A kiwi heading for Sweden - asking for some help

[Jimmy_the_kiwi]

Hi Happyride crew, I've stumbled on this forum in a search for information on riding in Sweden. It looks like an active group here!

Firstly please excuse my English rather than Swedish! I'm yet to pick up the language sufficiently to speak/write, but will give focus to learning soon.
I'm a keen mid 30's mtb trail and gravel rider from New Zealand who is moving to rural Sweden with my family in late January. I'll be staying east of Falun near Hofors and looking for a little help ?!

Bikes - Currently ride an Intense Tracer MTB and a Cannondale Slate gravel bike.
In NZ we are fortunate to have cheaper than usual access to some brands, and pay through the nose for others. Kona is cheap, Specialized is incredibly expensive both comparatively to the USA. Is there a similar situation in Sweden with value brands? I have to sell all my gear here to buy again in Sweden, so looking for a starting point to consider . This forum and facebook seems to be the place for second hand gear? If not i'll be going into the local shops to see what i can pick up.

For trails I've come across trail forks website and a few club pages on facebook. But I'm struggling to find an events site. Are there regional enduro/trail rides that are advertised somewhere?

It looks from what I can find that Falun and Kungsberget have good trails/bike parks which I'm looking forward to getting to ride at soon! Are there others around this area that I should be looking into?

In NZ I've been part of numerous clubs, built many trails and not shy of a spade/pick and some heavy lifting in order to earn the chance to ride. I've got some hope that I can find people that need manual labor and happy to include someone in the digging.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long post! I hope that soon i can share some rides in your beautiful country.

 

[Lazy_eye]

Welcome to Sweden fellow biker! I can’t say much about the prices of bikes, but you are absolutely right that happyride is the place for second hand shopping.

 

[revben]

German direct sales brands are generally the best value for bikes, Canyon, YT, Propain etc. also Commencal (not German). My experience is that anything you’ll buy in a store you can walk into is more expensive unless there’s some special sale going on.
Some of your new favourite websites will be Bike24.com bike-components.com and r2-bike.com

If you want to look at prices for bikes and compare to NZ prices you could have a look at mtbstore.se. They should have both Specialized and Kona on their website.

 

[xtote]

Welcome to Sweden.

I live in Borlänge on the other side of Falun from Hofors and I´ll be happy to show you around some local trails ( I ride frequently in Falun also) when the time comes. For some digging look no further than http://www.falustigcyklister.se/ who get together for some trail building most Tuesdays during the summer and fall.

 

[Fundadores]

Falun is probably the best place for MTB in Sweden, you got Lugnet with lift assisted riding. Källviken with natural enduro trails and a bunch of other trails. With that said you will not find anything similar to NZ riding. Åre is probably closest.

There is an national enduro series: https://scf.se/mountainbike/swe-cup-enduro-2022/

You got a fellow Kiwi in Järvsö, running Better Mtb, you can find him on instagram stevesmurfy.

Bikes as most stuff are expensiv in Sweden, hightax country.

 

[kais01]

welcome to here and welcome to sweden:)

i would say generally speaking strava heatmap is a more comprehensive source of trails around here than trailforks. both of course valuable sources.

if i go to a new area i can as you say find someone local to show me around on facebook or here on happyride, but roaming on my own can also be fun. in the falun area you are bound to find clubs and organised rides.

you are free and allowed to use trails also on private land, exceptions only some nature and military reserves. heavy fines there, so respect signs. of course no self enterprised digging if a land owner does not endorse it. there are so many trails here good and exciting all in themselves, so man-made trails is really not the big thing except in some specific areas.

if you have your ebay feedback in proper order, ebay.de is a good source of used bikes and parts. and elsewhere in germany there are numerous internet based bike shops with humongous assortment. prices are good, and postage still cheap. also italy of all places can be of interest. uk is more complex, as they are outside the eu now.

 

[Jimmy_the_kiwi]

Thanks for the replies! I was going to be stoked if a single person said anything let alone a flurry of useful posts. Much appreciated! I've been watching the SWEcup Enduro series and it looks from afar that this is pretty open to all abilities. Is this a fair call? Looks like A and B lines for most?

Here our national enduro competition has a very high level of skill required to even get down the trail.

 

[Jimmy_the_kiwi]

Welcome to Sweden.

I live in Borlänge on the other side of Falun from Hofors and I´ll be happy to show you around some local trails ( I ride frequently in Falun also) when the time comes. For some digging look no further than http://www.falustigcyklister.se/ who get together for some trail building most Tuesdays during the summer and fall.

That's an extremely generous offer. I'll certainly take you up on that one. Assuming once the colder months pass. Thanks for the link to the trail building, i've saved that and will get down there too.

 

[kais01]

mtb in the winter is great fun! carbide spikes..

 

[Bikzz]

And another link. https://bergslagencycling.se/

 

[Jimmy_the_kiwi]

Thank you again for the replies.
Looking at what to bring over.
Are vertical bike racks allowed in Sweden? I can't seem to find them for sale.
They are very common here. I'll be needing to transport 4 bikes (wife and two kids)

 

[jonte987]

Thank you again for the replies.
Looking at what to bring over.
Are vertical bike racks allowed in Sweden? I can't seem to find them for sale.
They are very common here. I'll be needing to transport 4 bikes (wife and two kids)

It is for a square hitch? Rare in Europe

 

[NickPick]

You will live very close to Högbo outside Sandviken, that’s a good place for family, xc cycling, xc skiing and skate.
I know that both hofors and storvik are building trails right now. It’s a part of bicycling gästrikland many times.
Check on kungsberget also.
All brands are expensive in Sweden sadly. Good luck! Säter has some good cycling also.
Just filling in from what others said.

 

[WFD]

Are you sure it is financially justifiable to sell your bikes there and buy new ones here? Have you checked how much shipping would cost? If you take them with you, you avoid, as far as I know, VAT.
I know this site is in swedish but, I think you will figure it out. You can get a tiny hint about prices in sweden

Cyklar - Jämför priser och omdömen hos Prisjakt

Jämför priser på Cyklar, Herrcykel, Damcykel, Cykel. Hitta bästa pris på 3124 produkter från Goetze, Trek, Skeppshult och fler.

www.prisjakt.nu

 

[Jimmy_the_kiwi]

thanks again.
@WFD shipping bikes from NZ to Sweden was certainly the plan. This would make it much easier to send all gear too of course. But the cost of shipping is around 10,000Kr per bike. which looks to be very similar to the difference in prices of second hand bikes. Not really a win for the effort that i can see.

 

[Jimmy_the_kiwi]

You will live very close to Högbo outside Sandviken, that’s a good place for family, xc cycling, xc skiing and skate.
I know that both hofors and storvik are building trails right now. It’s a part of bicycling gästrikland many times.
Check on kungsberget also.
All brands are expensive in Sweden sadly. Good luck! Säter has some good cycling also.
Just filling in from what others said.

Thanks @NickPick , I've found the Högbo trails on fb and intend on visiting and seeing if we can get involved there with a shovel.

 

[kais01]

thanks again.
@WFD shipping bikes from NZ to Sweden was certainly the plan. This would make it much easier to send all gear too of course. But the cost of shipping is around 10,000Kr per bike. which looks to be very similar to the difference in prices of second hand bikes. Not really a win for the effort that i can see.

you can send more bikes and other stuff, then split the cost?

it may also be cheaper if you top up your luggage allowance flying here. sporting goods is sometimes an outsider on top of everything else, and a bike bag rooms a lot of clothing also padding the bike...

 

[WFD]

thanks again.
@WFD shipping bikes from NZ to Sweden was certainly the plan. This would make it much easier to send all gear too of course. But the cost of shipping is around 10,000Kr per bike. which looks to be very similar to the difference in prices of second hand bikes. Not really a win for the effort that i can see.

That's a seriously huge pile of money

 

[Berk]

thanks again.
@WFD shipping bikes from NZ to Sweden was certainly the plan. This would make it much easier to send all gear too of course. But the cost of shipping is around 10,000Kr per bike. which looks to be very similar to the difference in prices of second hand bikes. Not really a win for the effort that i can see.

If you have a lot of stuff, it is far cheaper to ship by (part of) a sea container. The disadvantage is that this takes a long time. And things can go wrong. A former colleague of mine received a load of car tires from the States instead of all her books and het carbon fiber roadbike.

 

[Aron]

thanks again.
@WFD shipping bikes from NZ to Sweden was certainly the plan. This would make it much easier to send all gear too of course. But the cost of shipping is around 10,000Kr per bike. which looks to be very similar to the difference in prices of second hand bikes. Not really a win for the effort that i can see.

Hade you checked how much it would be to check in the bike as sporting goods on the flight? I have a friend who brought a bike from NZ half a year ago. If it cost 10k it would have come up in conversation...

 

[jjjj]

If you have a lot of stuff, it is far cheaper to ship by (part of) a sea container. The disadvantage is that this takes a long time. And things can go wrong. A former colleague of mine received a load of car tires from the States instead of all her books and het carbon fiber roadbike.

I can second this. Sea freight prices have been crazy expensing post Covid, but the rates are coming down fast, so well worth checking out this option. Also direct freight to Sweden can be more expensive than having the freight go through Germany or the Netherlands. So shop around.

 

[SIE]

You need to stop hatin' on our friend here's valid excuse to buy new bikes :)

 

[Jimmy_the_kiwi]

You need to stop hatin' on our friend here's valid excuse to buy new bikes :)

this i absolutely support :-0

 

[Jimmy_the_kiwi]

Thanks for the options and thoughts everyone, really appreciate it.
For shipping, i'm going through most options and getting quotes. Ideally i would bring 4 bikes with me (kids bikes, wifes trail bike and mine). + all gear.
To fly with 4 bikes and 4 large suitcases is quite the logistical task, especially when you throw in a stop over on the way!

 

[Tjock-Jonne]

Tjoflöjt and welcome! I live in Falun and would be happy to show you some trails!
/Fat-Johnny

 

[GoranS]

Tjoflöjt and welcome! I live in Falun and would be happy to show you some trails!
/Fat-Johnny

And for those that are not familiar with Swedish, tjoflöjt is a sort of informal greeting. Kind of similar to howdy, I think. I'd say usage is quite rare and at least to my ears it sounds a bit dated.

 

[Aron]

Thanks @NickPick , I've found the Högbo trails on fb and intend on visiting and seeing if we can get involved there with a shovel.

Högbo is flat XC country. I strongly suspect that Falun Stigcyklister is more your flavour.