Biking in Lund

Know what you want when you buy, know where to go to fix problems

City bike, grandmother bike, mountain bike? You see everything on the streets of Lund. But what are you going to ride? Some advice: get an ugly old bike that works really well – it will carry you safely but won’t get stolen! 😀

There are different places to get a bike in Lund – there’s loads of bike shops, for one. Most of these also offer repair services and parts. There usually not cheap, but you get some guarantee of quality and after-sales service.

Lundaböcker has good prices, but it’s not a bike shop – it’s mainly a new & used book & copy store, that also sells bikes from past students on consignment at the beginning of the semester (and collects them at the end of the semester). It is not a bike shop, so you get the bike as-is without any guarantees, and the price has been set by the student selling it, not the shop (which makes money by taking a commission on the sale price).

If you want to buy direct from someone, there is always Blocket.se or check out the community boards in supermarkets and around town (AF building, buildings where you have classes, international office, etc.).

Lundaböcker and direct buying from the owner are good ways to get a trusty used bikes for cheaper than most anywhere else, but you do take a chance because you can’t return it (unless you want to resell it). Make sure you are ready to accept this deal before you buy.

If you do by a used bike that needs some care, one very cool place to check out if you are willing to work yourself and learn is Cykelköket in Malmö (Google translated here). It is an all-volunteer initiative in Malmö where you can learn to fix your bike and use the tools, parts and work space – for free! Riding your bike to Malmö is an option if it’s working well enough (check out the Lund bike map – directions to Malmö on the back side) but you can also take your bike on the train – you’ll need to buy a child’s ticket for it.

One more place to check out is Lundahoj (Google translation here), located inside the train station, at the north end. You can get your bike registered in case it’s stolen so it doesn’t get resold in one of the city auctions (!) or you can borrow a few tools or simply refill the air in your tires, all for free. They rent bikes too – by the day, week or even semester! That’s also where you have rails to go up and down to pass through the station (useful for Vildanden residents or to get to Blekingska nation or Nova Lund and the big stores around, for example).

One place to buy cheap bike parts, lights and locks is the Biltema hardware store in Malmö, but it’s a bit hard to get to without a car – not impossible though, but then calculate if it’s worth the transportation cost to go all the way there! They also sell not-too-expensive new bikes, but these are a favourite for thieves so consider registering it and getting a powerful lock.

You might want to consider a helmet – biking in Lund is generally safe, but accidents can always happen! If you have a bigger budget, you could consider getting the Hövding airbag for cyclists… It was created by two ex-LTH students and the company is based in Malmö. See below!! 😀