and B&M lights, mostly Tubus racks etc, and very competitively priced (much more so than Koga). They are marginally cheaper in Germany than in Holland, but if you want convenience, there is a very good specialized touring bike shop in Rotterdam: www.bike4travel.nl . In Germany on the other hand you can often find discounted models from last year. But don't buy withhout trying for size: they have sloping top tubes and are relatively long.
Willem

That link is all in foreign, a really weird foreign as well . No English option afaics.

 

[willem]

All you need is the phone number: get on the phone and you will discover that they speak excellent English. Alternatively, you could learn a foreign language. I am currently working in Germany, and I am happy that English and French are not my only foreign languages.

 

[Crankarm]

All you need is the phone number: get on the phone and you will discover that they speak excellent English. Alternatively, you could learn a foreign language. I am currently working in Germany, and I am happy that English and French are not my only foreign languages.

I was hoping there would be an English option for their website but alas not. What learn Dutch? Even the Dutch find their own language very hard . I too speak French but not so good with German where I can get by with basic conversation ok. Anyway most Germans speak very good English and you can't stop them speaking it so no point trying to speak German to them if you are not German which is cool by me. Spanish is hard and Mandarin Chinese impossible. English is the language of the world and business so pretty fortunate that I am a native speaker.

 

[Crankarm]

To the OP - why not just go to your intended country - fly, rail, etc., buy your bike, take it for a long tour riding it home?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I bought a Cannondale in America in the 90s, the currency was in my favour at the time and it equated to a very good price. I was upfront with customs at Heathrow and the guy said as far as he was concerned a bike was made up of components none of which individually exceeded the limit, so no tax either.