Buying tires in Europe

[garyper]

Hi Everyone,

The wife and I just received our two Raven Tours last Friday and are planning an extended Europe trip next year.  Firstly we love the bikes, all of the talk on this forum is justified, the build quality, the ride, the Rohloff....all just great.  Anyway we are just wondering how easy it is to buy Schwalbe tires on your travels, can you walk into most bike shops and buy some Supremes or Extremes?  Our theory is that we start our adventure on 26x1.6 Supremes and then change to something more aggressive the further we head east.

Your thoughts.

Thanks
Gary
Darwin, Australia

[julk]

I bought my studded Schwalbe Winter tyres from Bike24 in Germany, great service.
I could not find them in stock in the UK last winter!

So the answer is most likely yes.
Cycling with a proper legal and physical infrastructure is seen as normal in Europe, rather than the pro-car regime which we struggle with in the UK.

[sbseven]

I think it's similar to other consumer items. To find the exact item you're looking for (say Schwalbe Supreme 26x2.0), in stock, in the first shop you find, the answer may be no. To locate it reasonably quickly (visiting a few shops) or settling for a comparable item then certainly yes.

If you're after a particular tyre and want to use that exclusively, perhaps have supplies ordered and sent to a rendezvous point (hotel/bike shop/friends) along the route?

Hope you enjoy your trip to Europe! And the Thorns!

Shaun

[jags]

when my son raced in belgium he bought all his gear in a place called van eyck in aalst town.
the price of the tyres was very very cheap. so try and google that and see if they have stores on your travels.

[rafiki]

http://www.vaneycksports.be