Bike shops in Vienna

[Johnnysmooth]

Need some advice...
Moved to Vienna last month and will be living here for the upcoming year. Living downtown in the 3rd district (1030) and have seen, ridden past plenty of bike shops but virtually all cater to the basic home commuter type bike, some "electric" bikes and a few low-end road and mtb.

So, can anyone recommend a good bike shop here in Vienna that has a decent selection of goods. Right now I need a good pair of bibs as the ones I brought with me are degrading quickly

[ico]

Local guys can give you more tips, but as far as I know it's Roadbiker http://www.mountainbiker.at/shops/roadbikerat/ or Nora Sport which carry Assos clothing if you like http://norasports.at

[Marin]

I can recommend cooperative fahrrad as the the best bicycle shop and have a vey comepetent mechanic, however they don't really cater to high-end roadies.
Ciclopia is better in this regard and still has retained some grass-roots attitude.

Nora and Mountainbiker salespeople can be a bit elitist at times.

Starbike I've only been to once but I found them friendly and competent.


If you need any more road/MTB-related info about Vienna, feel free to contact me!

[Johnnysmooth]

Wow - thanks everyone and Marin, may follow-up with you later via PM if I need a bit more help.

[Cuki]

Ciclopia is my LBS of choice. Looks and feels like a proper LBS too. By that I mean "a little rough around the edges" (In a good way).
Expensive but probably the best service in town. (By the way, if you are new to Vienna, and from the other side of the pond, you'll already know that "service" is not a Austrian strong point).
Ask for Jan or Andreas...say Alan recommended you.
They lunch between 1-2pm.

Also, as mentioned, Nora Pure Sports on the Gürtel. Bernhard Kohl on Triesterstrasse probably the best for bibs and clothing.

[Johnnysmooth]

Thanks Cuki and I'll be sure to drop by Ciclopia at some point. Did get over to Nora on Sat for a new pair of bibs. Selection was thinning out as they get ready for winter season. Some good deals in sales racks - a shame nothing was in my size.

And yes, service in Vienna is not exactly universal.

Now if I can only figure out some good routes through the hills. Google maps is nearly useless as most roads do not show-up but have managed to find more via Google Earth.

Also riding with VCS out of Simmering on most Sundays. Good group,

Happy trails
John

[jvanv8]

StarBike is the only shop I've been to in Vienna and it should be very close to you.
Not far from the train station, bus station, and Prater. A great way to kill time if you are running early.
It was the first (and the only) time I saw AX Lightness parts stocking the shelves of a LBS.
They had a good selection of Gore and Sugoi clothing; both brands being a rare find in the area.

[Stolichnaya]

There is also Bernie Kohl's shop, but that is so remote to the center of town it might as well be in Linz.
Nice shop though. He was able to grab a bunch of the better knonn sales people and mechanics when he opened up, worth a stop in.
Starbike is a nice small shop and seemingly friendly.
Ciclopia is just a nightmare. I have to say it and won't apologize for it. I gave them three chances in the past and they struck out miserably on service three times.
Nora is a good crowd and their service team is very solid during the season, but they swap over to skiing in the winter and the bike shop dedication goes into a light hibernation for a few months.
Mountainbiker / Roadbiker - another chain of shops with three strikes on it for me. I would stop by the Mountainbiker on the Gurtel though, lots of eye candy there.
If you want a quirky shop with even quirkier staff (i.e. grumps) and you are looking for something retro Campy, try RIH which often has old NOS stuff hidden away - they will even pull it out for you if you loiter there long enough till they realize you won't leave. Haha.
There is a Trek Concept Store in the first district and a Scott Reference Center in the 19th. Both forgettable. There is a small Kuota / Look dealer hidden away on the commuter path into the city along the Danube canal near the Fernwaerme - such an odd location, looks nice, but I have never been in it.
After that the pickings are rather thin.
In general, shops in Vienna are a true enigma for me since moving here. I am not sure how they survive with their attitudes. The nicest team I have experienced is certainly Nora though.

As for routes in and around Vienna, try looking for routes posted on Strava - there are a few users in the city who open up their ride plans.

[Marin]

Or use the Strava heatmaps.

The best road and MTB routes are in the West in the Wienerwald, up Exelberg. If you do the route the recent Velothon took you'll see most of the nicest climbs (and the Kahlenberg which most ppl will avoid because of the cobbles).

[Marin]

New shop:
https://www.facebook.com/veletage

[Marin]

Oh, and if you are looking for english-speaking group rides in Vienna: https://www.facebook.com/groups/viennai ... cycleclub/

[HillRPete]

In general, shops in Vienna are a true enigma for me since moving here. I am not sure how they survive with their attitudes.

Welcome to Austria.

[Cuki]

I have a theory that the Viennese aren't happy unless they are unhappy. Only an Ausländer would notice. They live in one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, but you would never know by their demeanour.

[Stolichnaya]

You can scrap the Bernie Kohl shop from the Vienna list. Those asshats opened up a Alchemy ORC hub without having the proper tools and almost ruined it, causing me to order the tools from Alchemy myself to fix the problem - this after telling them three times, I only wanted the tension checked. They acted like it was my fault for complaining and then offered me a €50 gift certificate (which they give out like candy anyway). The mechanic actually stated, "You know, it did look strange when I opened up the hub, I had never seen something of that design." My reply: "And that did not put up a red flag to stop and call the customer?" His retort, "Well we do have professional tools." My counter: "Do you have the Alchemy drifts?"

I cracked The ORC open once the Alchemy (who are an awesome team to communicate with) tools arrived and indeed the Bernie Kohl team (with a super over inflated sense of self worth) had reinstalled things incorrectly. "What is this washer for? Aw, just toss it, the wheel spins somewhat freely."

Why they opened it in the first place is still a mystery - the wheel spun freely for minutes and had less than 1000 km on them. There was zero need to service.
(Note, I do all my wrenching myself except building / tensioning of wheels.)

Their staff also has a super limited knowledge of what products the are selling.
Me: "Can you order the Northwave Artic Commuter road shoes?"
Sales: "They don't make a road version. We have the mountain version right here."
Me: "They certainly do make a road version." (Showing the site on my phone.)
Sales: "Well, you should be wearing booties with road shoes anyway."
Me: Shrugged and walked away from him. He did not even realize the lost sale.

Beautiful shop, I'll never be back. Even if they offer me the appropriate amount for the mess they caused.

[Marin]

Well, I'm Viennese, and I haven't set foot in a Vienna bike shop for years (do all my wrenching myself, including wheel building), with the exception of the Veletage opening. They are run by people from San Francisco and Carinthia, so the attitude there is definitely different.