Bike: from Amsterdam to Brussels

Honestly speaking one way bike tours are seldom a good idea.
The buying and selling procedure takes time, will cost much money and the key issue: the quality for cycling - with some gear I suppose - is doubtful. And hassle in sunny circumstances, less in rainy, isn't ameliorating the holiday feel.

One way rentals don't exist.

Though you don't ask: make a round-tour in the Netherlands or Belgium.
There are some previous posts about designing them. This one is useful, as a start, if you might reconsider your plans.

Or if you want a bit hilly you need not go far from Brussels (e.g. Pajottenland)

There are also guided tours from Amsterdam to Brugge or reverse, by bike and boat.

After all I advise to use the On your bike Branch for this kind of questions.

Thanks for the help

Remember that a bike good enough for a day around the city is probably not good enough for long distances or 10 days on a row. This means that even a second hand bike good enough for the job will not be cheap.
Rental doesn't work unless you bring back the bike.
Buying to sell again won't work. You probably have to give it away.
Conclusion: it can be done nut it's not a cheap idea.
Look for some round trip like Aribo suggests.

I don't know for Amsterdam specifically, but in general i've found there is a good and well organised offer of second hand bikes in NL. Some bike shops sell both new and second hand (restored and with guarantee) bikes, but i agree that a good second hand bike won't come cheap.

The main problem will be the selling. Technically it can be done, but it would take time. I (Belgian resident) have just asked myself where i would sell my bike and i guess i would try http://www.ebay.be/ or http://www.marktplaats.nl/ (a Dutch selling site which is popular in B as well) or i would bring my bike to a Troc shop http://www.troc.com/ which is a chain of second hand depot shops (there are 3 of them in Brussels).
Such selling procedures are time consuming, and you'll never know how long it will take to sell your bike. No problem for a resident but not a practical option for a traveller i guess.
You could also sell to a second hand bike shop, but at a very low price.

I agree with above posts: it will be a costly trip if you buy a bike and try to sell it in another place.
Of course you can use a simple city bike (i.e. 100-200 euros for a legal second hand) to do the trip but it will be very uncomfortable. If you want a sturdy, comfortable bike with some gears, and which is the right size for your body (!), and which can easily hold some panniers... you're looking at 400 euros +, or up to 1300 euros for a brand new 'holiday bike' with decent parts.
(But I guess for a 10 day trip a B-brand bike or even a C-brand will do and you don't need all Shimano etc. parts.)

Don't forget to calculate money for the panniers, and for the locks. Two good locks will set you back another 60-100 euros (get at least one sturdy lock to attach the frame and a wheel to a pole with, and it's handy to have a lock that closes easily for quick stops, for example a small lock that's already attached to the bike).

Or rent a bike and return it. Trains from Amsterdam to Berlin take 6 hours.

Or do one of those organised bike tours, or bike & barge tours. Plenty to be found on the internet and I suppose you can rent a bike from them.

And a question for you: why do you want to go to Brussels of all places? Do you know someone there? Because otherwise it's just a big, ugly, smelly city (with a few nice corners if you look hard).
You will have much more fun doing a loop to Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges and possibly back into the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands (via Breskens and Vlissingen), from where you'll be able to take the bike back onto a train to Amsterdam for only 6 euros extra (or bike back if you have the time). See pictures of a similar bike trip I did there.

Antwerp and Ghent are both picturesque, fun, arty cities with historic centers, nice shops and restaurants. Bruges is a tiny town and very touristy but very pretty. One afternoon (and maybe one night) are enough.
The Belgian countryside is also nice, as is the Dutch.

• Have a look at this thread;
• And a very similar question in this one;
• Also scroll the Netherlands posts because a lot of posts + answers were here about biking, scenic routes, where to get maps, apps, etc.

Where will you sleep? Were you planning on camping, staying in hotels / B&B's...? Have a look at Vrienden op de Fiets, you need to become a member before you come to the Netherlands in order to use this cheap accommodation in people's homes. It's a fun way to see some culture and lifestyle of the locals and to have a decent bed and hot shower after a day's cycling.

Veel plezier, have fun,
Cécile
Amsterdam

Edited by: Cecilia

Cecilia clearly should visit Brussels...

Anyway, www.fietsnet.be is a very practical site, allowing you to plan your long-distance bike trip. It's in Dutch, but it is pretty straightforward to use. Belgium and Netherlands have a series of bike route knots (the numbered red numbers on the map). You can connect them, and the site gives you a route. During cycling, you only have to follow the numbers (apparently, it doesn't work yet in Amsterdam. but from Leiden on southward, it works great)

Cecilia sure did visit Brussels a couple of long weekends and didn't like it much :-) (except a bar here, a restaurant there... but not the city as a whole).

I suppose if you live there you get to know the good places and can ignore the grey ugliness (at least that was my experience while I lived in similarly 'difficult' city Rotterdam). But for a first-time visitor it's not an easy, pretty, fun city that you can just stroll around in and stumble upon beautiful things all the time, such as Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven...

buy a bike from a junkie in amsterdam for appr 20/30 euros.... sell the bike to a student in brussels for app. 20/30 euros.... dont get caught though lol

Thanks for all the tips.
I might go for a round tour then, with start n finish in amsterdam, going through utrecht, heusden, dordrecht, gorinchen, rotterdam and maybe den hag.
After that i could take the train to belgium where i intend to visit brussels, two breweries in the south (westleveteren and brasserie a vapeur) and ghent or brugges.
Sounds easier?