Touring France question: bring our bikes from the US or buy/rent over there

[drgjelten]

We are planning a trip across France in 2024 (starting in St-Malo, then southeast to the Dordogne and then straight east to Nice) - about 1,000 miles.  What are the pros and cons of bringing our bikes?  Buy reuseable shipping cases?  I know I'd have to assemble the bikes there.  If we fly into London and ride to the Channel, is that difficult?  Riding out of Heathrow?  Does it make more sense to rent bikes in London and then return from Nice on the train and return the bikes?  What about buying bikes in England? We don't really need new bikes, though ours have thousands of miles on them.  (We've toured a lot in the US.)  Just curious what the thinking on this question is.  Thanks for any advice.

[Galloper]

Lots to go at here    My first suggestion would be to buy bikes on arrival, Decathlon are a Europe wide sports store and their own brand bikes are value for money and well recommended.   So if you bought in UK and something goes wrong in France, you can find a local Decathlon store and have a good chance of getting it sorted.   Buying used, there are quite a few bike recycle stores and any bikes they sell will, generally, be in good condition.   The chances of finding bikes suitable for touring and of the right size might not be too good.

There is a "Greenway" from London to Paris which includes taking a ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe. 

 https://www.avenuevertelondonparis.co.uk/

I don't think I would like to cycle from Heathrow.

https://fietsrouteplanner.eu/

This is a useful planner.   I would also recommend popping in to any local Office Tourisme you see in France, they will often have useful local maps.   

Bonne Route!