How late into the year (or close to christmas) is it ok to cycle train on the roads in southern Sweden? is it worth taking a tri bike or will I be confined to the windtrainer?
Taking into account that from what I hear your summer came quite late this year?
Thanks for any insight.
Fingers crossed and hoping to get in some good kms (or Swedish miles) while Im there.
In December you don’t go buy Tribike. Southern part of Sweden can be quite tricky before Xmas. It can be snow and it can also be 15 degrees(in really good cases). I wouldn’t bring my racing bike. I live in Stockholm, midpart sweden, I start using my x-cross in october. Do remember that Stockholm have the same Longitude( or Lat never remeber which is which) as Alaska…
BR Dave
Ok, thankyou.
I just had a look at your website… thats a big change mate! well done.
Looks like the only option is to bring the bike for indoor trainer sessions… if I manage the odd day of riding outside then I can’t complain… plus I have no x-cross and an Ironman race in March.
2 more questions for you please…
Thank you again.
Bring the stuff to Sweden that you need. DON’T ORDER ANYTHING OUTSIDE EU! You will have to pay 25% in taxes for everything you bring, even if you already own it. Let’s say your wife sends you your bike and you insurance it for 1000$ then you will have to pay 250$ in taxes, 50$ in custom-fees, 25$ in other worthless fees… So basically you will end up paying 325$ for something you already own and the sad part there is no way around it. Even if you don’t insurance it the customs(especially if you send it with USPS), may take custom for it since they have catalogues for example what a Cervelo p3 costs and so on. So this is the reason why swedes always bug ppl on ebay about sending it with lower values declared and without insurance 
Well depends on your mindset, how badly you want to train. I mean I had a friend over from Miami, he thought it was quite chilly on one of the warmest day we had in sweden this summer. I would have no problem biking in copenhagen/southern part of sweden, but on the other hand I train outside when it’s snow also, so I would say it depends.
Well depends on your mindset, how badly you want to train. I mean I had a friend over from Miami, he thought it was quite chilly on one of the warmest day we had in sweden this summer. I would have no problem biking in copenhagen/southern part of sweden, but on the other hand I train outside when it’s snow also, so I would say it depends.
Ok, so its more a case of being able to handle the cold than safety (ie: the roads are safe to ride)? With an indoor trainer as backup and some good quality warm cycling gear I should be ok? I’ll be able to train at anytime during the day, so Im guessing being able to ride midday will provide more opportunites to get around the cold?
Thank you again,
the people I know in Sweden are helpfull but they don’t cycle so its good to hear it from your point of view.
Yes, they are pretty safe, just be carefull in crossings and stay away from the big roads.
Bring wind-proof clothing, the humidity can be harsh if your not used to it.
You can’t go wrong with Tom D’s “Get Dressed” http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/clothing.shtml]
Stay away from the bikerides at 7:00-9:00 and 15:00-17:00 (rush hours)
Where in the South are you staying? Malmoe/copenhagen-area? skane? Smaland?
Ok, so its more a case of being able to handle the cold than safety (ie: the roads are safe to ride)? With an indoor trainer as backup and some good quality warm cycling gear I should be ok? I’ll be able to train at anytime during the day, so Im guessing being able to ride midday will provide more opportunites to get around the cold?
Thank you again,
the people I know in Sweden are helpfull but they don’t cycle so its good to hear it from your point of view.
My opinion is that there is really no such thing as safe roads during the winter here in Sweden. The roads can be *very *slippery even though there’s no snow since we’re talking about an average temperature about -5 to +10 degrees celsius (about 23 to 50 F).
The biggest problem as a cyclist is not you yourself or the road. The cars (i.e the idiots driving them) are the biggest threat when it’s slippery out on the roads. Speeds are often too high and they’re not used to having to take into account passing cyclists during winter.
Make sure that you ride during really light hours (9.30am - 14.30pm) wearing clothes that make you clearly visible (reflectors are great!).
For myself, I’d opt for the trainer instead and top off with some running.
Maybe I’m a tad on the pessimistic and safe side here. -Probably a side effect of becoming a parent a few years ago… 
BTW: Hi everybody! My first posting here.
It really depends on where you’re staying. If you’re located in the very south part in Skåne I imagine you might be able to ride your tribike outside some winters but the further north you get the worse it’s gonna be. Most places I wouldn’t recommend riding a “nice” bike between November and March, both because of snow and ice but also because the roads get quite messy with the salt and stuff they put on which will destroy your bike during a long winter of riding. Instead I’d recommend buying a really inexpensive 10 speed or similar and put some wider tires and mud guards on and use that as a winter bike. That’s what I do myself when I train here in the winter time and it works pretty well as I definitely prefer riding outdoors to indoors despite cold weather.
I use my MTB during the worst period. That way I’m free to explore some other roads or path’s also.
Nice change to all the tarmac roads you ride March-October.
The MTb are more durable and are easy to wash.
Putting some winter tires(metal ‘spikes’ in the rubber) on it And you are safer if it get’s icy on the roads.
Hi, I’ll be based in Skanör and Copenhagen (moving between the 2 weekly).
I’ll be there till early Jan then its back to New Zealand (where I am now) for the Summer, I will be back again to Sweden/Denmark again late April/early May to live for around 2 years. Because of my travel frequency in the next few months (flying to Sweden twice) I was thinking of picking up a mountainbike here in NZ to bring this time around, leaving it there for when I return. From the replies so far this seems like the best option.
From what I have been told the prices of bikes in Denmark and Sweden are very high (even for second hand), is that true?