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How safe is cycling / biking in Greece?

Is cycling safe in Greece

That is a question the majority of cyclists asks prior visiting a destination and there is no doubt that safety plays an important role in the planning stage of a cycling trip or tour.

This article aims to share with the rest of the world’s cycling communities a realistic and objective approach on the topic of “how safe is Cycling in Greece”.

Cycling in Greece is truly enchanting

In 2015, we took the decision to turn our passion for cycling and exploring, into our profession. At that time we defined and set our values: honesty and quality. Being cyclists ourselves made us see things from a different angle. We have travelled around the world’s most popular cycling sites, taking in all this wonderful planet can offer. Undeliberately, each place we visited had something unique. There hasn’t been any trip that made us feel disappointed about the destination we chose; all the pros and cons of each trip, made us look for the ideal. It was exactly then, when we discovered Greece.

We fell in love with the country, the culture and its people. Still, we cannot believe why Greece is not listed among the world’s top cycling destinations,. In our efforts to share more information, we decided to conduct an extensive study that would bring insights on the level of safety cyclists can enjoy during their time Greece.

Existing information related to safety while cycling in Greece

Upon singing up for this study, we decided to first evaluate the existing information found both online and offline. The sources included in this study are hundreds of online articles / posts and over 90 books containing information related to cycling in Greece. Their content comprises sharing information for just a cycling day or present details for a whole a journey or adventure.

We tried to include as many sources as possible. Removing duplicate information seemed to a more trivia thing than we thought; while reading the material we came across with articles that were using same sources of information but written in different style. Therefore, we are certain that everything that has been included in this study is original and unique.

Online content and various bloggers recommend cycling in Greece with no restrictions

98% of the total posts adopt an overall positive approach of cycling in Greece.

Our categorisation and findings are grouped as per below:

  • positive orientated
  • negative oriented
  • quality analysis on the negative comments found on line

98% of the total posts adopt an overall positive approach of cycling in Greece. They describe the cycling experience as pleasant to extraordinary and they prompt others to join. Information about the morphology (mountainous) and the impact on the effort cyclists may have to endure is also shared but didn’t allow 5% of them make a exquisite reference to safety, which is either positive or negative.

2% of the total posts are negatively oriented towards cycling in Greece. Almost all of them – 97% – mention safety reasons and warn other cyclists for severe, dangerous conditions. The top cited safety issues were:

  • “stray dogs” (80% of the in focus segment)
  • “poor road conditions” (40% of the in focus segment)
  • “careless drivers” (30% of the in focus segment)
    note: some posts contain information of multiple safety warnings

Negative online posts: what do they contain?

Negative experience to drive the content creation, mainly to express personal feelings. Going through the articles/posts, which fall into the negatively oriented category, we got the feeling that the authors were urged mainly to express their agony and frustration caused by an unfortunate event, or series of events, rather than share useful and informative content (e.g. a cyclist was speeding to avoid sheepdogs running towards him and he crashed; even though he was not attacked by any dogs at the end, he shared how unfriendly the shepherd was). We found those articles to be of poor quality. Since there is no precise quantitative method to evaluate their quality, these articles are included in this study. However, we prompt readers to raise their attention when they decide to rely their information sourcing on material of such kind.

Included sources types (indicatively)

  • travel blogs
  • online publications articles
  • touristic information
  • racing blogs
  • extensive and verified comments from services rendered (e.g. a cycling trip)

Excluded sources:

  • facebook, instagram or other social media posts
  • Strava, Komoot and RWGPS published
  • GrCycling’s content or customers feedback – these are analysed separately.

Greece is a wonderfully safe country to cycle in!

Greece is a wonderfully safe country to cycle in! GrCycling’s study: the most objective approach

Achieving objectivity is probably the hardest thing in our times. However, a large sample of feedback, a wide differentiation on safety cultures, limiting the Greek biasness, and asking the same questions, all provide us with a great, strong foundation, which makes us feel confident to share responsibly the results with the world’s cycling community.

The information shared here is not collected by just one person or a small number of riders carrying a specific culture (e.g. Greeks). In order to keep to our content as unbiased as possible, we have adopted to the following methodology:

  • a large sample of riders: here belong all of our customers, both the ones who joined our tours or just hired a bike from us to explore on their own. They cover a wide spectrum of cycling profiles from casual, recreational cyclists to pro riders.
  • wide range of cultures: our customers come mainly from countries other than Greece. From the USA to Brazil, form European Countries to South Africa and from those crazy and beloved people from Australia & New Zealand. All share the same cycling culture, but at the same time the have definitely different safety expectations and standards.
  • Greek-point-of-view, limited: in this study / report we have taken account only a few credible opinions of Greek riders, who have either lived abroad or have participated in trips at popular cycling destinations out of Greece

The Characteristics of Safety this study examines

Through our questionnaire fulling process, we have categorized a specific set of questions to reflect the three following characteristics:

  • Road Conditions & Traffic
  • Drivers Behaviour
  • Personal Safety

The questions were asked to the subjects and using mobile phones our guides were registering their responses.

Results in detail

Converging results: In all of the three categories, our findings have a low degree of variance with the majority of answers to match the results descriptions as found below:

Road Conditions & Traffic: Very good roads with low traffic

The road conditions are in a very good shape. Only a few mountainous or remote back roads show a greater level of tarmac corrosion, which is still quite acceptable. Traffic conditions are generally very relaxed and with occasional traffic to occur mainly close to touristic areas or big cities. However, when travellers visit Greece during its off-season months and/or chose when to cycle during the day, dense traffic conditions are significantly minimised or completely avoided, even in the most adverse conditions. (e.g. during summer months cycling along the coast can be very busy especially during the weekends. This situation can be avoided by either cycling during the rest of the days – not weekends – or very early in the morning)

Drivers Behaviour: Polite / Extremely friendly

The average impression the cyclists had of the drivers operating their vehicles in close proximity to them, was extremely well. Cyclists reported many incidents that passing-by drivers were cheering for them while being very cautious when overtaking them, allowing a lot space between the vehicle and the cyclist. It is quite interesting that the majority of the cyclists felt safer cycling in Greece than in their countries. The same majority also made a special note of a complete absence of aggression from drivers towards cyclists.

Personal Safety: Extremely Safe

All answers collected on this subject were absolutely reassuring, with no traveller feeling any suspicion or danger for their personal safety and they reported no cases of assault or theft. All cyclists who have chosen Greece for their cycling vacations enjoyed an exciting sense of freedom and respect.

Safety while Cycling in Greece: Case Studies

Bad / Careless Drivers Occurrence

Even though the overall image cyclists formed about the drivers’ behaviour in Greece was quite positive, no one can exclude the sad existence of a careless driver. Unfortunately, possibly being part of human’s uneducated side, this phenomenon is encountered in every country where vehicles are used. Everywhere in the world we witness people texting and driving or changing lanes without indicating when that will happen.

This study is to report that drivers generally are not respecting the speed limits, especially when they are very low. The cases are mainly observed on, or close to, main roads, which should to be kept to the absolute minimum during the planning phase of a cycling trip. Note: no extreme incidents were reported during this study.

Stray Dogs – Need improvement

During the evaluation of the existing online content, we have read a small number of articles which include references of stray, aggressive dogs, which could potentially put the cyclist’s safety at risk. We confirm the existence of stray dogs, mainly at remote, mountainous regions. Even though, no stray dog attacks were reported during this study, we assume that some of them make be aggressive, especially when a riders cycles through a herd of sheep. As a comment, we strongly believe that the bloggers or riders participating to races, mentioning those incidents in their blogs / statements had a completely wrong idea of the dog’s behaviour (commonly an approach to play is perceived as an attack)

Cycling in Athens

The cycling experience in the City of Athens is not part of this report, since cycling in a metropolitan area is not part of any cycling tourism project. However, cycling on the suburbs (North and South) at a radius of 25 km away from the city’s centre, is an experience quite joyful and pleasant, which is included in this report. (example: comments about the traffic conditions from cyclists who were cycling on three-lane motorway are not included in our report)

What is safety while cycling?

Cycling is an activity, which, inevitably, is being carried out on the same road network other vehicles are using*. Based on that, answering the fundamental question “how safe is cycling on roads open to vehicle’s circulation?” is straightforward and definite. No, it is not safe and this applies to every country, where vehicles and bicycles share the same roads (bike lane infrastructure is included). The statistics covering this subject is well represented in the official report of the EU Road Safety Observatory

In this report we examine the “sense of safety” our customers / riders experienced during their cycling trips which based on their standards and what they have experienced while travelling for cycling. This is report offers an evidence supported study on what cyclists perceive as safe during their time in Greece, not a technical safety manual.

*MTBiking is not included in this report

Population in this study

  • 1568 cyclists of various levels and preference (excluding MTB bikers)
  • 1512 were GrCycling customers – either by renting a bike or being part of our trips (as per Dec 2020), the rest were individuals that our guides have crossed paths with during theirs trips in Greece
  • 15 of them were Greek and living in Greece
  • All were cycling during their vacations or for training – no commuters
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FAQ

Bike Rental Delivery at Athens Airport

Arrival gate for delivering you bike rental at Athens Airport

Rent your bike
booking.grcycling.com/airport

Can I have my bike rental delivered at the airport?

Yes! That is an exciting and straightforward service we have designed. You are welcome to use it start your cycling days by driving to your destination without entering the busy roads of Athens centre.

I have rented a car, can we meet there to collect my bike?

Renting a car upon your arrival, is the most common scenario. In that case, the only thing we would need

  • is your inbound flight
  • time of your scheduled arrival
  • the car rental company you will use

and we will meet you there.

Can I rent a rear bike rack?

In the case your rental car is not big, or there is no space to get the bike in the passenger’s cabin along with the rest of yours belongings, our staff can can provide you with a rear rack with straps. Using the rack you will be able to transfer the bike(s) at the back of the car, with no ability to easily open the trunk door (the bike is going to be placed there, that makes sense right? 🙂 )

We will the bike rack fit on my rental car?

Based on our experience, our bike racks normally work with those affordable series of rental cars. The key here is the rear door (trunk); it has to be framed with metal components, which will allow a safer attachment of the rack’s straps. Typically, in affordable series rental vehicles (small, city type) that is the norm and we expect no surprises with mounting the rack. However, and sadly enough, the only way for us to truly know if mounting the bike rack is possible or not, it going to be when we meet you at the airport. In the unlikely event that we fail to mount the rack, we will help you disassembling the bike and try to fit in the car. If the case all efforts fail, resulting in you not being able to enjoy your bike during your vacation time, there will be no charge for the bike rental, other that the amount of us getting to airport. (We will issue a full refund expert for the amount of €60)

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FAQ

How the delivery costs are being calculated? Is booking earlier better?

A van carrying rental bikes ready to deliver them everywhere.

A lot of cyclists ask us for more information on the delivery costs, since those can significantly impact the order’s total amount. Below, we share a few insights and examples for you to understand more how this works.

An overview of a sophisticated, complex system makes the pricing.

For years now we collect a lot of data for the locations cyclists prefer to rent a bike. At the same time we have modelled how our operations should work in order to ensure efficient occupations of our resources, increased bike availability and respect for the environment. All these parameters are constantly being calculated from our booking servers, aiming to find the optimal scenario for every request. Therefore, the moment you select your location and your desired bikes, this complex system checks the availability and once the bikes are available, it factors in where there are located, where were are our van and which is the most cost effective way to delivery to you.

Perhaps sharing a example would make things a bit easier.

Example 1: On 1st of May, one of our cycling vans is scheduled to travel from the city of Kalamata to Athens. At the same time a cyclist is looking for a bike in the region of Corinth for the next day, the 2nd on May. This bike happens to be located in Kalamata. In that case the delivery costs would only reflect the fees for storing the bikes at our Corinth Hub for one day, since Corinth imposes no deviation time to the scheduled van’s route from Kalamata to Athens.

Example 2: Additionally to the above, a cycling group, which resides at Kiato, a town 30 minutes of driving away from Corinth, requests for 4 bikes on the 2nd of May. The system checks the availability and finds out that the optimal scenario would be to allocate 2 bikes in Kalamata, which will be shipped with the cycling van used in the example 1, at no cost, and 2 bikes from our hub in Athens. Here, the costs are calculated based on storing 2 bikes in our Corinth hub, plus the intra-transfer for 2 bikes from Athens to Corinth and the employment service from Corinth to Kiato.

Complex scenarios: In the cases where a request has a more complex impact on our operational load, the software can also advise our operation team to spend the night at the place en route to our delivery destination.

Fun fact: for the wildest of cases, the software might recommend our ops teams to… camp. That really blows our mind!

The earlier the better, fair pricing for all any time.

Approximately 70% of our resources (bikes and cycling vans) are allocated at least 6 months before. That gives us a great opportunity to plan and offer you the best possible rates. Therefore, last minute bookings is possible to come with a premium, since the bikes availability is not elastic, mainly due to already confirmed bookings and fixed transportation van routes. We refrain from making last minute offers, since such practise increases the exposure of our delivery service to unforeseeable events (e.g. a bike is destroyed and finding a replacement for the bookings to follow might result a great cost for us), therefore we strongly recommend all cyclists to confirm their bikes the soonest they have their travelling plans confirmed.

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Blog

Rent your bike everywhere in Greece

Cyclists are cycling uphill and they smile, enjoying their bike rental

We are passionate about cycling, something that makes us quite excited to support you in any kind of cycling activity you are planning. Therefore we have created an exciting service to set absolutely no limits when you plan a cycling trip.

Athens, Peloponnese or Greek Islands?

There is no problem for us to deliver your bike anywhere. Through a complex network of partners and storage hubs scattered out through all Greece, we created a reliable and efficient service to ensure you get your bike in every town or region in Greece

Plan your trip with no restrictions: different start and finish locations

Currently our software, using advanced algorithms, predicts the availability and calculates how we should run the logistics so that you to get your rental bike from one place and drop it off at another. It also combines shipments and rental orders from other cyclists, who have rented their bikes in regions close to you, always ensuring the best possible offer.

The only thing our system would require is for you to select those two location. Leave all the rest to us.

Book your flights on different airports

Many cyclists take advantage of the huge discounts offered by the airlines early in the year. That may results flying in and out, not only to offer a great opportunity to connect the destinations where the airports are found, but only to come with a very attractive pricing. Some of those “exotic requests” we had the chance to work on was:

  • Thessaloniki to Athens
  • Athens to Kalamata
  • Athens to Mykonos or Rhodes
  • Ionannina to Kalamata

and many more.

So what are you waiting for? Browse through our routes, combine them in every way you want and plan the trip of your life. No compromises, no restrictions.

Note: Developing this project took us 2 years and a lot of feedback from the cycling communities from all around the worlds. We really hope that you like it 🙂

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Blog

A bicycle rental fleet for all needs

Fleet of rental road bikes

Cover every cycling request

GrCycling Project was created from people passionate about cycling. All of us are cyclists and we are thrilled riding our bikes. Whether your are cycling for fun exploring a place or achieving your fitness/training goals, one thing is for sure; We share the same culture. Over the years, that has proved the most valuable asset while building up our bike rental fleet.

Rent a bike for every purpose

Are you a road racer? Looking for an ebike to get all the way up to the mountain and setup a nice pic-nik? You are ready to combine cycling and family vacations or just you want to create your own touring adventure in Greece? How a about a little bit of gravel?

No matter your goal or need, we will make it happened. Currently our activities cover:

  • individual bike rentals
  • bikes for trips organised by us or others
  • events (charity, company, pre wedding!, others)
  • races

Building our fleet: a process that never ends

Selecting bikes for cover the most of the cycling needs out there, is not an easy task. If you think that just negotiating a large number of bikes from one particular manufacturer solves all the problems, we are sad to inform you that this is not the case.

Manufacturers normally plan their bike productions a couple of years ahead, introducing their new models and novelties in design and engineering. Their efforts to minimise the production’s exposure to any market risks (i.e. ending up having a lot of unsold bikes) resulted in them not being flexible to offer a number of 30 – 50 or more bikes for delivery within 6 to 9 months after placing the order. Yeah, that goes for all the manufacturers, even the most well known, fancy ones.

At the same, it is hard to collect the feedback from our customers on models that haven’t been on the market, for us to ensure byuing the ones the cycling communities like, or better, avoid procuring bikes that cyclists do not want. Yeah, cyclists have particular tastes when it comes to what they prefer (color, geometry etc), but all opinions converge when it comes to what the despise (e.g. cheap, non branded carbon wheels or not safe to use e-bike engines).

Therefore, year after year we buy a smaller number of bikes (typically 10 -20 bikes per type) to cover most of the sizes and the most of the needs. Also, we remain flexible when it comes to taking advantage of the momentum and add to our fleet some nicely built bikes.

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Blog

Job Vacancies

Cycling guide is happy and cheering on the bike

Hey all… we are hiring!

We are growing and we are extremely excited to welcome new members in our team. To apply, either fill in the online forms or just sent us an email with a few words about you along your CV at jobs@grcycling..com

Operations Specialist / Bike Guide

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals to cycle with our customers, ensure swift deliveries of our rental bikes and implement / run cycling tours and events throughout all Greece.

LEARN MORE & APPLY

Bike Mechanic

We are in need of a structured, self disciplined and task oriented individual to become our main bike mechanic and establish our workshop. We are looking for passion to perfection, curious minds, cheerful personalities and problem solving approaches. Are you joining?

LEARN MORE & APPLY

Videographer – Content Creator

We need to get our stories out! We have a lot of them. We need an absolutely passionate videographer, who would cripple in the shadows, film us, capture all the magic in what we do and deliver quality made material for our social networks. When not hidden in the shadows, this person would stage us to create a series of videos to promote a destination, an activity or anything else that matters in our project. This individual must be available to join our daily routine life and in our travels and act completely independent from our operations. The focus will always be capturing what we do.

LEARN MORE & APPLY

About GrCycling

This project was created 5 years ago when the founders decided to put Greece in the cycling map of the world. We love the Greek nature, the country’s unique culture and the truly marvelous roads. We have cycled everywhere in the world and we believe that Greece is the ultimate cycling destination. We actively run cycling tours and events throughout Greece and our vision is to offer professional services to each cyclist coming to Greece.

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Services

Bike Case / Box Storage

Bike Box GrCycling

Below you may find our pricelist for the most straight forward scenarios, along with a few key points

Send us an email bikebox@grcycling.com

Provide us with all the details of your plan during your time in Greece (dates, times, flights, itinerary) and we will respond within 48 hours

Storing your bike case, box or other personal belongings: FREE!

Yes, we have plenty of space and there is no need to require overheads or premiums from cyclists who want to do their planning and enjoy the best of cycling in Greece. Whether you are looking to store your bike case for a day, a month or more, there is no extra charge.

Collect & Deliver the bike box anywhere in Attica: €120 / bike case

Whether you stay at a hotel in the heart of Athens or at a remote villa close to the beach side, you just want us to collect your bike back from an airport, the cost is flat. No surprises, no hidden costs. We are pretty flexible with the times and we can support you all days of the week.
Out-of-office hours: extra charges may apply if you require us to collect and deliver your bike case very early in the morning or late in evening.

Bike assembly or bike packing: €50

Our mechanics will pack or unpack your bike and follow your instructions. That will save you time and keep your hands clean 🙂

Airport Shuttle for Riders

  • Rider + bike box to / from the airport: 120 euro / rider one way
  • Rider + bike box to / from the airport: 190 euro / rider two ways
  • Anywhere in Attica

Drop / collect the bike box at anywhere in Greece: €350 / bike case

This will enable you to drop off your bike case at one city (e.g. Athens) and collect it from another (e.g Thessaloniki). We have partners throughout all Greece that we can rely on to safely act as a short term storage solution until our logistical chain takes over.
Note: we may need to stick our partners’ open hours. (Athens is excluded)
Place we cover at the moment: Athens, Nafplio, Porto Heli, Kalamata, Leonidio, Andros, Tinos, Delphi Area, Navarino, Ioannina, Larisa, Trikala, Tripoli, Alexandroupoli, Heraklion, Chania. Please ask us in case your destination is not listed here.

Let us know in advance

All bike box storage / transfer requests must be previously confirmed. Due to our in advance logistics planning, we will not be able to accept storing your bike box by showing up in our warehouse.

Send us an email bikebox@grcycling.com

Provide us with all the details of your plan during your time in Greece (dates, times, flights, itinerary)

Safely store your bike box

As cyclists ourselves, we have designed this Bike Box service around three main aspects

  • reliability
    when something is confirmed, there will be no delays, no surprises, not missing things. We expect you and your cycling friends to make the most of your time in Greece, therefore we ensure to carry out all the logistics by 100% following your plan.
  • flexibility
    you can request for everything you might need. From just asking us some extra wrapping material or a special toolset, to delivering your bike boxes in every part of Greece, we got it covered. You plan your cycling days, let us to carry all the logistics load.
  • affordability
    the service is priced only for the resources needed to carry out the logistics, not for the space your bike box is taking up on our storage.

Flying into Greece with your bike

Our trips in almost every part of the world, has filled us with a lot of experiences. We had the chance to explore and ride on wonderful, stunning places. We feel grateful that the airline companies are constantly expanding their network, connecting more destinations and providing the cyclists with a plethora of options.

Flying into Greece is not an exception. The country’s thriving tourism industry demands more and frequent flights, which has resulted the number of the new direct connections between destinations to be constantly increasing.

Currently (Jan 19), Athens International Airport is under a major expansion with new terminals to be added soon. At the same time, a dozen of smaller airports located in the other parts of Greece (Ioannina, Akteo, Kastoria etc) are being modernized and soon they will be ready to accommodate a significant part of the inbound traffic. There is a tremendous promotional strategy already set in action, with airline companies and travel industry majors investing in new ways for travellers to discover greece.

Storing your bike box… always a pain

Thinking of our preparation period for an upcoming cycling holiday, we have to admit that in some cases the time we have spent trying to find a solution for the logistics related to the bike boxes, was… a lot. Shall the cycling plan becomes more adventurous (e.g. flying in/out from two different airports) that instantly means a logistic hassle and a risk of not having a 100% proof solution that will ensure not wasting any of the cycling time.

Our Ethics on Paying for a storage space

Applying the simplest set of reasoning and logic, we completely understand the every part of the productive chain of human activity, requires resources. We drive to the centre, we go there fast, and we park our car.

Over the years this convenience had become a norm and created a new perception on this matter. Now more people are reaching the “centre” by car. Consequently,, this convenience has a premium, since the available space is not enough. therefore, our example becomes: We drive to the centre, we go there fast, and if we are lucky we do not pay, otherwise we pay a fee to a parking lot.

Many years have passed and the situation had become even more practical. We drive to the centre, we go there not so fast anymore, and we take no chance to check if we are lucky, we just pay.

The revenues the parking lots businesses and all the related to that industry generate, are just the value our convenience when driving to the “centre”. But apparently, we are not driving only to the “centre”, but everywhere. Projecting that on a larger scale, while factoring in the insane amount of cars, available spaces, especially in the metropolitan areas, are getting extremely valuable. So much, that landowners now consider leaving those spaces as they are, as no investment can be quite profitable.

Space to park the cars, not space where people can enjoy

So, we set the following question? What this reality has to do with the essense of cycling? We leave the answer to yourselves. Our practices however, cannot support that. Space for bikes and their accessories are always going to be free if provide by us.

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Blog

It is spring time and cycling in Athens is truly a heaven

Cyclist on a road bike is cycling through the verdant fields

Despite all the restrictions and the lockdowns due to covid, nothing can stop the nature for sharing some of its perks this time of year.

March a wonderful month to cycle

The weather in Greece is friendly for cycling all year around. During mid to end of February, a couple of cold weeks signal what is next. SPRINGTIME! Today, March 10th 2021, is the first day that the temperature averages above 18c throughout the whole daylight. Therefore we could help it, we had to go cycling no matter what.

We chose to do a very relaxed and nice ride around the middle part of Attica.

Porto Rafti, Anavissos and Lagonisi
https://booking.grcycling.com/routes/21696

The smells and views of flowers captivated our spirits and feelings. We couldn’t stop looking at the verdant hill sides and breath it the smells from blossoming lemon trees.

We strongly recommend cyclists to visit Greece this time of year and join us on our daily rides. The mood is always cheerful with a generous dose of romanticism.

  • Road cyclist poses in front of the promenade in Athens
  • Road cyclist traversing green fields in Athens
  • Cyclists enjoy their time by the beach
  • Cyclist on a road bike is cycling through the verdant fields
Categories
Services

Bicycle Service Centre in Athens

Bike mechanic is repairing a mountain bike

Welcome to Athens’ prototype bicycle service and repair depot, part of the GrCycling family. The service is designed and being operated by a small team of professional mechanics and cycling enthusiasts. Our aim is to provide a reliable and quality bike service solution for all cyclists in Athens.

Call us at +30 2108675623
appointment only

Our Bike Repair / Maintenance Plans

We have designed four plans that aim to cover every need when it comes to your bicycle maintenance. All of them include us collecting your

Fast Track On-Site Service €40

Quickly index your bike’s gears, check the braking system and get a status update with no waiting time. One of our mechanics comes by your place and quickly inspects and repairs the bike. What we do here is:

  • on-site visit (appointment is imperative)
  • gear indexing
  • braking system inspection
  • inner tube replacement (puncture)
  • report a brief bike status overview

Frequency: anytime you want your bike to be ready for your upcoming rides

Bronze – €60

Get your bike to the best possible functional state. A series of crucial repairs and inspections will take place in our bike shop, where our mechanics have access to all tools needed. The gearing and braking system will work flawlessly and your bike will be thoroughly cleaned. Also you will receive a report on what needs to be replaced one the next time you service the bike. In detail, we do the following actions:

  • gear indexing
  • shifting cables replacement *
  • braking cables replacement*
  • brakes alignment
  • deep bike cleaning
  • chain lubing
  • general inspection (brakes, fluids, screws)
  • report or imperative future repairs
  • home collection and delivery

    *only if needed, no shifting/brake hose replacement

Frequency: max every 3 months to ensure your bike is in optimal condition

Silver – €100

That includes all of our Bronze Plan’s aspects plus a detailed approach when it comes to the drivetrain, the braking system and the wheel. We will replace all of your bike’s cables / hoses, its chain, bleed the fluids from the brakes and true the wheels. In particular, what we do is:

  • gear indexing
  • chain replacement & lubing
  • brakes alignment
  • hydraulic disk brakes service (Bleeding)
  • bottom bracket service
  • wheels truing
  • shifting cables / hose replacement
  • braking cables / hose replacement
  • deep bike cleaning
  • general inspection (brakes, fluids, screws)
  • report or imperative future repairs
  • home collection and delivery

Frequency: every 1 to 1.5 years (assuming a fair to medium use, up to 200km / week)

Gold – €190

Here, we completely disassemble your bike. We remove each single piece, bolt, plastic and meticulously inspect every part. We thoroughly clean and grease up all mechanical parts, while taking the opportunity to inspect smaller parts and how the frame looks from the inside, i.e. the fork bearing or the area around the bottom bracket. In details what we will do is:

  • gear indexing
  • chain replacement & lubing
  • brakes alignment
  • hydraulic disk brakes service (bleeding)
  • braking pads replacement
  • bottom bracket service
  • fork bearings service
  • wheels truing
  • free hub service
  • shifting cables / hose replacement
  • braking cables / hose replacement
  • thorough bike cleaning
  • general inspection (brakes, fluids, screws)
  • report or imperative future repairs
  • home collection and delivery

Frequency: every 1.5 years (assuming medium to heavy use or skipping interims maintenance)

Details related to your bike maintenance

Overpriced replacement parts: We will replace your parts with the industry’s standard ones, committing to great quality and effieciency. In case you want a particular replacement (e.g. a better chain, performance braking pads) please buy the spares in advance and give them to our personnel upon your bike’s collection. We will issue a refund for the part of the spares we didn’t use.

Regions we cover: Athens centre and suburbs.

Disclaimer: Your bicycle is a great piece of equipment, however, daily use, an accident or lack of maintenance may result in us to have your bike will be evaluated for condition and safety on arrival, and in rare cases, we may not do the service if the bike is not as described, or can’t be made safe in a cost effective manner.

Call us at +30 2108675623
appointment only

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Blog

GrCycling in Chile

Massive climbing cycling segment in Chile

GrCycling goes to the breath-taking country of Chile!

Well… due to the pandemic not right now, but our premium cycling kits have never stopped travelling 🙂

GrCycling Kits are being testes

Jose-Miguel just completed a 225km long ride and gained 4020m in elevation. It was a real pleasure for us to see the GrCycling colours to begin right at the sea level and finish at an altitude of 2850m. At the same time we feel proud that our gear provides all the comfort a cyclist needs during those long days on the saddle.

Los Antes to Portillo: A tough cycling route

The icing on the cake was the route’s last segment, the one from Los Antes to Portillo, which is basically a 60km climb, of constantly increasing grade and with more than 2200m of elevation gain (2020m of altitude difference – https://www.strava.com/segments/3040375). What was also noticeable is the drop in the temperature. At Los Antes they had 36C (oh yes… it is summer there now, cool euh?) and while finishing at Portillo is was 10C, even below the Greek winter temperature. Mind-blowing!

We were lucky enough to be Chile two years ago and cycle with the local riders there. We think we will do it again during winter 2021-2022. Anyone interested? (Yes, yes, yes!) Please send us an email at chile@grcycling.com and register your interest.

Thank you Jose-Miguel. We will see each other soon.

  • Massive climbing cycling segment in Chile
  • Group of cyclists during their cycling from Los Antes to Portillo
  • Group of cyclists finished at the top of Portillo
  • Group of road cyclists during their cycling from Los Antes to Portillo
  • Group of cyclists just before their ride
  • Lake at the top on Portillo while cycling in Chile
  • Snow resort at the top on Portillo while cycling in Chile
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Release Notes

Discover trips through locations

Screenshot of how cycling trips are related to a destination

Cycling trips redesigned

We have redesigned the way how the towns and cities are coded when a a cycling trip is designed and published. What has changed is that now you can discover cycling trips and events in the region or town your are looking to rent a bike or checking out for cycling routes our staff has uploaded.

Moreover, you can discover related trips or events that are happening in the same region as you, with the ones being closer to appear as more related and higher in the search results.

Example

Imagine that you are checking out some of the routes we have selected for you around the Nafplio. The scenic town of Nafplio is located at the prefecture of Argolis, which is part of the greater region of Peloponnese. The new layout will enable you to see various trips / events that primarily include Nafplio in their itineraries and then to browse through others that take place in the region of the Peloponnese.

Check out the url booking.grcycling.com/nafplio

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Blog

Archaeological site of Kolona

Achaeological Site of Kolones - Aegina Island

The archaeological site of Kolona is situated on a verdant slope close to the main harbour. Discoveries in the area prove an uninterrupted human activity from the bronze age since the Byzantine era. One of the most important findings are the remains of an ancient temple, built to honour God Apollo (dated approx 520-500 BC)

  • Achaeological Site of Kolones - Aegina Island
  • The Archaeological site of Kolones
  • Apollo temple, Kolones archaeological site Aegina
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Blog

Temple of Aphaia

Aphaia Temple, Aegina island

The archeological site of Aphaia, with the exceptionally preserved ancient temple, is situated on top of a pine-covered hill, in the northeastern part of Aegina. The temple, built during 500-490 BC, represents a brilliant example of late-Archaic architecture and is considered to have been the inspiration for the creators of Parthenon, Ictinus and Kallicrates. The site hosts a museum in which, every visitor can find interesting information on artefacts excavated in the area, as well as a complete model of the original temple.

  • Columns of Aphaia temple, Aegina
  • Aphaia Temple, Aegina island
  • Aphaia Temple, Aegina island
  • Aphaia Temple, Aegina island
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Blog

Agapi Village

Dove Cotes in Agapi Village - Tinos Island

The word “Agapi” means “Love” and the village is named after its trademark the Catholic church of St. Agapitos. One of the oldest villages in Tinos, Agapi is a traditional settlement with stone houses, narrow alleys and impressive archways.

It is built on the slopes of a hill, next to a verdurous gorge with a large number of dovecots scattered out on its river banks. The view when approaching the village is truly astonishing.

One of the less touristic settlements, Agapi is somewhat of a hidden gem, waiting to be discovered by those willing to explore Tinos beyond the obvious, well-known landmarks.

  • Dove Cotes in Agapi Village - Tinos Island
  • Dove Cotes in Agapi Village - Tinos Island