Vienna as a cycling city

Earlier in the year we wrote: "We are hoping to spend some time in Vienna this summer and intend to hire bikes for a few days". We have just returned from Vienna and we must be honest: We failed to fulfil our intention of hiring a velocipede or two to make the odd trip out into the woods and fields around the city. The friends we met there are not cyclists and so we decided that we would shelve our cycling plans in the interests of harmony. However we made some enquiries and kept our eyes open.
The city has 1200km of cycleways, 30 000 bike park racks and over 100 City Bike pickup points. Obviously Vienna is not yet a cyclists' city like Amsterdam or Copenhagen, but it is well on its way. Without being unpatriotic it is farther down this road or cyclepath than London for example. However the city is not as flat as the two forerunners mentioned above.
There is an excellent cycle map available free of charge from the tourist office, which is much better than the general city plan also given out by this organisation. There is a navigation app for cyclists which can be downloaded from the city's cyclist website: www.fahrradwien.at (in German, of course). The website also offers a route planner, a list of events and hints for cycling in the city.
Public transport in the city is so good that I think if I l lived in Vienna I would be using this a good deal rather than cycling.
If you are visiting Vienna in the next few weeks, it is worth nipping into the MAK to see an exhibition of classic bicycles called "Tour du Monde". You need to be quick though it closes on 6 October 2013.

Neil discussing cycle routes in the city centre with two touring cyclists.

Bike Hire in Vienna

We are hoping to spend some time in Vienna this summer and intend to hire bikes for a few days. There are 1200 km of bike route in Vienna. Here are the results of our searches. I will report on our experiences. So far we have found the following companies:

Pedal Power, Austellungsstraße 3, 1020 Wien T: 0043 1 7297234, F: 0043 1 7297234, eMail: office@pedalpower.at, http://www.pedalpower.at/z_englisch/01.php

There is a city bike system similar to London and Paris:
Rental charges: The duration of the rental starts with the removal of a Citybike from the bike box and ends when the Citybike is returned to a bike box. The first hour is free, after which a usage fee is charged:
2nd hour: 1 euro per started hour
3rd hour: 2 euros per started hour
4th - 120th hour: 4 euros for each started hour. Flat fee for exceeding the hours or loss of the bike: 600 euros
Obviously it pays to use the bike;  pop it into a dock; play the tourist on foot and then pick up a bike again.

More information under http://www.wien.info/en/vienna-for/sports/cycling.

If you do not wish to register, Pedal Power offers a special service for tourists: You can rent several bikes at the same time with your credit card, without having to register with Citybike.

How to do it: Leave your credit card details with Pedal Power as security in return for the desired number of Citybike tourist maps (one per bike) for the desired duration  - and off you pedal. Map rental fee: 2 euros per day

Citybike Tourist Card at Pedal Power

Bicycle Rental Pedal Power

Ausstellungsstraße 3 

1020   Wien
www.pedalpower.at
Radverleih Pedal Power - City Office
Elisabethstraße 13
1010   Wien
www.pedalpower.at    

I suspect it is slightly cheaper to register.  The one-time registration fee costs 1 euro. It depends how much bike maps cost and how many you need.

VIENNA EXPLORER

Franz Josefs Kai 45; 1010 Wien

Email: info@viennaexplorer.com
Tel/Fax: 00 43 (1) 89 09 682

Skype: viennaexplorer
Facebook: Vienna Explorer – city tours & day trips
Twitter: @ViennaExplorer

The company offers city bikes (€14 a full day) and slightly more expensive trekking bikes (€19 a day). Bikes cannot be hired online.

RADVERLEIH DONAUINSEL

Herta Aschauer 1210 Wien, Donauinsel / Parkplatz Floridsdorfer Brücke 
The company offers a wide range of bikes, trikes and four wheeled pedalled vehicles.