I have bought a holiday home in France and intend to keep a bike there.
Does anyone know of French bike makers who make tourers like the Dawes Galxy. Or how easy would it be to obtain spare parts in france for the Dawes.
Any help would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Spare parts for uk bikes in France
Re: Spare parts for uk bikes in France
vangelis wrote:I have bought a holiday home in France and intend to keep a bike there.
Does anyone know of French bike makers who make tourers like the Dawes Galxy. Or how easy would it be to obtain spare parts in france for the Dawes.
Any help would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Having lived in France I think you are on a hiding to nothing here.
Bike touring is not very popular in France and the French, given their rather nationalistic nature, are unlikely to stock parts for British bikes. You may be aware that the French thread used in bikes is dissimilar to all others, which presents a problem when trying to service British-made bikes.
I would imagine that Peugeot may still make tourers but I haven't seen any for a while.
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vangelis
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Pinky
Re: Spare parts for uk bikes in France
georgew wrote:vangelis wrote:Bike touring is not very popular in France and the French, given their rather .......l
.
You have to be joking! Total rubbish. I have toured by bike in France 2004 and in 2006 and found the French extremely helpful and very friendly.
Mind you , if you insist on being unwilling to speak French, you will find a certain amount of cold shouldering. But by day 2 my french is good enough to sit in a cafe for my morning espresso and Croissant and discuss whether or not I should have a pastis!
And the supermarkets are hugely better for food than you will find in UK.
On my travels in France, Spain, Germany, Austria & Holland I never found any bike shop that wasn't able to help me.
Pinky's spot on!
Once you try to speak the lingo (even if you can't), the effort is appreciated and if you're on a bike wanting to see the people and their country - you're in! I've found the same in Brittany or French pyrenees. - and if you're knackered or sodden wet, they don't half want to pity and feed you.
On the bike front, do the different threads still exist? I thought modern stuff was English or Italian and that's it (and that's only bottom brackets). If I'm right, then take a cheap modern bike. One from Decathlon should be failsafe, after all its a french company.
Once you try to speak the lingo (even if you can't), the effort is appreciated and if you're on a bike wanting to see the people and their country - you're in! I've found the same in Brittany or French pyrenees. - and if you're knackered or sodden wet, they don't half want to pity and feed you.
On the bike front, do the different threads still exist? I thought modern stuff was English or Italian and that's it (and that's only bottom brackets). If I'm right, then take a cheap modern bike. One from Decathlon should be failsafe, after all its a french company.
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Cyclefrance
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- Location: Headley, near Epsom, Surrey
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I have had mixed results from French repairers but erring more on the positive side - one guy in Peronne left me with more problems than I started with, while a shop in Audruicq moved mountains to rebuild my wheel with spokes that a UK repairer had fitted incorrectly. I think we sometimes forget that, if a fault happens while touring, we may be asking for prompt repairs when the norm is to expect to book in a few days in advance - I agree that speaking French certainly helps. Overall I think they are probably as good as, maybe better when it comes to prompt attention, than their English counterparts.
Decthlon is a good choice for the price, but it's a super market with sometime a difficulty to find a good advice, try Bouticyle.com, it's a group of little shops across France, the site is not active today.
You can also contact a club, not far from your new home in France, and ask the "cycliste", where do they buy there bicycle.
You can also contact a club, not far from your new home in France, and ask the "cycliste", where do they buy there bicycle.
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thirdcrank
- Posts: 36740
- Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm
It is a lifetime ago since I lived in France but I suggest keeping a bike over there is a bit of a microcosm for everything else. (Incidentally, if you have already bought property in France, a lot of this must be obvious to you.)
At the risk of stereotyping, the French are often fiercely nationalist and resent certain types of foreign intrusion. Taking a foreign bike over there, and assuming they all speak English is bound to fail. I fancy English comers-in who try to import England are particularly unwelcome. On the other hand, talk French even not very well and they know you are trying. I would have thought buying your bike locally would be an excellent way to make contacts and to ensure good service when needed.
In 1963/4 I was an English language assistant at a Lycée in what was then a fairly remote part of Languedoc. After some of the better-off families had had me round for tea as a matter of form, I was pretty much on my own. I got involved with the local cycling club (exclusively racing) and probably a lot easier to join than it might have been in the UK, and that was it. I was never short of an invite to somebody's home: christenings, last night before national service call-up, you name it, I went. In the local paper every time I raced, even though I never won anything. In other words quickly accepted and so had a good time etc.
Obviously, I am decades out-of-date for your question, but many things stay the same: I am prepared to bet that nearly every half-decent bike sold in France is Mavic/Stronglight etc., especially away from Paris.
At the risk of stereotyping, the French are often fiercely nationalist and resent certain types of foreign intrusion. Taking a foreign bike over there, and assuming they all speak English is bound to fail. I fancy English comers-in who try to import England are particularly unwelcome. On the other hand, talk French even not very well and they know you are trying. I would have thought buying your bike locally would be an excellent way to make contacts and to ensure good service when needed.
In 1963/4 I was an English language assistant at a Lycée in what was then a fairly remote part of Languedoc. After some of the better-off families had had me round for tea as a matter of form, I was pretty much on my own. I got involved with the local cycling club (exclusively racing) and probably a lot easier to join than it might have been in the UK, and that was it. I was never short of an invite to somebody's home: christenings, last night before national service call-up, you name it, I went. In the local paper every time I raced, even though I never won anything. In other words quickly accepted and so had a good time etc.
Obviously, I am decades out-of-date for your question, but many things stay the same: I am prepared to bet that nearly every half-decent bike sold in France is Mavic/Stronglight etc., especially away from Paris.
Re: Spare parts for uk bikes in France
Pinky wrote:georgew wrote:vangelis wrote:Bike touring is not very popular in France and the French, given their rather .......l
.
You have to be joking! Total rubbish. I have toured by bike in France 2004 and in 2006 and found the French extremely helpful and very friendly.
Mind you , if you insist on being unwilling to speak French, you will find a certain amount of cold shouldering. But by day 2 my french is good enough to sit in a cafe for my morning espresso and Croissant and discuss whether or not I should have a pastis!
And the supermarkets are hugely better for food than you will find in UK.
On my travels in France, Spain, Germany, Austria & Holland I never found any bike shop that wasn't able to help me.
The quote was mine. While I can appreciate that my living and cycling in France for three years, and touring in that country for well over thirty years cannot be set against your two tours there, I still have to insist that bike touring is not a popular pastime for the French. The French love cycling, but this is usually confined to racing which is hugely popular. There are some touring clubs but it is not nearly as popular as here or even in Germany.
No-one said that the French were unhelpful, but the fact remains that even a very helpful French bike mechanic may be unable or unwilling to re-thread a French BB in order that it may fit a British bike.
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thirdcrank
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