Thread started by shadylane at 04.27.08 - 11:22 am

I am going to Paris for the summer and I am contemplating buying a bike there and selling it when I leave or shipping my bike over with me. Has anyone done this and want to suggest anything?

Also, does anyone know if there are midnight ride types in Paris? OR! If a bunch of riders are going to Paris at the same time, we should create a Paris ride.

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i bought a bike in London to ride while i was there for a couple months. haven't shipped it back because i'm probably going to go there again but i will eventually. i don't know what it will be like in Paris but bikes in London are EXPENSIVE (just like everything else).

that said, i don't regret the purchase.

Annie did some time in Paris. you might want to pick her brain about it.

.K





onethirtynine
04.27.08 - 11:37 am

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Kieron, I'll be in London the first week of June. Can I rent your bike?



marino
04.27.08 - 11:49 am

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I have a bike in Rome, check in on it when you're in the area.



franz
04.27.08 - 12:54 pm

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cv



docmadmax
04.27.08 - 1:47 pm

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ops....on the 'cv' posted...
okay... don't ship. i lost my old centurion that way. oddly enough the same shop sent me a bike that made it through. i dunno. fifty fifty chance your bike ends up in postal limbo?

don't buy. consider the price of the euro. then consider that everything in paris is really expensive. i checked out a snooty fixed gear shop. turned out to be kids playing with tools and posturing. "cyclops" is the place. i hate to put them on blast, their parts were beautiful, but their building skills- well... they couldn't be worse...

if you are looking for a regular bike shop, its going to be more established and professional, but again, pricey...

lots of stolen bikes that have been long abandoned- shady shops will cut them loose, strip them and build bikes on nice vintage frames. kinda cool, but they seem to have a parisian price and a price for you...
you'll see a lot of that, so bring a parisian friend with you...

look into the VELIB. it's ATM convenience meets bike rentals. wicked, but you gotta get a local trasport/bus/metro pass.
not sure how hard that is. if you've got a friend in paris thay should be able to hook it up...

my girlfiends roomate just moved back to canada. she might let you borrow that one for a while, i can ask...he's really tall, but i rode it and i am a 55cm frame...

i suggest getting a second bike and bring it with you, or bring the one you ride from home. if you come for a summer, you'll definitely be back. nobody ges to paris just once. nice to have a steed waiting for you. ask your airline, and then go get a bike box. it's cheaper to pay that penalty, plus the cost of the box than screw around with the other options- ithink... just pack less stuff. buy cooler clothes in paris.

give me a shout when you get your dates for arriving and departing. we'lll organize a ride for you...i can't wait!
max






docmadmax
04.27.08 - 2:09 pm

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Paris Rando Velo,
Every Friday Night @ 10pm & 3rd Sunday @10:30am
Meets @ Hotel de Ville

Velorution (Paris Critical Mass),
First Sunday of each month @ 2pm
Meets @ Place du Chatelet

Cyclonudists
June 7, 2008
Meets @ Jardin de Reuilly

For alleycat/messenger events, contact Joe or Jboule. They know about everything and they're fucking awesome!

Joe's Myspace,

Jboule's Myspace



meandmybluebike
04.27.08 - 2:48 pm

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Annie,
that looks like your bike.
did you ship your bike?
How? How much?




marino
04.27.08 - 2:53 pm

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If you show up at the airport with your bike professionally packed in a cardboard bike box, most international carriers will let you bring it along for free. If you are flying a US carrier, they'll probably be more picky. I've taken bikes on British Airways international flights a number of times without every paying a penny. At the very least, the surcharge will be less than the loss you'll take on a buying and then selling. If you will have connecting flights once you are in europe, things get more tricky because local carriers have the same kind of restrictions that local carriers here have. You can always pay the surcharge, but that may add up if you'll be doing lots of flying, and navigating airports with a bike box isn't terribly fun, either. Another alternative is a folding bike. I bought one for my recent travels, but there must be shops that rent them, too. It seems like a natural extension of retail for folding bikes. I'd offer mine up for your trip, but I'm going to be traveling then, too. You can spend as little as a couple hundred dollars on a decent folder and a suitcase to pack it in will be about $150. If you travel a lot, its a very reasonable investment.

I don't know about Paris, but I plugged "critical mass london" into google and got myself out to CM last friday and had an absolute blast. It was the first big CM of the year, as the weather was nice for the first time in at least 6 months. We must have had 800 people and I made loads of friends. It's a great way to hook into the local cycling tribe. I'm sure Paris must have one. No one seemed to know anything about rides that are more MR-esque. CM was a reasonable facsimile of a party ride (with about 60 bicycle cops along for the ride, but not enforcing any laws), but they don't seem to have lots of rides happening throughout the month. Paris may be the same way. I can't imagine that MR isn't pretty damn unique.





ideasculptor
04.27.08 - 2:57 pm

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@ mybluebike:
thanks for the resources, i will be in paris again in a couple days. from the 30th-to the 2nd of may.hopefully i can meet up with some of the group rides.. gracias again!

ANYONE ELSE IN PARIS THOSE DAYS? wanna ride?

also, i agree with idea sculptor about the bulkiness and incovenience of the bike packed in a box. a coupe options may be to just pack an allen wrech and pedal tool...unpack the box, put it together in the terminal and trash the box in the bin, rolling the bike out the terminal? not sure if the underside of the plane is pressurized, i'd deflate the tires and bring a hand pump...

another option..i used a nice box i didnt want to trash, buti had my skateboard with me , strapped to the carry-on. when it was time to get thebike from the checked baggage, i used the skateboard and a bungie cord and rolled the box along very nicely.

midnight ridazz WORLDWIDE!
a girlfriend in every port, a bike in every city...




docmadmax
04.27.08 - 3:25 pm

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click on the photo for a link to Velorution, Paris Rando Velo, and PanamAlleycat photos.


Regarding shipping your bike:
I called a couple nights before my flight and asked about bringing my bike in a bike box. they said as long as the dimensions were under 62in x 62in, it would be free of charge (included as one of the two items you're allowed to check in, in addition to your carry-on luggage). pretty simple. take pedals, wheels and handle bar off. deflate tires. toss tools and pump in the box and you can put it together in the airport and ride to paris (only 10 miles)!

their transportation workers strike frequently, so check for DAILY updates if you're going to take the metro + luggage + bike box to airport. you may need a friend to help you with all your stuff, otherwise it's about 60 euros by cab. super expensive!



meandmybluebike
04.27.08 - 3:37 pm

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