Bikes on trains in the UK

lol

+1

ROFL

(rolling on the floor is also about as far as you'll get with GWR and a cargo bike)

o rly? i know their racks are shit but if i reserve a space and cite ignorance? “oh i didnt know they were vertical racks” .. journey is off peak, only 1.5hrs

fwiw, went on a GWR a month or two back, my tourer just barely fit in the vertical rack, someone else with a gravel bike that was never gonna fit the rack just had it on the floor sticking out into the corridor a bit & the guard didn’t bother him. my general feeling is that trainguards are a bit less dicks atm than in the past, but maybe it just depends who you get on the day…

really hoping for this !

Not taken a cargo bike but travelled with bike many times on GWR (london-bristol). I can imagine it's possible the guards won't notice/ care that it's a cargo bike when you pass through the gates at Paddington. The issue is more likely to be the extremely limited space once you get inside the train, e.g. whether there's space for people to get past, and the attendant fallout from that.

And also, I kinda think it's a dick move.

It's obviously not really the kind of bike intended for train travel. And it will almost definitely inconvenience someone else.

I'd try to find rules for tandems and follow those, perhaps?

The vibe of this trip is 'collecting a bike from a place I dont think I will ever go to' one off and not 'doing king alfreds way on a cargo bike, like share subscribe'. Journey time is as off peak as it gets.

You buying a cargo bike and training it back, or riding a cargo bike + train to collect another bike?

Just buy a ‘rover

You buying a cargo bike and training it back

this

I'd do a bit of sleuthing to work out the train type and bike storage areas then make a call. If it's off-off peak I reckon it's fine for a one-off.

That said you might want to have a backup incase the station staff are no - maybe just riding to the next station

gloucester > paddington; does anyone know?

Likely a GWR "fast train" i.e. vertical storage and little to no space. See if you can do the journey on local stopper services, they have a lot more room but will take a lot longer

There are direct trains that are most likely hitachis which means reservations and the vertical rack

But you could do Gloucester-temple meads- Westbury -Waterloo, those might be the sprinter trains with loads of bike space…but they stop everywhere get cancelled more often than an edgy stand up and it would mean a lot of changes

send thoughts and prayers!

Ride it back!

HTFU.

Shit, I'll ride it back. Can I ride it back?

Perfect solution.

Only data point I can offer is getting train back from Moreton-in-Marsh, tiddly station in Cotswolds last year after a solstice ride.

Travelled super off peak at like mid-day on a Weds. Had carbon wheels so wasn't mega enthused about hanging bike up. Guard decided to make a real song and dance about it on the largely empty train, insisted on making me hang it up despite someone's wide-barred MTB already taking up 90% of the space in the little bike cupboard.

Friends on another train behind said no issues like this whatsoever.

tl;dr: your life is in the hands of the particular guard on the train you're on. If you're in no rush, plead ignorance and wait for the one behind?

when I went to gloucester, it looked like this

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gloucester->temple meads is an interesting idea, this is temple meads->cardiff but I think it's the same type of train - more space, but maybe if you don't fit in the space then it might be worse. also, getting 4 trains means 4 times the opportunity for a train guard that's a stickler for the rules.

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just had a look at the storage space on train it looks like the 1st pic you posted ..

bristol trains are fucked today due to flooding

tempted to just hire a van and drive back

UK trains doing their level (crossing) best to boost the car industry.

tempted to just hire a van and drive back

Sadly, that is probably the easiest solution.

hmm if you are saying this i may just take that option

#wisdom

Surely the best answer is to find 4 forum types to 'pass the bike' down the line, have some sort of charity bike page and hope Jake Humphries is on one of the trains to get extra coverage...

I'll happily do the last section from w to central London, but I'm not talking to Jake, under any circumstances.