Buying in France?

Leeside

Are bikes cheaper to buy in France? I'm heading over to France shortly and I'd put my bicycle carrier on the car if I thought it would be worth buying over there.

Does anyone know of any good bike shops near Roscoff?

rp

Leeside wrote: »

Does anyone know of any good bike shops near Roscoff?

There's bound to be a Decathlon there - they're like Aldis.
Depending what you are looking for, they do some quite good value middle of the range bikes, a bit better/better value than Halfords & their clothing is excellent value.

Leeside

Yes, I was thinking of Decathlon and it looks like there is one near Morlaix. Also LeClerc and Geant have Hypermarkets in Morlaix so I'll look there also. It would be also good to visit a smaller shop specialising in bikes but I won't have much time to go search for one.

I'm looking at spending €400 max on a hybrid bike.

Anyone know if Trek or any other popular model is available in France?

Diarmuid

There are good prices on the low end stuff. Anything over 600E, not so sure.

You can check out Decathlon and Go Sport online

Caroline_ie

Decathlon - you must go there - if you are looking for a good deal though, Superstores like Carrefour or Auchan also sells bikes. I was looking at them last time i was back there out of curiousity. They have brands names like Giant for ie... enjoy your time in France! Amuse toi bien )

sy

Decathlon carry a great range of bikes and there is one range called Tribane which has a bike which might suit your budget.Has Shimano 7 speed Nexus hub ( nearest thing to automatic on a bike), front disk brakes and light weight frame all for about €360. Can't think of model's name. Only problem is that the size of the store determines the range of bikes they carry. Bigger stores are always near the bigger cities. Not familiar with store in Morlaix. Those of you interested in higher spec bikes should also consider their excellent road range. They supplied AG2R and Confidis in previous years. Brought a bike back for a friend, Penta Frame which Confidis rode in 2004 Tour. Had Centaur with original penta wheels and hubs for €1300!
( AG2R now BH bikes) and they now call their higher spec bikes BTwin Racing. They range in price from about €1000 to €3500 and one of my bikes is an older high spec model with a lot of mileage and no problems. Their clothing is excellent value, I buy all my gear there and they have excellent sales. Sales run for most of July. Great time to pick up winter stuff. Remember the store covers all the sports so your partner can go shopping while you can concentrate on the bike! 2 great stores in Bordeaux. One right beside the airport which might pass a few hours if your flight is delayed! Happy shopping

Pherekydes

There is a Decathlon in Morlaix. It's on the route from Roscoff, just before you reach the Motorway. I was in it last year. And not just cycling stuff, either. They cover any sport you can think of in depth.

EhBenDisDonc

There should also be a few local shops such as http://www.cycles-stephan.com/produits.php. Might be worth keeping an eye out for them in case they have specials.
Decathlon is definitely the place to start. Bring extra pocket money for all the bits and pieces you won't be able to resist.
Just back from 2 weeks in Normandie myself. Boy was I glad I brought the bike. Cycling in France is a pleasure. There are lots of bikes on the road, and I was really impressed by how courteous and careful the drivers were towards cyclists. Hope you get a few spins in yourself if you get fixed up with some wheels.

penexpers

I was in the Decathlon in Saint Malo last week. Bit of an odd shop for bikes, few low-mid range bikes and some parts that don't really go well together. For road stuff they only stocked some Tiagra parts and for MTB they only stocked Deore and some Sram stuff. The range of accessories was pretty good though.

If you're travelling with Brittany Ferries, you need to tell them about the bicycle carrier before you travel, otherwise they might refuse you boarding.

Caroline_ie

You can see what Decathlon sells here on there online store, It's a shame they only deliver to France... http://fr.decathlon.com/

http://fr.decathlon.com/velos-route.htm to access the road cycling page
http://fr.decathlon.com/vtt.htm to access the MTB page