Ting Tings

Even before you hit the roads and pavements of Berlin with your two wheels, you ought to ensure your steel (stolen?) steed is "fahrbereit", ie legally roadworthy. For this you need the following:

• a bell
• lights front and rear powered by a dynamo

...otherwise you're in breach of traffic laws. I don't think any copper is going to throw the book at you for having battery lights instead of dynamo ones, and possibly most won't even know about this legal nicety. Still, now you know.

Once you're on the roads, you have to cycle in the same direction as the traffic unless you're riding through a contra-flow thingy.

Keep to the cycle side of any split cycle/pedestrian paths, which are very common here. This is where your little ding-a-ling is absolutely invaluable: a quick ring and the errant wanderer sharply jumps out of your rightful path. They are wrong, and you are right. 

As any one who can't fly/hover/isn't carried about in a sedan chair will tell you, cycling on pavements is very common here. Technically only allowed if traffic makes it dangerous to cycle on the road, two-wheelers torpedo amongst pedestrians like sharks in a shoal. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. 

This subject is covered in a bit more detail here.

Go Buy Bike

So you want to fit in, save money on transport, keep fit and add a splash of risk to your safe Berlin life? Then you need a bike. Whether you've got money to burn, or want something for the price of a box of matches, there are 2 options if you want a set of wheels in a hurry: online ads or a trip to one of the weekend markets. 

Kijiji is certainly the busiest site for bike ads I've come across, with several new ones appearing every hour. Prices range from 25euro to silly money for daft racing bikes with emaciated frames. Less costs more. Many, you suspect, are stolen, due to the low price and brief description. It's a conscience over pocket decision only you can make. Also, there seems to be an oversupply of women's bikes. ? I'm told there's no stigma attached to transgendered bike ownership.  More likely that there's a certain caché that goes with bucking societal norms (not that anyone would admit it as that wouldn't be cool at all).   

You can also try the ex-pat sites toytown and berlin.craigslist - although ads are seldom, you can occasionally pick up a bargain from folk shipping out of the country.

The other way is to head to the flea markets for a bit of trawl'n'haggle. Clearly time consuming, unpredictable but for some, also good fun. Mauerpark in P'berg on Sunday is the surest bet (U8 Bernauer Str and follow the crowds). Cheap but sturdy-looking bike locks are in also in abundance. 

In a darkened room someone whispered a third way to me which involves applying an advanced set of recycling principals and deft pair of bolt cutters. This is illegal and under no circumstances should anyone attempt to recycle a bike with a flat tyre that has been standing in their neighbourhood for several weeks. I mean, have you seen the price of a decent pair of bolt cutters?