As you may have noticed, bicycles is the most common form of short transportation. You see some expats making threads and questions on whether to rent/buy a bike, or where to buy it; or their bike being stolen.

This has a bearing on what bike you should choose. Because the theft of bikes is that prevalent you want to make sure that:

• Your bike is worth less than surrounding bikes.
• It is better locked than surrounding bikes.
• You don't cry too much over the lost value.

A "nice" bicycle is a gone bicycle.

Renting (Swapfiets)

First out of the way: renting a bike.
You will probably get targeted advertisement by Swapfiets to rent it and it being "no-hassle" over repairs or something stolen.

This is simply not true, as the service indeed replaces it, but at your own dime, to the point it almost becomes a lucrative business model for them to have their swapfiets being damaged or stolen in your hands.
Next to that, it costs €20/month. Even in 1 year, that is €240. You can buy a lot of bicycle and repairs for that amount.

Buying

1. Check marktplaats.nl and facebook marketplace first. €100 at maximum is a good target price to aim for.

Considering people in bigger cities are going through more bikes, and there being more demand, you'll likely be able to find them outside of Eindhoven as well.

If you have a student OV-subscription, consider looking around in smaller cities around and buying it there, and taking it back. Note that taking your bicycle on a train is €8,50. https://www.ns.nl/en/travel/on-the-train/bikes-on-the-train

Or consider the towns in bike-able distance (although could be questionable to you for it being far. But it's just a once-in-a-time thing), and cycle back on it.

Note: A foldable bike is allowed to be on the train for free. It's quite peculiar that a foldable bike can "technically" be foldable, but still take about as much space anyhow. This point makes foldable bikes significantly more expensive on the market than non-foldable ones. If you have to be at a different location often because you travel there, it is most advisable to put a very cheap 2nd bicycle in that location, or use the NS-bike for that day in that location, rather than keep on messing around with a foldable.

Note2: You are not allowed to take a non-foldable bike on the bus. Foldables are allowed.

1. A second option is checking out the possibilities while thrifting. Check out https://allekringloopwinkels.nl/ for all thrift stores around.

Note: There is a chain that is called 'budget fietsenhuis' in Eindhoven. It's arguably...not very budget what you get for the price. Nothing really under €100, while that is the maximum price we are aiming for.

Locks:

It is more important that your lock LOOKS mostly imposing to steal, so it's not attempted. Sure lockpickers tell you it's easily taken, but it's not like people stealing your bike are busy with lockpicking. People stealing bikes, often cut the lock open, or bend it open.

Something with metal chains like this is fine.
https://www.action.com/nl-nl/p/2582269/walfort-kettingslot/
This requires a portable angle grinder to cut open. That is quite noisy and cumbersome, so you'll not often find thieves doing that. They use simple pliers or bolt-cutters that are pocketable and rather silent.

Use it to chain it strategically to the solid world.

Do not: rely on the dingy simple lock like this: https://www.action.com/nl-nl/p/2582290/walfort-fietsslot/, often standard. It's quite easy to just bend this open with pliers, or 'telephone-cord' style locks like this: https://www.action.com/nl-nl/p/3013773/walfort-kabelslot/, as it's quite easily cut open with bolt cutters.

Other kinds of theft on bicycles:

Lights
If you have removable lights; wear them on your person if you can. They get nabbed all the time. Or have fixed non-removable lights.

Saddle
Easily removable stuff like saddles also get nabbed if you have a particularly "comfortable" new one without punctures, if it's toolless with a simple clip. If you do have toolless removable saddle, put a piece of ducktape on the saddle performatively so it does not look pristine (as if you have put it over a puncture).

Repairs

Flat tire

Your most common repair is flat tires. Albeit you can repair a tire, which is helpful if you are stranded somewhere and need to do it at that moment, you need this with you:

https://www.action.com/nl-nl/p/3200355/walfort-fietsband-reparatieset/

However when at home, I'd recommend to just put in a new inner tire. It's just easier and the chance of still having a leak after spending 30-45 minutes finding the leak, patching it and it still perhaps not closing up right...egh

https://www.action.com/nl-nl/p/1349810/walfort-binnenband/

To replace this, you still do need the repair set above simply for the so-called "spoons" to lift and place the outer tire back.

How to do change it (except, see note)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwwfV99VV8I

Note: I could not find a video that did it without removing the tire. I would advise against taking the entire wheel out, but, only removing the bolt on the side where there is not further connection. On the back-wheel, that means on the other side of the gear, and for the front wheel, on the other side of a disc-brake. In both cases, this is the left-hand side of the bike. Change the old tire in and out shuffling it through this opening by compliance and reattach the one single bolt.

For all your cheap bicycle needs, Action is a good source for stuff. If Action doesn't have it or is out of stock, Hema and Decathlon is your 2nd best bet. (Piazza centre Eindhoven).

Misaligned with steering wheel:

1. Stand in front of your bike, with your 2 legs wedging the wheel.
   
2. Wiggle the steering bar straight if it's misaligned.

Slight bend in the wheel
Usually caused by it being parked inside of a fork-parking method and then pushed over.
Put it in a fork-park and counterbend it.

If the wheel is wobbly all over

Economically it's fairly gone at that point. A new wheel is often as expensive as a whole new sub-€100 bicycle.

Weather

Dutch people just bike through rain and other weather. In particularly bad weather, they wear a "regenpak", which are trousers and a poncho they wear over their regular pants and jacket. Check out Hema and Decathlon (main city at the Piazza) for options.

For your bicycle saddle to keep dry; we use the grocery bag. We stuff that grocery back underneath in the back of the saddle, and take it out when necessary. Don't sit on the grocery bag itself, because the ink will transfer and stain you.

Safety

Do NOT look on your phone while riding your bike. Also not for maps or something. The fine is €170 and they are harsh in giving in out, since it's easy fines for them.

For your own safety, do not wear headphones or noise cancelling earbuds. You need sound to manage traffic safely by bike.

Hi

I am Shane.. I screw bad landlords.

For the past two years I have being identifying rental properties on Pararius, Funda and occasionally kamernet that have rent prices that can be reduced through legal action at the Huurcommissie (the rent commission) then posting them over on my subreddit r/Rentbusters

What not enough people (particularly expats) realize is that renters have many rights when it comes to the price they pay for their apartment, their contract and the service costs they have to pay. One of the rights they have is the right to an affordable rent.

One common misconception is that affordable housing is only available to people go on the decades-long wait list for low income housing through Housing corporations like 'Thuis. This type of housing is often mislabeled as "social housing" but the term also applies to homes on the private market also (often mislabeled as Free Sector)

Social housing refers to the quality of the home and not the income bracket of those who often live in this type of home. Anyone can rent a social housing sector home and more importantly, any one can apply to have their price assessed to see if it qualifies to be social housing.

The Huurcommissie allows tenants to appeal their rent price through a procedure called a Toetsing Aanvangshuurprijs (initial rent assessment) where they assess the quality of the property using a points based system.

An apartment gets points for size, energy efficiency, property value (limited and capped at a certain %), kitchen facilities etc.

If you, for example were renting a 32sqm energy label E studio on Prisensgracht and paying 1225 euro per month for it, you could apply to the Huurcommissie (HC) to get that rent reduced. This is because that apartment would not score the 187 pts required to allow the landlord to ask a rent price that high.

That is exactly what the renter in this apartment thought when they asked the HC to assess their apartment in this judgement that is available online where the HC gutted the rent price to 460 euro per month with retroactive effect. The tenant here got back 9.1k and now has a rent price 1/3 of what they paid before in an apartment less than 900 metres from Amsterdam CS.

With the passing of the affordable Rent act 2024, landlords are now obliged to provide points reports like this with every contract they sign with tenants. While landlords often exclude the report or lie on it, it is very easy for a tenant to check this themselves (see links below) If the maximum rent price differs with what the points report says and if the rent price is below 1184 euro per month, that property is a regulated social housing or middlehuur home and there is a maximum the landlord can charge for it.

The objective of r/Rentbusters is to not only help tenants get out from these unreasonable rent but also help future tenants find places that might be able to move into properties that they can bust the rent price into oblivion and teach them how to recognise these properties when they search for homes by learning how the calulator works and where there might be exploits that can net you an extra large rent decrease.

Given that this is Eindhoven with a massive shortage of housing, its often not a question on if your landlord is overcharging, but by how much...

One such property is this one on In Nieuwe Erven

Advertised as 24sqm, with an "A" energy label, this property has an asking rent price of 1250 euro per month incl service costs. On the face of it, it looks kinda like a scam with a price per sqm rivalling that of a home in Amsterdam. Unfortunately for the landlord there are exploits to this property that might save you anywhere from 500 to 900 euro on the rent price...

This particular property is not split: meaning that for tax purposes, the Gemeente treat this apartment and all the other apartments in the building as a single unit. Because of this, certain portions of the points calculation now have their values greatly reduced. While a certain number of points are given for property value on the points report, properties that are unsplit can have the points from this and the Energy labels excluded from the calculation resulting in a massive drop in the maximum rent price that the landlord is allowed to charge.

This particular property, I estimate to have a maximum rent price of <400 euro. Now I am not looking for a place to live in Eindhoven, but someone reading this post undoubtably is.

A particularly brave and bold renter could sign the contract for this property or one that is similarly overpriced and then within six months, ask the Huurcommissie to inspect the place and score themselves a 900 euro per month discount on their homes with retroactive effect.

Sometimes it is even possible to get the rent so low that you can qualify for rent subsidy, so if you are out of a job, you can stave off poverty by getting a few hundred euros more off your rent price. Right now only homes with a rent price of <900 euro can qualify for subsidy which creates a poverty trap for tenants in Amsterdam who cannot find homes with an initial rent price low enough to get help

In addition to expanding the size of the regulated market the beloved outgoing housing minister also included a clause that allows people who live in homes that they didnt know could be regulated until it was too late to get a second chance to bust the place, starting July 2025.

For those of you who are curious if you live in a bustable home, you can check using the calculators in the links below.

I live in a independent apartment/flat and I moved in after July 1 2024

I live in a room and share a bathroom or kitchen with others and I moved in after July 2024

or for those of you living a little longer in Amsterdam

I live in a independent apartment/flat and I moved in before July 1 2024

I live in a room and share a bathroom or kitchen with others and I moved in before July 2024

Feel free to leave a question or comment in the section below. if you want to complain that this process is dishonest and that landlords should be free to charge whatever they want, be aware that your comment will be downvoted into oblivion

Other renters in Eindhoven have asked for this process to be done to their rental homes, sometimes with dramatic reductions

Dont wait too long to check your rent price...join the annals of victory like the Champions below!