Buying a bike in the U.S.

aficionado

Hey looking for some advice please,
Has anybody any recomendations for sites to buy a bike in the U.S.?

Want to purchase my first proper bike and have some friends coming over soon who could bring it over on the plane so don't have to worry about customs,

Only thing is since its my first road bike am I better off buying from a shop here so its the proper size?

thanks in advance

Lemag

aficionado wrote: »

Hey looking for some advice please,
Has anybody any recomendations for sites to buy a bike in the U.S.?

Want to purchase my first proper bike and have some friends coming over soon who could bring it over on the plane so don't have to worry about customs,

Only thing is since its my first road bike am I better off buying from a shop here so its the proper size?

thanks in advance

I'm pretty sure that there will be customs officers at the airpost.

07Lapierre

U don't have to worry about customs, but your friend Does!. Customs will not accept "I'm just bringing this bike into the country for a friend" as an excuse.

IMO, this is a BAD idea, expensive too i imagine, (as your importing from outside the EU).

Its always better to buy your first bike in your LBS, where you can "try before you buy".

fat bloke

Lemag wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that there will be customs officers at the airpost.

An American visiting Ireland is perfectly entitled to bring "his" new bike.

And who's to say it's not his?

And who's going to notice if "whoops!" he forgets to bring it back?

I'm pretty sure I know the answers to the above questions, and what I would do. Others will be along shortly to proffer their opinions...

07Lapierre

fat bloke wrote: »

An American visiting Ireland is perfectly entitled to bring "his" new bike.

And who's to say it's not his?

And who's going to notice if "whoops!" he forgets to bring it back?

I'm pretty sure I know the answers to the above questions, and what I would do. Others will be along shortly to proffer their opinions...

A valid point IF the friend is American.

seamus

Years ago I remember meeting my brother at the airport on his way home from working in the States and a colleague came wandering out of the customs with a big brown square box with "Haro" written across it. Brand new bike in the box, customs said nothing. Ah, Celtic Tiger. You wouldn't get away with that now, they've clamped down on all such messing.

At the very least the new bike will need to be unboxed and packed into a bike box by your American friend.

aficionado

Quick response! thanks

He is Irish born but now a US citizen and his wife is American,
Could easily unpack the bike and bring it,
Dunno if its worth chancing then all the same

el tel

Buying a Bike is a hassle.
Picking it up from the shop or waiting for delivery is a hassle.
Booking it on a flight can be a rigmarole.
Packing it for a flight is a pain.
Getting it to the airport with all the other luggage is a pain.
Smuggling it through customs is a stress.

To save yourself a few quid you'd put that all on to your friends?
What you save they will pay 10 times in inconvenience.

dave2pvd

How much is a bike on a transatlantic again? $150? Something like that, I think.

Found it. Here it is: Delta's Cost for Antlers and Bicycles (but not Brazilians)

ednwireland

Parachutes
Sport parachutes are accepted as carry-on baggage only


useful to know - bring your own parachute

Civilian_Target

Erm... in my experience, bikes are not substantially cheaper in the US than in Europe.
Why would you go to the trouble and expense (you'll pay 40 to 200$ to ship a bike to Europe in the plane) of shipping it from the USA?

Civilian_Target

dave2pvd wrote: »

How much is a bike on a transatlantic again? $150? Something like that, I think.

Found it. Here it is: Delta's Cost for Antlers and Bicycles (but not Brazilians)

Varies enormously.
British airways is free and never had a problem.
Swiss once charged me $200, one way, even though I had a business class ticket, then made me box the bike on the airport floor... and then broke the box and lost all the screws I needed to re-assemble the bike when it arrived in Europe.

aficionado

Think I'll leave it tbh,
It is a lot of hassle to go through the airport with it and after shipping probably not a huge saving anyway, Warranty would be a mess also!

Sorta off topic but anybody got a 58cm road bike for sale?

Beasty

aficionado wrote: »

Sorta off topic but anybody got a 58cm road bike for sale?

Definitely off-topic - try the cycling adverts sub-forum

Thanks

Beasty