Bike Transport Bags

birdie23

Hi all,

I'm going to be taking my Cube Agree up to my parents for a week and need to take it on a train. I don't want the hassle of trying to book one of the limited cycle spaces available and since on the way there I'm being driven part of the way I thought it would make more sense to use a bag.

Can anyone recommend the best option to keep my bike protected?

I have a budget of about £100 to buy or hire.

Thanks

cougie

Bike bags are a pain in the ass. Your bike may be light but in a bag it feels heavy and cumbersome. Much easier to keep it as a bike I reckon.

If you still want a bag - you don't need much more than a basic one. CRC do decent ones.

TommyEss

Seriously - try booking a cycle space - it's no hassle. Either go down to the station in person, or phone up - "Hello, I'd like to make a bike reservation on the XX:YY from Blah to Blah-Blah" - No problems sir, here's your reservation.

That's how my chat went last week before a week of rush hour trips into London, so doubt yours will be as tricky.

And yeah, bags are a pain, they take away the two things that make your bike easy to move around - the wheels!

birdie23

My concern is more with the car leg of the journey. A bike makes it much easier to fit in the car!

Also I have seat reservations in first class on the return journey and you're not allowed to lock your bike in the cycle spaces... A lot of money to leave unattended!

TommyEss

A bike in a bag is much bulkier than it is when you just take the wheels off, so in terms of getting it into the car, it'll be worse than with no bag - trust me - I've tried!

As for bikes on trains, yeah, that is a bit of a risk, and it depends how far you're going. On Cross Country I threw a little café stop lock round the front wheel and frame whilst hanging up - it's not locked to the train, but it makes it a little trickier to roll away at a station.

Again, like the car - if you think a bike in a bike bag is going to fit in the luggage space on a train, then I'd suggest you think again.

When I travel with my bike, it's big rucksack and the bike - no bike bags, no wheely cases - you've got both hands free to get the bike on and off, without faffing with a wheely case as well as the bike.

I'm sure you'll be fine, but I'd really strongly consider just taking the bike as is. I think you're making more work for yourself by putting it into a bike bag.

cougie

+1

A bike with the wheels off will fit in the boot of most saloon cars with the seats up.
Put it in a bag and you'd need to fold the seats down to get it in.

birdie23

I'm not taking it on the train without a bag. I don't want to be faffing taking wheels off in public as I move from the train to the car, especially as the car will then be parked up whilst I go on the football. It's a big boot and unless the bag is larger than its stated dimensions - it will fit without taking seats down etc. Also as the journey back is 3 and a half hours, with me in first class, I'm really not comfortable leaving my £1000+ bike elsewhere on the train, unattended and unsecured.

Can anyone give advice on bike transport bags?

chorlton chimp

Hi Birdie,

I recently bought Edinburgh Cycle co-op own brand bag for a car trip to the south of france. My Megane hatchback isn't easy to fit a carrier too and as we were doing 1000+ miles and may have needed to overnight en-route I didn't want to leave my steed on display in the back of the car.

The bag performed fine although I will echo everyone's comments about it not being too easy to manhandle. It's also a bit of a pain removing pedals, turning stem and rotating bars but nothing you can't do with a multi-tool and pedal spanner. It's also spacious enough to take shoes, 3 lots of kit, 2 x bidons and a helmet.

RRP was a £100 I think but I bought it for £85 in the sale. Unless you get a hard shell all soft bags seem much the same (I did a fair amount of research) and are of a similar price. Mine comes with wheel bags and tool roll. IIRC Wiggle do a dhb in the sub £100 bracket as do Leisure lakes. See if you can get your LBS to give you a front fork spacer as it keeps your drop-outs safe(er) in case you drop it.

birdie23

Thanks chorlton, I'll have a look on Wiggle and Leisure lakes. I've had a browse and was kind of coming to the conclusion that there doesn't seem to be much between them! Will definitely get a spacer, there's already something with my front fork that's making me a little concerned so I don't want anything to make me more paranoid of the carbon giving way!

TommyEss

If you do go the bag route, be aware the DHB one is absolutely huge and very cumbersome - I managed to get two bikes in it to Oz, but none of the pics on the website let on to quite how big it is - taller and longer than you need by a good foot in both directions! (that's probably got a lot to do with why I seem so against using a bag - it's not the whole story, but still...)

birdie23

Tommy - I am dead against not using a bag, I appreciate your input and experience but there's a point where you need to stop flogging a dead horse!

cougie

I just can't see how you'll fit the bike bag into your carriage.

Bung it in the guards van (you'll probably have to anyway with the bike bag) and swap your reservation in first class for a seat in the carriage nearest to your bike.

TommyEss

I understand Birdie, but with respect you're brand new on the forum, you've asked a question, and a number of different people are all telling you the same thing. It's completely you're prerogative to ignore it, but you can't moan just because you didn't like the advice offered. The whole point of a forum like this is you get a lot of people's experience in one place. Often you get a good varied response - lots of people have differing opinions on many many topics - but here, everyone has said the same thing. Here you've got a mix of people who have travelled with bike bags and travelled with bikes on trains, but never mixed the two.

I appreciate your concerns about theft, but as I've said, I've never heard of it and never experienced it myself. That's not to say it isn't possible, I'm just not sure it's as big a risk as you think. You seem to have missed my advice about locking the front wheel to the frame as a half-way house. It will at least stop people just lifting the bike off and wheeling it along the platform - and to be honest, opportunists are the biggest risk on this type of journey.

If you're travelling in a big intercity (which I think you might be on that line) then you get the guard's van with racking for 6 bikes. They don't carry anything other than regular two wheelers in that carriage - no trikes, no tandems, no pushchairs and no baggage.

And if you've been on a train on the weekend lately, you'll see that luggage racks are getting smaller, they're always full of suitcases, and I've never seen one that would fit a full-size bike with its wheels off, in or out of a bag.

So as I say, you're free to ignore the collective wisdom and experiences of a number of friendly strangers by all means, but it does rather defeat the point of a forum.

I'm not looking forward to your tale of woe when the guard takes one look at your massive bike bag and just shakes his head. Trains have baggage restrictions too.

Right - now to put the horse on to braise - lovely and tender now.

birdie23

cougie - if you've ever travelled first class on a Sunday you'll know that the carriage is empty, somewhere to put the bag shouldn't be difficult. First class has bigger luggage areas too.

Trains don't have guard vans anymore!

birdie23

tommy - respectfully, I asked for advice on bike transport bags - not alternatives, not what how you think I should travel.

Being new to a forum doesn't make me new to being a human being. I've come to a decision and thought that I would then ask to see if anyone had any experiences with certain bags which would mean they would recommend them. I didn't think "oh I'll post a specific question and hope someone tries to railroad me into doing something completely against what I have decided on."

East Midlands Trains have space for 2 bikes, first come, first served. I HAVE researched this beforehand.

styxd

I've taken my bike on a plane using a Planet X padded bag, I think its rather similar to the one chainreactioncycles sell. Worked ok, theres plenty of pockets inside to stash all the parts you have to take off (cranks/seatpost/rear mech/chain etc.) although removing these for the train may not be necessary.

Antoher option would be a hardcase, have a look, one of the German shops was selling them cheap. I think it may have been bike-discount.de or actionsports.de. Worth checking out anyway.

birdie23

Thanks styxd, I'll check that out

cougie

East midlands also say that large items such as surf boards and large musical instruments can't be carried. Your bike bag is verging on that territory.

If its a Sunday watch out for rail replacement buses. They often catch me out with that and even first class passengers have to use them.

birdie23

Just an update - after PMing Tommy and speaking to East Midlands Trains. I've booked cycle spaces on all my journeys. I'm going to have a cycle bag delivered to my parents and when my dad meets me at Derby I'll bag my bike up for the car ride. Best of both worlds I think.

Tom Dean

birdie23 wrote:

I'll bag my bike up for the car ride. Best of both worlds I think.

What's the point? If you want to take of the seatpost etc and fit it in the boot with the seats up why do you need the bag?

cougie

What's the car ?

Some car boots you'll need both wheels off - some you can get away with leaving the rear on.

I'd not bother with the bag - if you need protection in the car - just put an old sheet/duvet cover down - or over the top of the bike if you're stopping off anywhere.

birdie23

Car is because it'll be left for a few hours. Also when we then leave they'll be a photographers gear in the back too.

Had a word with mum though and she has some blankets she can stick in the car to cover it with to stop it getting knocked. Guess I'll go bagless completely!