need some advice and help

oely

Just a warning, i posted this on the cycling equipment part of the forum before with no replies so i thought id try here....sorry if youve read it already.

Ok heres the story, im going over to The Netherlands soon and i will be buying an entry level road bike. I had planned to buy one there and still am really and my girlfriend who is living there has been getting quotes and checking out bikes for me and herself. The prices shes been quoted seem to be around 300$ + more over there than for the same model bike here in Australia. Im now debating whether it would be better (money wise anyway) for me to get one here before i go over. I will get a bike one way or the other and if i can save a bit it would be a bonus as ill be moving soon and my budget and needs are all aimed at the entry level. Ive been looking at some basic bikes like the Giant OCR 3, Trek 1000, Specialized Allez, Avanti Sprint and the Orbea Larrau. Any thoughts on this? any particular stores in syd to check out for these models? i seem to be drawn to the Specialized Allez for some reason. Ive had a sit on one but no test drive as such yet.

Am i better getting one there, paying more and having a store i can go back to in case a problem arises? saving some money if i can on a bike would be ideal at the moment but at the same time i might end up paying more as extra luggage that would really offset any saving i made on buying a bike here.

now this leads me onto more questions....such as taking a bike overseas. How does this process work exactly? Packaging wise and is it considered like any sort of luggage? or are there certain restrictions coz of the shape or something. Can bike stores assist me in this area if needed be?

thanks for any help