Bicycles? Can you buy them cheaply in NZ?

[Jennie & Rob]

We have been alarmed by a shipping company who says all our stuff will not fit into a container so are wondering what to dump. We have two adult bikes - pretty good ones but European specs so could not get spare parts probably. Are there many 2nd hand bikes available in NZ at reasonable prices? We did an internet search and just found a few starting around $2000! We are just not that serious... I can't imagine what my husband would look like in those skin-tight cycling shorts
Any advice from anyone in NZ?
THANK YOU

[veronica]

you can get new cheapo mtn bikes from about $199 from K mart. second hand ones from about $50 up.

[AliJax]

you may find that you can dismantle your bikes down to practically nothing, remove pedals (throw them out even like we did) remove handle bars etc & the moving company will wrap them in cellophane.

All bikes here I've noticed have shimano gear - like UK bikes, and Raleigh. But like anything you can buy there are high specs & low specs

(Alot of people cycle here so dont think they are expensive).

[sarahw]

Bikes are pretty cheap if you shop at K-Mart or The Warehouse. They sell Trek mountain bikes like they do at home.

I wish I'd taken the tyres off my bike & just shipped it as now I can't afford to buy one - I'd take Ali-Jax's advice & dismantle it to be put back together again at the other end - otherwise its just one more thing on the list of things to buy when you get here & you might as well bring it if you can fit it in somehow!

[richard]

We chose to replace all of our bikes just before we left the UK as bikes seemed to be cheaper there. About a month ago my son managed to have an accident with another cyclist and the pedal arm on his bike snapped in half.

We took it to a local bike shop and they were unable to fix it as the parts are not available in NZ. We managed to track down the manufacturer ourselves and they shipped the complete chain set (two pedal arms and front cog) via our old UK address (we have mail redirection) for £9.58. To send it direct was going to cost about £35.

So it is possible to get spare parts it might just be uneconomical.

[Radders]

I bought my bike over here and shipped back to the Uk, then had to ship it back!
My Marin cost me $1400 over here which at the time was about £450, the same one in the Uk would have been £800.
I used mine to tour round the country, so I needed something half decent. You can get bikes really cheap over here, all the way up to really pricey. They are cheaper if you buy in winter, as they all have sales.

[Jennie & Rob]

All advice greatly appreciated
Jennie