bikes are probably cheaper in the states, but not by a huge margin for inexpensive ones. The hassle of packing and shipping it probably cancels the advantage.
There's quite a vibrant used bike market here, people tend to keep bikes going for decades. Check out
http://ricardo.ch for starters.
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| Personally, I would use a cheap and cheerfull one. Bike theft does occur, but if it was an expensive bike, I would be more worried about how other people treat you bike when they shove theres next to yours. Had my front wheel bent that way. | |
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Railway station bike parking is always a bit of a rough and tumble. Not the best place for a 12lb carbon frame, shall we say.
A medium grade 20-year old steel frame bike is quite a popular choice, good enough for happy commuting, not desirable to steal and not the greatest loss if it is lost.
Here in Geneva the popularity of single-speeds for commuting is growing.
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| Once here, you may well reconsider cycling (depending on distance), in January - usually the most wintry of months.
If you do brave the conditions and can move in the thick clothing that you'll need to wear, bear in mind there'll be a lot of salty grit on the streets. | |
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The Swiss cycling season is unofficially February through November for the tougher grade of cyclist, and April through September for the softies. There is also a significant core of HTFUed cyclists who carry on as long as there is no snow on the ground. It just depends on how fit, tough, warm, and crazy you are.