Bikes on Eurostar?

No, I don't know about the Eurostar.

However, there is a "normal" train that goes from St Pancras to Ashford International in just under 40 minutes, and you can take bikes on that...

PSA: the card machine at the Paris drop-off point for bikes on eurostar was broken this morning, so cash only.

They still charge an outrageous fee for a complete bike but that isn't new.

Going to Berlin via Brussels on Saturday. Anybody know whether Eurostar security might have a problem with components in my luggage? They've listed "dangerous sporting equipment" on their restricted items list, but obviously that doesn't explicitly cover spiky chainsets and bottom bracket tools.

I think you’ll be fine, I’ve had tools and spares in my bag without a problem (most recently a cassette, cassette socket, chain whip and spanner a few weeks ago).

Great, just what I wanted to hear, thanks!

Eurodispatch is closed on the Eurostar For the foreseeable. So no bike transport. Period.

Passing on the good news.

Balls. Is there a link for the source for this? I was hoping to head over/back in August.....

I presume bagging up a bike and carrying as luggage would still be OK, as a last resort. Might have to do that.

So, no Eurostar and no ferry.

Thank fuck for Brexit removing free movement to Europe anyway! Phew!

Says so here: https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/luggage/luggage-services

If you pack up your bike it will have to be 85x85cm max (see https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/luggage/luggage-allowances).

Ferry's okay though, I went to Lille last weekend via Dover & Dunkirk.

Nah, Brittany Ferry. Those tossers stopped taking bikes.

:facepalm:

So my corrected statement is that P&O and DFDS ferries are okay :-)

Yeah, balls indeed. thanks for the link.

I've done the bike-bagging before, riding through France, and buying a cheap bag from Decathlon to just walk onto the Eurostar with carry on. Worked well from Avignon as they don't take bikes on board for that stretch anyway (or didn't at the time, at least). So still an option.

Yeah no foot passengers and no bikes. Which doesn't make much sense unless people are required to stay in their cars.

If you end up doing that I'd be interested in hearing about how it went down. The 85cm rule seems really draconian to me.

Really?!

Where has that rule even come from? Do they want luggage to socially distance itself from other luggage, too?

I’ve never understood the Byzantine Eurostar bike rules at the best of times.

Honestly I’m perfectly capable of placing my bike on a hook in the luggage compartment. They could even watch me do it socially distanced to make sure it’s done properly.

https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/brittany-bans-bikes-whats-story

I emailed Eurostar to ask about bikes, they said that the EuroDespatch office is closed so no bikes can be registered; I emailed EuroDespatch and they confirmed that they were closed and no date for re-opening. Pretty rubbish.

I was on the eurostar a few days ago. Believe it or not there was actually someone carrying a bike in the carriage. By the looks of it a Tokyobike with just the front wheel removed, so the forks and head tube were sticking out of the (perhaps 85cm?) medium-sized bag he was using. It looked like a bit of a struggle, but he got on the train and off the other side. So maybe you just need to be nice to the guards.

The audacity. Tokyobikes are the ones with smaller wheels, right? All the bike bags I'm looking at come in at at least 120cm in length, and that's removing both wheels.

So I have a Brompton and I will take it on the Eurostar on Wednesday. Do I need to wrap it in anything?

if you care about it, audax lock yeah? IKEA Dimpa folds up flat.

Ah, it wouldn't cross my mind to lock my luggage/bike in a train. Then again it is obvious what it is and easy to walk away with it so I suppose I could do that. I don't think I've got time for a trip to IKEA so would sew something together quickly if I had to wrap it.