Recommendations for companies that deliver bikes to the EU

robbobkirk

Hi,

As cyclists already my wife and I want to buy bikes for an apartment we own in Portugal. We're next out in March so want to arrange for bikes to be delivered as soon as possible the week we're out there (ideally the day we arrive to make use of them for the week)

Can anyone recommend a company, Wiggle/Evans/Dolan etc. that you've done this with and would use again?

Thanks!

daniel_b

Personally think I would visit a Decathlon store here, see if they can arrange the building up of bikes in Portugal for you, once you have chosen sizes and models. Then either collect (my strong preference) once there, or arrange local delivery.

If you are only there for 7 days, the risk of them arriving on day 6, having a problem on delivery, or even worse, arriving after you return, would be too much for me.

Alternatively, buy here, and travel with them one way.

robbobkirk

Daniel B wrote:

Personally think I would visit a Decathlon store here, see if they can arrange the building up of bikes in Portugal for you, once you have chosen sizes and models. Then either collect (my strong preference) once there, or arrange local delivery.

If you are only there for 7 days, the risk of them arriving on day 6, having a problem on delivery, or even worse, arriving after you return, would be too much for me.

Alternatively, buy here, and travel with them one way.

Did wonder about Decathlon but we want to pay around £1K each so 105 Spec type range. Something like the Dolan E'Tape 105. Do Decathlon really cater for this part of the market? There are a couple of other bikes shops we saw in the Algarve but to be honest the bikes look quite a bit more expensive out there but we didn't look exhaustively.

Travelling with them one way means buying bike bags etc. which is a bit of a hassle. It surprises me if one of the companies can't arrange timed deliver now in the EU so it will be interesting to hear from anyone else whether they've done this.

sungod

buying a relatively high value item on a uk card for delivery to another country will look like attempted card fraud, you might find no one is willing to take the order

if you want a dolan, call dolan and ask, according to their website you'll pay 90+ quid per bike to portugal, i'd bet that'll be without a committed delivery date

we sometimes ship test equipment around, even with corporate contracts the rates for express/scheduled delivery get way higher, and we still have stuff lost/damaged in transit (though how big tough flight cases get 'lost' or smashed has always baffled me)

any transit damage or warranty issue and you'll spend your holiday time arranging return shipping

if you buy in uk for delivery to home they'll arrive in shipping boxes, that's ok for flying - it's exactly how they'd be packed for commercial shipping, except that is likely to go through 2-3 hubs and two or more truck journeys, with far higher risk of mishap

as above, simplest is buy here, open the boxes, check they look ok, all the bits there, reseal, take as sports equipment on the flight, cost will depend on the airline, ticket class and your ff status, 0 to 40-ish quid per bike

decathlon have some with 105, but i'd think you'll get more choice and a better deal in uk

daniel_b

Decathlon have some of the best value for money 105 bikes out there imho - lifetime guarantee on alu frames too:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-road-bike-grey-black-105-id_8377756.html
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/ultra-900-af-road-bike-105-id_8377261.html

Plenty of change from your 2K.

Also a carbon version (only in XXS admittedly) available in Portugal for €1000:
https://www.decathlon.pt/bicicleta-de-estrada-ultra-900-id_8339667.html

I nearly bought a couple to take to Mauritius, but in the end decided to ship out our current winter bikes, and replace those at home - decided the infrequent use out there, made it more sensible to have the new bikes here where they would get the most use.

robbobkirk

sungod wrote:

buying a relatively high value item on a uk card for delivery to another country will look like attempted card fraud, you might find no one is willing to take the order

if you want a dolan, call dolan and ask, according to their website you'll pay 90+ quid per bike to portugal, i'd bet that'll be without a committed delivery date

we sometimes ship test equipment around, even with corporate contracts the rates for express/scheduled delivery get way higher, and we still have stuff lost/damaged in transit (though how big tough flight cases get 'lost' or smashed has always baffled me)

any transit damage or warranty issue and you'll spend your holiday time arranging return shipping

if you buy in uk for delivery to home they'll arrive in shipping boxes, that's ok for flying - it's exactly how they'd be packed for commercial shipping, except that is likely to go through 2-3 hubs and two or more truck journeys, with far higher risk of mishap

as above, simplest is buy here, open the boxes, check they look ok, all the bits there, reseal, take as sports equipment on the flight, cost will depend on the airline, ticket class and your ff status, 0 to 40-ish quid per bike

decathlon have some with 105, but i'd think you'll get more choice and a better deal in uk

Yes I have spoken to Dolan and as you said that they weren't prepared to assure any kind of date. Maybe I should give more thought to us taking it over as you suggest. I think we're flying with Jet2 who I think are saying £30. As you say if they come with the boxes anyway that's a good idea.

robbobkirk

Daniel B wrote:

Decathlon have some of the best value for money 105 bikes out there imho - lifetime guarantee on alu frames too:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-road-bike-grey-black-105-id_8377756.html
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/ultra-900-af-road-bike-105-id_8377261.html

Plenty of change from your 2K.

Also a carbon version (only in XXS admittedly) available in Portugal for €1000:
https://www.decathlon.pt/bicicleta-de-estrada-ultra-900-id_8339667.html

I nearly bought a couple to take to Mauritius, but in the end decided to ship out our current winter bikes, and replace those at home - decided the infrequent use out there, made it more sensible to have the new bikes here where they would get the most use.

I hadn't really looked at those so thanks. I have to confess to a bit of snobbery around not having B'Twin written on your frame but it's not a biggie. The Ultra one comes with the full groupset.

With this idea and shipping it myself something to think about.

Thanks for your responses.

Matthewfalle

Buy bike over here.

Transport it one way in the cardboard box it comes in.

Put box in recycling bin in Portugal

Job jobbed.

naavt

Hi,

I live in Portugal and can tell you that once here you have limited choice and somewhat high prices compared with other EU countries (exception made for regulated prices like Decathlon stores).

As you, I'm also not fond of B'Twin bikes. If I were on your shoes, I would likely come into contact with Rose Bikes asking if they could confirm a delivery of a Rose Pro SL 105 on your schedule.

They are BY FAR a much more respectful online bike seller (delivery date wise), than say... Canyon.

daniel_b

hahaha, I wonder what odds you would get on Canyon delivering on a specified week
Twould be an exceedingly brave person to schedule a holiday based around that.

There's nothing wrong with BTwin, far from it, we're not talking Apollo or Viking here.
I'm not fond of them either, but I see them for the vfm and well specced bikes they are.
I am unlikely to ever own one, though as I said, nearly went for a pair for our own 'holiday' bikes.

I've no idea how much time the OP will spend in Portugal (?), but I'd wager not more than 8 weeks per year. If it were me, I would go for the quality value brand (lifetime frame guarantee), that leaves me change for either an upgrade of wheels, or a couple of 'free' flights across for more riding.
Other benefits that I can see are that presumably even if bought in the UK, if you had an issue I would hope a local Decathlon store would assist.

With Rose (or any other retailer really), what happens if there is an issue on day two of the holiday.
Try and pack the bike up and send it back, no cycling for the week or have to hire a bike.
Rose then need to return it to the UK, as the OP will no longer be in PT, then he needs to travel with it again next time he goes.

The OP hires a bike, and pays to take the bike back home, and only then sends it to Rose.
Then has to travel out with it again.

Thinking about it, I would be more inclined to use this as an excuse to upgrade my bikes (up the budget by 50% to do this) at home and demote the current ones to holiday steeds.
Then there is no warranty to want to get use out of, and you just go to a lbs or fix it yourself.
To the OP - are you keeping some kind of toolkit/spares selection over there?

I would either do that, or go the Decathlon route.

newtoit

We used Wiggle UK to deliver bikes to us in Spain and that worked fine. Depends on your area in Portugal I guess, and the local transport companies they use to get the bikes from the closest distribution point to you. We were fairly remote but it worked OK although we weren't on a schedule like you.

Like others I would also recommend looking at Decathlon though, as their range is surprisingly good and excellent value.

robbobkirk

Thanks for the responses. I looked at Decathlon and for some reason the exact same bike was £200 more than in the UK. The Ultra 900 was 1000€ in Portugal vs £799 here. I questioned them about this and they said prices are all set in the country. VAT is 23% in Portugal as opposed to 20% here but that doesn't account for nearly £200 of difference.

So for almost the same price as the Ultra 900 I could get the Dolan which has a carbon frame, allows me to customise a few components and to be honest looks nicer (particularly in the Matt Black). I went into Dolan at the weekend and they got a guaranteed delivery date from a delivery company (UPS). They can even guarantee the Saturday which is the day after I arrive (happens to be my wifes birthday - result!). Because we're having 2 bikes delivered the cost will work out cheaper than putting them on the plane which I have to factor the airline cost plus transport at the other end (the car we've already hired won't fit 2 bikes plus us). We're going to order shortly and then go in for 2nd bike fit before they then package them up to send.

There is the risk of something being wrong, if it's something minor I can correct it, alternatively there's bikes shops locally. To answer one of the questions yes I'll keep some spares/toolkit etc. out there. I'm fortunate we have a locked room in our garage where we can keep the bikes, spares and various other things we don't want to leave in the apartment.

So thanks for all the responses, I'll update in March to let you know how I got on but I can't fault Dolan so far for their help.

naavt

robbobkirk wrote:

Thanks for the responses. I looked at Decathlon and for some reason the exact same bike was £200 more than in the UK. The Ultra 900 was 1000€ in Portugal vs £799 here. I questioned them about this and they said prices are all set in the country. VAT is 23% in Portugal as opposed to 20% here but that doesn't account for nearly £200 of difference.

Remember what I told you in a previous post about prices here?

robbobkirk

naavt wrote:

robbobkirk wrote:

Thanks for the responses. I looked at Decathlon and for some reason the exact same bike was £200 more than in the UK. The Ultra 900 was 1000€ in Portugal vs £799 here. I questioned them about this and they said prices are all set in the country. VAT is 23% in Portugal as opposed to 20% here but that doesn't account for nearly £200 of difference.

Remember what I told you in a previous post about prices here?

Yes I did and I was surprised at the difference. I was prepared for a small difference but not a 25% increase! I thought you had said that the Decathlon prices were regulated - well they might be but only across the country!

Thanks for the recommendation on Rose, that was another option but with Dolan being relatively local to me - you can't beat actually going in and speaking to the company face to face.

svetty

robbobkirk wrote:

Thanks for the responses. I looked at Decathlon and for some reason the exact same bike was £200 more than in the UK. The Ultra 900 was 1000€ in Portugal vs £799 here. I questioned them about this and they said prices are all set in the country. VAT is 23% in Portugal as opposed to 20% here but that doesn't account for nearly £200 of difference.

Although Brexit is f**cking up the exchange rate £800 is equivalent to 900 Euros so - with the differing VAT rates - the price difference is only £70 or so....