bike shops in athens

I spent a few days in Athens, Greece shortly after the new year and while looking for souvenirs, created my own walking tour of the city by trying to stop by as many bicycle shops as possible.

A friend had found this post on couchsurfing that linked to this map.  Coupled with my borrowed lonely planet printout, I mapped out places that were within walking distance of our hotel.  Most of the stores were closed because of the new year holiday, but I decided to take a photo of all of the storefronts as  I explored the city.  Here’s a gallery of bike shop storefronts in Athens.  I can’t vouch for the greek letters below – I’ve just copy and pasted them from the map.

I started near Omonia, since there is a cluster of shops near the square, and it was near our hotel.

Gatsulis αθηνα, old location apparently. This shop was empty.

Gatsulis αθηνα, current location? This store was stocked, but closed. here’s a shot through the window. http://www.gatsoulis.gr Γ’ Σεπτεμβρίου 37 & Στουρνάρη Τηλ.: 210 5233198

Giorgos Altyparmakis is apparently a legendary bicycle mechanic in Athens (or all of Greece: see here, here, and here), but unfortunately his shop was closed when I walked by.  It looks like there were some fun components in there though.

Storefront of Αλτιπαρμάκης Γεώργιος (Giorgos Altyparmakis). Looks like a fun little shop to rummage through.

Χατζησαββα Μαρινα at 3ΗΣ ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ 38. Closed.

Brady Kiesling had some useful information on cycling in Athens.  Here’s the arcade he mentions on his site:

stounari arcade, with tsipidis bikes (Χρηστος Τσιπιδης) Πατησίων 37 Στουρνάρη 51 (στοα Αλφα) Αθήνα, 10432 210 5243715 – This photo is actually from the day before when the shop was closed.

I stopped into the arcade again the next day and to my surprise, the shop was open:

Tsipidis bikes ( Χρηστος Τσιπιδης) the next day. A really nice guy named Stefanos runs the place and was extremely helpful in finding me a souvenir to bring back to the states with me. They had lots of pretty frames hanging up.

rims and rims and rims at tsipidis bikes

Βασιλης Καλλιωρας - This place was closed. Looks like they sell Giant bicycles.

I walked north from Omonia towards Larisis and found more closed small shops.

I think this is the shop listed as "Κουτουπούσης" at ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝΟΥ 92 - ΑΘΗΝΑ. Closed as well.

Εφροσυνη Παππα, located at 32 Αλκαμένους. This shop was closed like nearly all the rest.

From here, I walked a long way along Leof Konstandinoupoleos, towards the Gazi neighborhood.  There was some cool street art along the way, but I walked a long stretch between bike shops.

Μοτοποδηλατική Αθηνών - Artemisou 39 (ΑΡΤΕΜΙΣΙΟΥ 39) - You can see some bicycles upstairs, but this place didn't seem really together. It was closed, so I couldn't do more than peek in through the window.

As I was walking to the next shop, a guy yelled to me, trying to explain that the store was closed and that it would be open tomorrow.  I knew that it’d be closed, but I still wanted to take the photo and peer in a bit.  Good looking out though.

EzeeBike Ιερά Οδός 64 (Iera Odos 64) Closed. Looks like they sell electric bikes and not regular bicycles.

I walked further south to the next shop.  It was nice walking through this part of town – it’s definitely off of the beaten path for most tourists.

Αφοι Κυριακοπουλοι - 8 edessis (ΕΔΕΣΣΗΣ 8) - This place looked like it was no longer open for business.

From here, it was another long walk until I got to the next bike shop.  I got a little lost on the way, but found Athens Heart, a mall that I used as a rest stop.  All of the stores except for the restaurants on the top floor were closed, but it was neat to walk through and a good bathroom break.

The next neighborhood that I walked through (Koukaki?  Not sure.) seemed laid back, pleasant, and relaxing.  Stergiou bikes was closed, of course:

Stergiou Bikes - http://www.stergioubikes.gr ΚΟΙΛΗΣ 14 (Koilis 14)

Another shot of Stergiou:

Stergiou Bikes

Another mile or so of walking took me to the next shop:

Tzortzopoulos bicycles & accessories - Αν.Ζίννη 38 & Συγγρού - http://www.tzortzopoulos.gr/bikesite/index.php - This looked like a fairly large shop. They had some cool looking cycling bags in the corner. Closed, however.

KRD #1 - 20 Kalirois - this was the final shop that I visited. You can see a full suspension frame on display. The clothing and accessories seemed to indicate a motocross-like theme.

All in all, it was a nice walk and a great way to explore the city.  It would have been nicer if more shops were open, but I doubt that I would have been able to cover as much ground if I’d stopped into each one.  Plus, I got the souvenir that I was looking for thanks to Stefanos at Tsipidis bikes.