Road bicycle by Decathlon...or others

Life Hacking
41

HS 8712.00
No import duty, only TVA 8.1%

42

Many things from decathlon are even cheaper in germany than in france

1 Like
43

I have seen many in tutti. Actually bikes of around 5000-10000 Chf are sold almost new at 1000-2000 CHF. Even if they seems to be pretty good value for price, It is out of the budget I was expecting
too many reach guys in Switzerland and almost no one selling bikes in the lower price range :frowning:

44

Any one knows when the older season new bikes are sold in the shop? I expect that the bikes form last year’s are then sold cheaper when the new collection (sometime only colour changes
) Will arrive. Any news if and when this happens?

45

Another option is to go for hybrid bikes with flat handle bars. You can find these in the €600 range. Once you lose the drop bar premium, the prices become much more reasonable.

bike-discount.de and bike24.de have also some discounted bikes now and then.

also keep an alert on facebook marketplace. bargains do come up now and then. you might snag a $4k bike for only $700.

46

When buying a bike second hand, always ask for a copy of the invoice to prove it was not a stolen bike.
If one day the police stopped you, you won’t be charged.
A Too good to be true deal may hide something else.

Some bike also have a code engraved in French cantons (BicyCode).

1 Like
47

Thanks for the hint. I will definitely ask in case

48

Carbon or aluminium frame?

What is better? Which Ione is getting older first?

I found a carbon bicycle second hand, but I am worry to get bad surprises (eventually only due to the fact I do not know it
)

49

Carbon is better for a road bike for recreational use- lighter, stiffer, more comfortable.

Downside: more expensive and brittle if you have a really big impact. Inspect the frame carefully if buying 2nd hand

Aluminium might be better if you are looking for a bomb-proof workhorse for day to day commuting

2 Likes
50

Thanks for the hint. What should I inspect? Which are normally the critical points? Any easy quality control method that could be easily carried out when purchasing a bicycle? Normally you have few minutes to take a decision and it would be good to know the hot spots you should inspect first and more carefully.

Do you have any checklist that may help?

Thanks in advance

51

I would say where the seat post and steerer are clamped. Google is your friend

Personally I would not worry excessively and a visual check is probably enough. In Switzerland I think it is more likely you have an overpaid 40+ guy selling a perfectly good bike they bought in a mid-life crisis and rarely used, vs. someone trying to shift damaged goods :slight_smile:

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52

I would recommend something like this: Cube Attain GTC SLX, Grösse 58 kaufen in ZĂŒrich - Velomarkt
It’s the best value you can get for CHF 2’500, which comes a with carbon frame, electronic gear shifting and disk breaks.