I've spent this week in Berlin in a job trip. Germany have a long and stablished tradition as a biking country. I knew a couple of webpages with thousands of biking articles, but never really used them. I knew
www.louis.de and
www.polo-motorrad.de -that also sponsors a classic bike TV program I see through satellite TV in Spain-
Long story short, I searched for shops and found a couple in Berlin. Man, what a huge amount of products and what little prices. I could see that it's true: you will always find the best price of something when you don't really need it. Anyway, I couldn't help buying some gear: those prices were killer:
CB750 book: 24.99 euro -regular price-. Z1 DVD: 9.99 euro (listed price: 19.90 euro)
Biking gauntlets: from 12.99 to 14.99 pair.
Tools: assorted prices. The most expensive was the ring compressor and the torque wrench, at 9.99 euro each.
Biking boots, 19.99 euro
The best buy: Cordura motorcycle jacket. Waterproof-breathable membrane. Removable lining. Zip for pants. 3M reflective band. Removable back, elbow and shoulder protectors. Price: 49.99 euro. (listed at 139 euro)
I also bought a couple of nylon tool pouches at 4.99 each, and some fleece neck bands at 3.99 each. I even had to pass on a Joe Bar Team action figure -the one that rides the CB750- because I didn't have enough space in my suitcase. It exceeded the maximum weight in 50%; fortunately, the desk attendant was a nice girl who didn't charged me overweight.
Anyway, they sell to anywhere in Europe and shipping prices is from 12 to 19 euro if memory serves me. For that price it's not even worth to carry the weight with you across two airports. I will buy again, that's for sure. I'm becoming very lazy: don't mind to pay shipping when you can have the things delivered to your door.
Raul