Bikes on Eurostar?

After PBP one of the Dutch guys just took wheels off and covered bike in cling film.

I think the whole "must be covered" thing is nonsense. Bikes are far easier to move out of the way when they're, you guessed it, in the shape of a fucking bike. Train companies need to sort their shit out.

The pedestrians of Paris who got bashed by my bagged bike or panniers as I struggled between stations would agree with you.
If only there was an easy way to transport something with wheels.
The chain would stay on the chainring as well instead of exposing something that would be banned by the Geneva Conventions.
This rig did help me push my way through the hundred strong religious procession carrying a giant cross.

Can train companies just ban MTBs? My road bike is always pristinely clean, no need for them to fuss about it :)

I'm not saying Eurostar is perfect but I presume that most of those complaining it are based in London because if you'd ever tried to arrange getting from oh, say, Glasgow to London by public transport with a bicycle in tow (to then get on the eurostar) you would really understand the definition of a cluster fuck.

The UK trains are fucked as well. To get from Glasgow to London we had to take separate trains because we couldn't find a time where 2 bike slots were available. Proceed both of us sitting on each of our trains watching an empty bike slot for the whole fucking journey. Which fuckwit created a system where someone can book out the entire day's bike slot? Also fuck those bike slots - half the bikes don't fit in them and god help anyone who isn't a powerlifter trying to hook those bikes on.

There should be mandatory guards vans that can hold 10+ bikes on every train on the planet.

Yeah, I started looking at going to watch Paris Roubaix months and months ago. The bit from London to Lille would have been a breeze, the Glasgow to London bit would have taken longer and been several times as expensive and that was with a Brompton, not a full size bike (which I realise makes the Eurostar bit a lot easier).

I was impressed with Avanti West Coast but they still only have two bike spots per train I think and it basically requires ringing up and going "your website sucks, do you have ANY trains going in this direction that we can get bikes on"

There should be mandatory guards vans that can hold 10+ bikes on every train on the planet.

Hippy for global transport minister

I'd fix this joint super fast but I'd be assassinated within weeks for fucking up too many people's profits...

Had a shit time getting the bromptons on the eurostar at St Panc this morning - they’ve removed all luggage trollies from the station! Last yr we just packed them up into dimpa bags, loaded up a trolley & rolled easily up to the door of the train, was ace. Today we had to bag up right at the start of the process & carry in hands (or try and bag it upside down & roll it whilst inside the bag, with the bag getting caught in the wheels & the rest of our luggage in hands). Was do-able for me (large size male) but really sucked for my partner (average size female). Need to rethink how we do this before we get the eurostar again!

I'm planning a short London to Paris in a few weeks (Newhaven - Dieppe). Then staying in Paris for 36 hours then getting the train back.

On the new scheme it seems like there's alot of risk on getting the train time and bike booking to line up - having to do one then the other. It also seems like I have to find a bike box too.

Is this correct? And if so is there an easier way to get my bike back to the UK?

Thanks

Alternative option is:
Train: Paris to Calais
Ferry (1.5 hrs): Calais to Dover

Wouldn’t say it’s “easier” though…

Its very easy on the london newhaven dieppe paris journey, if a bit lengthy depending on the ferry times you chose.
No bike box, just rock up and attach on the ferry. The paris -dieppe - paris train journey can also be without bike booking as they are regional trains : paris -rouen and rouen - dieppe and vice versa.

Ah good to know, thanks. I'll explore those options

on the way out there is a 11pm night ferry which i usually take. on the return there is a 5pm one that arrives at 10pm in newhaven, just in time for late trains from brighton. depends if you want to ride the london-newhaven or dieppe-paris stretches.

Yep, ferry-train-ferry looks like the best option.

https://thighs.blog/getting-your-bike-across-the-channel/

This article outlines it well and it looks like booking isn't essential.

Thought I was getting a TER, turns out that TER trains with 4 numbers are TGV. No bikes allowed. But they let me on, as long as I took the wheels off and only sat in the bar. I like french trains

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"Hey can you please make you bike much harder to move around so it's really difficult to get it out of the way of other passengers if needed, thanks"

Every train company

I know, it’s stupid, but I was very happy that they let me on and I didn’t have to get a different train and buy a new ticket. I once went on a train in Germany and it was a double decker and the lower level was just bike racks and had space for about 30 bikes. I may have dreamed this though as it was a long time ago.

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/fahrradfrust-in-vollen-zugen-5165569.html

Yeah, German trains are rad (see what I did there?)

Some of the NL trains are pretty good too with big bike areas.

Everyone else on the planet needs to pull a finger out!

Eurostar whinge.
I wanted to take the train to Amsterdam, so I can ride from there to a conference I'm attending. Website says no bikes to Amsterdam, but Brussels is cool. Alright, adds a 100k of riding, but should be fine.

I book the ticket and email for a bike reservation (as instructed). I email again twice (and using a different address) because I'm not hearing back within a week. I get a response today saying only Some trains carry bikes, and the fee to carry one is £45. Rebooking difference was £63. So that's £100 extra.
Their avg response time is 7-10 days, which means I'll only get a chance to pay for a booking in a week, and then Hopefully I'll manage to get a spot. There's room for 4 bikes on the whole train, ffs.

I think this info isn't online anywhere so I'll copy what I know from the email. Mind that this might go out of date at some point. Hopefully it prevents someone getting burned:

...
In the meantime, please note that bike and luggage booking service on Eurostar is available between London St Pancras, Brussels Midi and Paris Gare du Nord on certain trains. We are afraid to say that bike and luggage booking service is not available at any other routes. To comply with the travel and customs regulations, bikes and luggage can only be booked and loaded on the same train the passengers are booked to travel on The trains that we service are:

London to Paris: 9008, 9010, 9014, 9018, 9022, 9060, 9024, 9028, 9032, 9036
(Any train departing London between 08:01 and 15:31)

Paris to London: 9023, 9027, 9031, 9033, 9037, 9039, 9043, 9047, 9051
(Any train departing Paris between 11:13 and 18:13)

London to Brussels:
9116: 09:01 departure
9132: 13:01 departure
9142: 15:04 departure

Brussels to London:
9117: 08:52 departure
9135: 12:52 departure
9141: 14:52 departure
9153: 17:56 departure

The fee for bike booking service is:

Bike booking
48 hours in advance
£45 per bike each way
Bike booking
Less than 48 hours in advance
£60 per bike each way

Have you looked at seat61? It really has all the info.

Travelling across multiple countries with bikes really seems to fuck with their systems and you almost always have to call.

Just this week I've called Deutsche Bahn (international) on three separate days and been on hold for over 100 minutes to get a bike from Berlin to Amsterdam. And I have to catch a train at 5:10 too :(

Make your friends in Berlin go to the Bhf. Zoo.