Good Non - Gear Bikes to Buy in Germany

Go to one of the big bicycle stores in the suburbs or to Decathlon. They all have their own house brands, so no point recommending any one here.

I have never heard of an adult that isn’t able to get along with a bike with gears?! There is generally little maintenance, just keep the chain oiled so it doesn’t get rusty. Derailleur cables, like brake cables,  might need to be replaced every couple of years but that or any other problems can be done at bike shops. For simple things, one can usually get free advice from a bike shop and do it themselves. If something is more serious, it can sometimes take a few weeks to get an appointment to get a bike fixed. At least in Stuttgart, most of the bike shops I know can hardly keep up with the demand for repairs so they don’t really like to be bothered with minor problems. And this is why they will often give some quick free tips; they don’t really need more customers for repairs.

As far as buying a bike, it usually pays to shop around. There are now so many bikes of all kinds available and many are quite expensive. Might be a good idea to first look online and get a feel for what is available for what price. There are some good websites with some of the best deals like www. fahrrad.de or www.bike-discount.de If one really wants to get a simple and very cheap bike then one should look at ebay or other websites to find used ones.

Beppi mentioned Decathlon. This is a French chain of stores that sell sports, outdoor and camping goods. For many things like tents, hiking boots, backpacks etc. it is MUCH cheaper than other stores – but there are not so many of these stores around so one might not find one is a smaller city. They do of course have a German website as well though.

You should also look into bikes with an internally geared hub. These are pretty common here (they were invented in Germany over 100 years ago), are very easy to use and need no more maintenance than a gearless bike.
Also, you should check out charity-run bike repair shops, which exist in many places to create jobs for unemployed and socially disadvantaged people and often sell refurbished second-hand bikes at attractive prices.

beppi wrote:

You should also look into bikes with an internally geared hub. These are pretty common here (they were invented in Germany over 100 years ago), are very easy to use and need no more maintenance than a gearless bike.
Also, you should check out charity-run bike repair shops, which exist in many places to create jobs for unemployed and socially disadvantaged people and often sell refurbished second-hand bikes at attractive prices.

Yes, I think one can still find a simple 3 speed internal geared hub bike for little more than a non-geared bike. There is zero maintenance; one just needs to be sure the cable is adjusted properly so it changes properly. BUT eventually some have problems and no longer work right. Trying to open such a thing and repair it is super complicated and even most bike stores would say not worth the time and money. Thus the maintenance is simpler but repairing it, if it malfunctions, more complex…  I actually have 2 bikes; one is a 21-speed city bike, the other a nice folding bike with a 7-speed internal geared hub.

TominStuttgart wrote:

I have never heard of an adult that isn’t able to get along with a bike with gears?! There is generally little maintenance, just keep the chain oiled so it doesn’t get rusty. Derailleur cables, like brake cables,  might need to be replaced every couple of years but that or any other problems can be done at bike shops. For simple things, one can usually get free advice from a bike shop and do it themselves. If something is more serious, it can sometimes take a few weeks to get an appointment to get a bike fixed. At least in Stuttgart, most of the bike shops I know can hardly keep up with the demand for repairs so they don’t really like to be bothered with minor problems. And this is why they will often give some quick free tips; they don’t really need more customers for repairs.

As far as buying a bike, it usually pays to shop around. There are now so many bikes of all kinds available and many are quite expensive. Might be a good idea to first look online and get a feel for what is available for what price. There are some good websites with some of the best deals like www. fahrrad.de or www.bike-discount.de If one really wants to get a simple and very cheap bike then one should look at ebay or other websites to find used ones.

Beppi mentioned Decathlon. This is a French chain of stores that sell sports, outdoor and camping goods. For many things like tents, hiking boots, backpacks etc. it is MUCH cheaper than other stores – but there are not so many of these stores around so one might not find one is a smaller city. They do of course have a German website as well though.

beppi wrote:

Go to one of the big bicycle stores in the suburbs or to Decathlon. They all have their own house brands, so no point recommending any one here.

Thank you so much TominStuttgart and beppi for your valuable inputs. I will surely look around, gather more information before shopping

Is this a  3 speed internally geared hub bike?
https://    www    .decathlon.de/p/city-bike-28-city-speed-500-nexus-3-mattgrau-neongrun/_/R-p-X8381658?mc=8381658&c=GRAU

AstralinBielefeld wrote:

Is this a  3 speed internally geared hub bike?
https://    www    .decathlon.de/p/city-bike-28-city-speed-500-nexus-3-mattgrau-neongrun/_/R-p-X8381658?mc=8381658&c=GRAU

Your link is broken, here it is mended https://www.decathlon.de/p/city-bike-28 … amp;c=GRAU

AstralinBielefeld wrote:

Is this a  3 speed internally geared hub bike

Yes, it is!

Since this topic got dragged up...

Has the situation with Electric assisted bikes changed in real life? Lots of adverts and optimistic pieces saying how great they are, but what's the reality?
The thread is old, but I'm sure some readers might well be interested.