Buying a Bike in Germany: Tips, Stores, and What to Know

🇪🇺 This guide is part of our comprehensive Europe Travel Guide.

If you are planning on buying a bike in Germany, this post will save you the research I had to do myself. I moved here, commuted by bus for months, and eventually went through the whole process of buying a bike — new, from a German shop, with all the accessories.

So whether you've just arrived after moving to Germany from India or you've been here a while and are finally done with bus schedules, this post covers:

• Where to buy a bike in Germany
• Which bikes are the best value (new and second-hand)
• What accessories you actually need — and which ones German law requires
• What I bought and what I'd do differently

Do you really need a bike in Germany?

Let me start with the honest math, because this is the question I get asked most often. I moved to Germany in 2019 and lived in Bad Homburg, a small town near Frankfurt, with my office about 2 km from home.

A single bus ticket cost €2.19, so a daily commute was €4.38. Over 21 working days that came to roughly €92 a month. Ouch.

The alternative was a monthly pass for Bad Homburg at around €40 — already less than half the single-ticket cost. But even €40 a month adds up: six months of that pass buys you a decent new bike, and twelve months (~€480) buys a very good one. And that's before you factor in the months when the weather is nice enough that you'd happily cycle anyway.

So no, you don't strictly need a bike in Germany. But if you commute more than a couple of kilometres, it pays for itself quickly — and it makes the good months genuinely more fun.

Here are the benefits I actually noticed after I bought mine:

• Commuting gets cheaper and more predictable — no more waiting at bus stops in the rain.
• You get to enjoy the scenery. I use Komoot to find cycling routes around Germany for weekend rides.
• You can take your bike on regional trains and metros, which opens up day trips. Taking the bike to Berlin and riding around the city is high on my list.

What to know before buying a bike in Germany

Buying a bike is about more than picking a colour. The two numbers that matter most are tire size and frame size. As a rough guide, 26–27.5-inch wheels suit riders around 175–186 cm tall — that's the range that worked for me personally.

Second, get the frame size right. Frame sizes are usually listed in centimetres or as S/M/L, and they vary between brands. I'm around 186 cm and ride a size L, but the only reliable way to know is to check the size chart for the exact bike you want.

P.S. — If you only ride in the city, a city bike (with a hub gear, fenders and a rack) is the practical choice. If you want to escape the city on weekends, get a bike with gears — at least 7 is enough for a day trip into the hills.

How to calculate which frame size is right for you

The easiest way is to use the size chart on the Decathlon Germany site. Every bike listing there asks for your height in cm or inches and then recommends the right frame size. For my bike it looked like this:

Once you enter your height, it tells you the frame size you should buy in Germany:

Websites for buying a bike in Germany

Decathlon

Full disclosure: I bought my bike from Decathlon, so this is the shop I know best. They're consistently the cheapest place for a solid new bike in Germany, and their stores are everywhere, which makes returns and repairs easy.

A few of the options you can pick from on their site:

• Elops Speed 500 — a cheap single-speed city bike, great for flat, short commutes.
• Rockrider ST 100 — Decathlon's entry-level mountain bike, and the model I ended up buying.

Why I decided to buy from Decathlon

Since you're in Germany and not in India, all the maintenance of the bike is on you — and repairs are not cheap. So when I researched it, I really liked that Decathlon covers the frame for a long period and the rest of the parts for two years (check their current terms before you buy, but that's what sold me). After all the comparison, I ended up buying from the same place where I started looking.

Note: if you buy online from Decathlon you'll pay around €15 shipping, so it's worth ordering everything you need (bike plus accessories) in one go — their own accessories are good quality. I personally bought most of my accessories from Amazon.

Amazon (good for accessories — I wouldn't buy the bike itself there)

You'll find cheap complete bikes on Amazon, but I wouldn't buy the frame there — quality control and returns are much easier at Decathlon or a local bike shop. Where Amazon genuinely shines is accessories like lights, locks and pumps, which is where I bought most of mine. Skip the no-name bikes in the €180–€250 range; they're usually more trouble than they're worth.

Poco

Poco (the furniture and electronics discounter) occasionally has surprisingly good bike deals. When I was looking, I found a fully equipped bike for around €230 — a genuinely good deal that I only skipped because I didn't like the colour. Check poco.de for the current bike offers when you're ready to buy.

Lidl

Lidl is another place to watch if you're looking for a cheap bike in Germany — they regularly run bike and e-bike specials, and the offers change every week. Keep an eye on the Lidl Germany site if you're not in a hurry.

Otto

I wasn't lucky enough to find a bargain on Otto while I was shopping, but they have a solid collection of bicycles — and their e-bike range is worth a look if that's your direction.

Kaufland

Kaufland also sells bikes online and delivers if you're buying in Germany. Their normal price range starts around €200 and goes up from there — fine for a basic city bike, but check the component quality before you order.

Where to buy a second-hand bike in Germany?

For second-hand bikes, the two places where I found the most deals were Facebook Marketplace and eBay Kleinanzeigen.

One important thing to note about eBay: most second-hand bikes there are sold by auction. Once you've won the bid, you're committed to buying unless you can cancel with the seller directly — so read the listing carefully before you bid.

What accessories do you actually need?

Once you've chosen the bike, check what it comes with. Many German city bikes already include lights, fenders, a bell and a stand, but mountain bikes like mine usually don't — so budget for those separately.

And yes, buy a good lock. Bike theft is common even in small German towns, and cheap supermarket locks are the first thing thieves cut through. If you have household contents insurance (Hausrat) with bike theft cover, most insurers only accept locks from their approved list — the brand you'll see on almost every list is Abus. I use the ABUS Bordo 6000K folding lock (90 cm, security level 10) — folding locks carry much easier than a heavy chain, and it's around $90 on Amazon.com. As a rule of thumb, plan to spend roughly 20% of the bike's value on the lock.

If you're buying from Decathlon, you can order everything in one go and save the shipping. Otherwise, Amazon.de is where I bought most of my extras. Here's the list of things I bought or would buy again:

• Helmet — not legally required for adults in Germany, but I never ride without one. Mine is a simple shell helmet like this Schwinn Thrasher; in Europe, just check for the EN 1078 sticker.
• Lights — legally required, and they must be StVZO-approved (look for the K-number on the packaging). Cheap sets are fine; buy them at Decathlon or on Amazon.de so they're actually road-legal here.
• Lock — see above. For quick daytime stops in small towns, a lighter second lock through the wheels is usually enough.
• Fenders (mudguards) — worth it if you plan to commute in any season except high summer.
• Kickstand — city bikes usually come with one; mountain bikes almost never do. A clamp-on stand is cheap and takes two minutes to fit.
• Pannier rack and bags — if you commute with a laptop, a rear rack with panniers beats a sweaty backpack every time.
• Phone holder — useful if you navigate by phone (I usually plan routes in Komoot first).
• Saddle cover — only needed if you park outside in the rain.
• Pump and repair kit — a small frame pump plus tire levers and patches so a flat doesn't end your ride.
• Cycle computer — optional. I mostly use my phone instead.

What are the cycling rules in Germany?

German bicycle requirements

There are certain items you are legally required to have on your bike for it to be roadworthy in Germany. These are:

1. A white (or pale yellow) front light that is non-blinking.
2. A red rear light that is non-blinking and stays on while you ride.
3. At least 2 yellow reflectors on each wheel — or reflective tires or rims.
4. A loud sounding bell.
5. Two independently acting brakes.

All these items need to be in good working condition for you to cycle safely (and legally) in Germany without risking a traffic fine.

Traffic fines for not meeting the German bicycle requirements:

• Brakes or bell not present or not working: €15
• Missing or broken bike light: €20
• Not switching on your lights when it's dark, during poor visibility, or when the light is covered or dirty: €20

That's the full picture from my own buying process — the research I did, the bike I chose, and the accessories that turned out to matter. If you're about to buy a bike in Germany and have a question I haven't answered, drop it in the comments and I'll help if I can.

A couple more posts you might find useful:

12 Reasons Why Moving to Germany From India Might Not Be For You
Moving To Germany From India
Europe By Car Rental