Bikes and Trains - Bag?

cyclingpunk
cyclingpunk Posts: 368
edited January 2009 in Tour & expedition
Hi, I want to do a smallish tour this year. My plan is to take my bike on trains and then work my way back home from my destination. Question is do I just take my bike on the trains as is or should I consider a bike bag?
My Madone: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... highlight=

Comments

  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    I'm not sure what benefits you're expecting a bike bag to confer. You push your bike onto the train, watch the world go by and then collect and push your bike off at the other end.

    Easy peasy, except getting your bike on a rush hour train isn't something I'd rely on. Probably best reading the bikes-on-train rules for the service you're planning on using, but I'm pretty sure bike bags don't make any difference to train companies' views of your bike.
  • ColinJ
    ColinJ Posts: 2,218
    I can't see the advantage of the bike bag either. They are quite heavy to have to cart around on a tour. I suppose that you could post it home, but I can't see the point of using one in the first place..

    If you are going to use mainline trains (Virgin etc.) you have to book your bike in advance. There are only a small number of places per train (2 or 3) and there just isn't any spare space apart from the bike compartment.

    I travel between Leeds or Manchester and the midlands about 7 or 8 times a year and there often isn't even enough room for hand luggage (or passengers - sorry, customers!), let alone bikes.

    I've taken my bike on small regional 'sprinter' trains a few times and I didn't have a problem, even when the bike compartments were full. It would be a different matter at peak times though.

    If you knew someone who could take delivery of the bike at the far end, you could post your bike there for about £10 in a cardboard bike box from your local bike shop. That's what I did when I went to Cornwall last summer because the bike compartments on the trains were already booked when I bought my tickets. I used Parcel2Go for that.
  • andymiller
    andymiller Posts: 2,856
    I can't see the advantage of a bag - at least within the UK. Travel outside rush hours. Check the cycle policy for the trains you want to take via the national rail enquiries website.

    It's only rally the Virgin Pendolinos and Cross country trains that present any real problem.

    If you do decide to get a bag, then I'd highly recommend the Ground Effect Tardis - when you arrive you can just fold it up and either carry it or pop it in the post.
    Italy Cycling Guide

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