Vienna is relatively bicycle-friendly - that is, when you have previously lived in a city like Oslo, full of steep hills and completely void of real bike roads (not to mention St. Petersburg, where conditions for bicyclists in the fierce traffic equals the conditions for sheep in a wolves' lair). Viennese roads, or at least some of them, have a carefully invented and painstakingly marked-up bike road system. This is good of course, but it also carries an obligation - as a bicyclist, you are at risk of being fined for cycling on the pavement or the zebra crossing, whereas mingling in the road with the cars might get you killed. As identlity searching always seems to be a difficult thing for a cyclist, one here seems to be more in the vehicle category than in the pedestrian one.Finding used bikes is not too hard, as the trade seems to be popular in the city. Bike shops and fleamarkets sell used racing bikes and mountain bikes of 1990s vintage for prices circling around 100 Euros. For the more aestethically oriented, however, the search for a decent ride can be more complicated, and a little bit of Austrian bicycle history was needed in order to find the hidden two-wheel treasures called Waffenrad.
Litterally translating as "Weapon-wheel" or "Weapon-bike", Waffenrad is actually a word describing every ancient, black and heavy bicycle, but in particular the name refers to bicycles produced by the Austrian weapons factory located in the city of Steyr from the beginning of the 20th Century until the 1980s. Waffenräder are still a common sight in the streets of Vienna, along with Puch, a more modern variant from the same factory. Most of them, however, are in a poor condition.
Luckily, there are people in the world who care to keep tradition and beauty alive. A Viennese gentleman named Alfred Dittler works with restoring, rebuilding and maintaining old collector's item bikes, and seems to be concentrating mainly on the Waffenrad. Living and working in suburban Vienna, Dittler sells his bikes for prices up to 1000 Euros, and every bike seems to be a piece of art, containing as many pieces as possible and complemented with self-made parts. Taking a walk in Dittler's messy yard, you'll see up to a hundred bikes standing in line, every one of them different and unique. The most expensive ones are kept inside, and some of them are presented on this page.
Being a keen vintage bike fan, I ventured out to Dittler's house to find him in his yard, surrounded by friends and smoking self-made cigarettes. Not being able to pay 500-1000 Euros for a bicycle at the moment, I explained that I need a bike that is primarily a means of transportation, and only secondarily a piece of pleasure to the eye.
I was presented for the Forever bike, and somewhat wryly told that I could have it for 90 Euros. Why, to me it looked just as beautiful as the shiny, refurbished Waffenräder, only a tad more worn down. Black and heavy as a siege cannon, it has golden letters on its frames saying "The Forever bike - made in Shanghai". After a test-run in the neighbourhood, I fell in love with the Forever and gave Dittler 100 Euros - for which he sent with me a tool kit that has come in handy at several occations.
As it turns out, the Forever company of Shanghai was founded in 1940, and has been producing "healthy and environmentally sound products such as traditional bicycle, mountain bike, folding bicycle, children bike, electric bicycle and their related parts" (quote from their home page). As I have been told by the two mechanics who have undertaken repairs on my bike since I bought it tree weeks ago, the quality of the steel used in manufacturing this bike is poor, compared with the sturdy Steyr. Notwithstanding loose pedals and strange noises from the front wheel, it is a comfortable and maneuvrable thing, and the remarkable vintage design attracts much attention. As one of the mechanics said, - It's a bit like riding an old Trabant: You have to make some sacrifices in order to enjoy the feeling of it.
