/n/ - Transportation » Thread #1413445

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150KiB, 600x600, mizocool_premiumtype.jpg

Anonymous Thu 31 Oct 2019 22:44:05 No.1413445 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>1413480 >>1413493 >>1413693

I want to buy a used electric bike like pic related from Japan and bring it to the UK. reason being they only cost £600 with a fresh, new battery compared to a similar bike sold here for AT LEAST £1400. my options for importing are buying online from the UK, going to Japan for pickup and send it back home for £50 using a bike courier service ('m going there for a holiday). my question is, how can I avoid paying import fees and VAT?

this company offers a premium model selection with new batteries 1 year warranty and bike 6 months warranty:
https://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/mizocool/premiumtype.html

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 31 Oct 2019 22:45:54 No.1413447 Report

Quoted By: >>1413639

also I've ridden on them before and liked the bike. I intend to use my bike for a commute of 10 to 20 miles a day.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 31 Oct 2019 22:46:54 No.1413448 Report

Quoted By: >>1413450

Pay your taxes and help your economy

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 31 Oct 2019 22:51:09 No.1413450 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413448
I pay 20% tax plus national insurance. pretty sure the tax gained from my bike will go to some stupid ponzy project anyway

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 31 Oct 2019 23:43:09 No.1413465 Report

Quoted By:

ask the vendor to mark the package as a warranty replacement and email you the invoice

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 00:44:23 No.1413478 Report

Quoted By: >>1413482

You can ship a bike across the world for only $50?

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO yyyyyyy.jpg, 47KiB, 640x670

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 00:48:58 No.1413480 Report

Quoted By: >>1413482

>>1413445
you can't idiot lmao, even if you did it'd cost you a good amount paid to whoever is shipping it to you.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 00:53:41 No.1413482 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413478
>>1413480
There's a specialist bike courier service that does it for around £50-£60. But yeah I calculated my fees would be around £100. So a total of £600 for buying and importing that particular bike. Would it be a good buy? I could get two of them for less than the price of one in the UK and with crappier features than the Japanese one

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:00:10 No.1413486 Report

Quoted By: >>1413488 >>1413958

if you could actually get it while you were there, you could bring it home as a piece of excess baggage on the plane with you

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:05:54 No.1413488 Report

Quoted By: >>1413489

>>1413486
Excess baggage fares are quite expensive, £100 for Korean Air as an example

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:09:42 No.1413489 Report

Quoted By: >>1413494

>>1413488
sounds like a good deal if you're avoiding tax etc

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Capture.jpg, 200KiB, 1804x919

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:19:12 No.1413493 Report

Quoted By: >>1413497 >>1413653

>>1413445
it's pretty crap
for that much money you could get an actual good bicycle that would last for more than a year or two.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:20:05 No.1413494 Report

Quoted By: >>1413498

>>1413489
Ahh yes you're right about that. Though I would have to take a bike with me on the way there, so I can say it's my old bike if I get stopped at customs on the way back. I know it's rare to get stopped but it's still a hassle to do all that shit

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:22:45 No.1413497 Report

Quoted By: >>1413500

>>1413493
What makes you say that? Bridgestone, Yamaha and Panasonic all make good bikes. Thanks for the recommendation picture but they're not electric so I don't want those

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:22:51 No.1413498 Report

Quoted By: >>1413503

>>1413494
would you even though? If you buy it in Japan and bring it back personally with you, you're not technically importing it, you're just travelling with it.

It's not being exported, it was sold domestically in Japan to you and then it's just your personal luggage.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Capture.jpg, 5KiB, 204x155

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:28:56 No.1413500 Report

Quoted By: >>1413503

>>1413497
Because it's too cheap and there's no such thing as a free lunch. Every single thing on it will be low quality including everything to do with the e part and everything bicycle about it.

pic related tells me all i need to know

You're just not paying enough for a good e-bike, but you can afford a very decent road bike.
The brand is irrelevant, don't be a weeb.

Like i'm sure you can have your fun on it and all but it won't be pragmatic in the long run. I'm not saying this is a bad idea, just that buying a vitus razor or something is a much much better idea. Have you ever owned a good road bike before? They are so effortless to ride. It will be more of a game changing than having a shitty motor on a shitty nipmachine

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:33:38 No.1413502 Report

Quoted By:

oh yeah you also might get in trouble over the battery
i'm not sure if you'll be allowed to fly with a battery like that

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:39:59 No.1413503 Report

Quoted By: >>1413511 >>1413521 >>1413653

>>1413498
You make a good point actually. I only have to pay £20 customs duty if I bring it on the plane. Neat.
>>1413500
I'm not being a weeb, I've actually ridden these bikes and that seat adjuster is standard over there. I understand the too good to be true bit, but it is used after all. You say get a road bike, but then why would people buy e bikes? I'm not a cyclist and going up hills is something I struggle with. I'm not trying to be contentious, would a road bike really be good for a 20 mile round commute on slightly flat surfaces for a skinny unfit guy? I stopped cycling because I was losing too much weight and becoming borderline underweight

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 01:54:02 No.1413511 Report

Quoted By: >>1413516

>>1413503
I think you would exert a similar amount of energy for a relatively flat 20 mile commute between a cheap pedal assist e-bike and a decent road bike.
One is just a hell of a lot more efficient than the other. If you've never ridden one before you will be surprised at how well it just glides on roads.
E-bikes are fun though.
You'll have an upright position. That can be very comfy.
Especially if it's used it won't be as reliable as a good new road bike.

As I said, they're both good options but I would recommend the road bike. I think any young person can do it. You'll be better off in the long run. Sussing your diet is another issue but that shouldn't be too hard either, atleast in theory, you just need to do it.

really it's like a half an hour ride, maybe a bit more if you take it chill or a bit less if you hammer. That's all good.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 02:00:56 No.1413516 Report

Quoted By: >>1413522 >>1413661

>>1413511
I see, I will take your advice and see if I can test ride a road bike from a local shop. Also considering buying an e bike from Europe since they're popular there too and can buy a new one instead of used.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO ebike grandma.jpg, 274KiB, 2560x1333

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 02:09:21 No.1413521 Report

Quoted By: >>1413773 >>1413794

>>1413503
>but then why would people buy e bikes?

>primarily, e-bikes are fun
>people are often only prepared to ride inefficient utility-style bicycles, so heavy step through frames, un-aero bolt upright positions. A motor makes that all more viable especially for riding up hills.
>middle aged or elderly people
>people generally aren't familiar with what a good bicycle is like, and aren't prepared to pay enough to buy one, even though it's similar to the cost of a shitty e-bike which they will fork out money for.
>also still a stigma that bicycles are the provenance of poorfags

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 02:11:24 No.1413522 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413516
keep us posted with what you end up doing good luck and have fun in japan anon

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 11:50:45 No.1413639 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413447

10 miles each way is doable on a normal bike, so long as there are not many hills. I did that on a mountain bike with knobbly tyres. That was tiring! A racer or hybrid could do that fine.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 13:06:59 No.1413653 Report

Quoted By: >>1413685

>>1413503
Just coming home from a 24 mile trip on the bike on that pics top right corner >>1413493
The ebike in op pic will be pretty slow. I'd at least recommend an e bike that has a faster position and could be modded to ride really fast. That upright grandma position is like a sail in the wind. I fly by e bikes all the time during my commute. I'm not a trained cyclist either but a road bike is just a lot more efficient. On a flat road I average at 33km/h.

Also think about getting an (electric) scooter (50ccm style scooter, not a kick scooter). Thats the better option if you say you want to do no sports effort at all.

>would a road bike really be good for a 20 mile round commute on slightly flat surfaces for a skinny unfit guy?
I would say yes. But try it out first before you dump money on it. Commuting on a bicycle in the winter is also not everyones taste. 20 miles round trip is pretty tough for an untrained cyclist.

>I stopped cycling because I was losing too much weight and becoming borderline underweight
Dude what? That is not due to cycling. Fix your nutrition problem first man.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 13:34:34 No.1413661 Report

Quoted By: >>1413685

>>1413516
Just one thing if you go down the road bike path, don't get too autistic and start wearing lycra or buying carbon spd-sl shoes. I ride an old steel bike with jeans, toe clips and I have no problems going fast.

Here is a dude hitting almost 30mph on a single speed steel bike.
https://youtu.be/w4sEp1SLiZs?t=131
The dude normally wears baggy shorts and a polo shirt w/ mtb clipless shoes.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 15:05:07 No.1413685 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413653
15mph/25km/h works for me, I just want to save money on train fares that's all. I have an electric scooter but don't think it'll last one way. my route would be along a canal towpath for 90% of the way so going faster than 15mph would be a bad idea what with the pedestrians and other cyclists. but yeah I will try out the road bike before buying and work on my diet. fwiw north london is hilly so if I wanted to use my bike for anything else it would be a PITA.
>>1413661
haha don't worry I used to wear the same thing as you with an equally heavy steel bike, no way I'd wear lycra

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 15:53:07 No.1413693 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413445

I don't know if these a legal in the UK, but they look faster than that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnZf0MIHvsc

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 19:58:55 No.1413773 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413521
I like how the guy on the left is like "she cute"

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 01 Nov 2019 21:12:00 No.1413794 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413521

In a sanely designed transport system, you would see plenty of little old ladies on bikes. Exercise keeps you fit, even at the 2mph Mrs Miyagi does. Buses and cars suck the life out of people.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 02 Nov 2019 06:48:44 No.1413958 Report

Quoted By:

>>1413486
Not with that battery attached.

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