Bikes on Eurostar?

This is a useful thread. Thanks all.

I'm not surprise it costs £20 each way to store a bike. It may or may not be extortion on their (Eurostar's) part, but compared to the prices of other stuff related to travel it seems pretty reasonable. Better though to just take the wheels off and save forty sheets.

My question is this: if I'm taking a fully-loaded touring bike (with, as a side note, mudguards that are a right fucking hassle to remove), should I just drop the dollar? What's the storage provision like in the area around/above the seating? If I was travelling light I'd whip the wheels off and slip it up top, but as it is I can tell I'm gonna have to spread myself about. I have travelled on the Eurostar before but didn't take notes.

Cheers.

Girlfriend got on the Eurostar with 2 pound shop bags on each end of the bike with her two locks holing it all together this morning...no problems coming to London or getting back.

I almost got a kettling and a cavity search when I tried that.

She must have a nice smile.

This is a useful thread. Thanks all.

I'm not surprise it costs £20 each way to store a bike. It may or may not be extortion on their (Eurostar's) part, but compared to the prices of other stuff related to travel it seems pretty reasonable. Better though to just take the wheels off and save forty sheets.

My question is this: if I'm taking a fully-loaded touring bike (with, as a side note, mudguards that are a right fucking hassle to remove), should I just drop the dollar? What's the storage provision like in the area around/above the seating? If I was travelling light I'd whip the wheels off and slip it up top, but as it is I can tell I'm gonna have to spread myself about. I have travelled on the Eurostar before but didn't take notes.

Cheers.

I did it the cheap way when doing some budget touring with a mate. I took the wheels off, put it in a bag and took it into the regular carriages with regular luggage.

My bag split (I should have taken the pedals off but didn't) – the staff freaked out (they could see bicycle!). It could have gone better tbh. If you pay £20 they might not treat you like scum.

We were light-touring (just a massive Carradice saddlepack with mat etc strapped to it). I will pay next time if I'm carrying any luggage. Just for the convenience of not having to carry the bike bag and luggage off the train, and the fact I wouldn't have to take a bike bag touring with me.

The new price is £30 each way....bags are the much better option.

The UK end always want my Brompton bagged. I normally unfold whilst inthe waiting area and whell to the carriage (sometime they are miles away and I can't see the point of carrying when you can wheel. Coming back (from Brussels or Paris) they are not that botherede about puttingthe bike through the e-ray (especially Brussels where a security guard stopped me from folding it and just wheeled it through.

Off to Perpignan London to Paris TGv to Perpigan going out and Perpignan to Lille and then London coming back. Brompton going to - just short of £120.

BTW From Paris you can get a non TGV to Boulogne and Calais and ferry back to the UK - almost the longest part of that journey is Dover to London (unless you fancy riding) unless you use the fast trains (which apparently take bikes). A few years ago a few of us trained to Newhaven, ferry to Dieppe, rode to Paris to catch the final stage of le Tour and back via Boulogne/Dover etc. good trip.

Are you allowed to put the bike unassembled into a bike bag and put it in the luggage area/rack for no extra fee?

Yes.

just shove it in a bike bag, really easy if you have quick release wheels, take pedals off [easy]. Job done. No £20, just pay for a bike bag, and you can use it for future tours.

Thats sweet! no extra fee

After a very long ride (475 miles), taking apart my bike and packing it before checking in and reassembling it upon arrival would have been the last thing I wanted to do, so I happily paid £30 recently to go from St Pancras to Bruxelles Midi. Best £30 I spent in ages.

Under a different circumstance, I would pack it up, but this time it made more sense to me to just pay for the convenience.

Sorry to drag up an old thread but just wondering if anyone had done this recently and if it is still the case (i.e. that you can just pack your bike, wheels and pedals off, in regular luggage).

I'm planning on riding to Germany whilst the Olympics is on and just wondered if this was possible. Also if anyone knows whether tighter security for the Olympics might make any difference...?

You should be able to do this. There's also another way--it's pretty cheap by Eurotunnel, if you fancy riding the UK leg to Folkestone, too.

http://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/traveller-info/vehicles/bicycles/

Nice info Oliver, that looks a bargain.

I have tried my luck with various systems and they are all subject to the staff involved rather than company policy.

for the paris roubaix this year we decided to load up the pannies and do it in reverse over the weekend of the race. that involved taking the bikes in modified bed sheets.

the st pan to brussels was easy and they even helped us with the bikes. however coming from paris to st pan was just a nightmare of resistance. we ended up paying the carriage fee reluctantly.

luckily the company operates in england and therefore is subject to the fsa regulations. as such we were entitled to a refund due to them breaking their own terms of carriage. it took a fair few emails but in the end they had to admit fault and compensate.

i wouldn't advise home made bags in france unless you speak french because you are a lot less likely to be admitted.

last year me a mate cycled the french riviera and used the eurostar / tgv. makeshift bags got us a long conversation with the french transport police and a 150 euro fine. i must say that in this case it was just the french being difficult.

on a similar trip with the same method we progressed with no resistance at all.

if you want an easy life get a proper bag, if you want to take a risk i found that an afternoon with an old bed sheet and sewing kit makes for an effective bag

Eurostar has changed it's bike policy - now they only let folding bikes on board, not full size ones in bike bags like they used to. You can send your bike as baggage, £30 a pop to be on your train, £25 for going on a train within 24hours.

Still almost doubles the price of a cheap ticket and pricey compared to €10 on a TGV in France.

Sad news from someone who regularly used to take a bagged bike on the Eurostar

http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/at_the_station/bicycles.jsp

Booo.

Here's their policy pdf.

That is a bit of a blow...

I usually travel with my bike with the wheels removed and put to the side, saddle down and handlebars turned then wrap the lot in industrial cling film and use a shoulder strap to carry it.

£25 each way is steep for a bike that has been neatly packed and still fits on the luggage racks.

Right.. time to slag them off on twitter..

Oh God. I just had to call up "Espirit Europe" to book my bike on the train to Belgium for RVV (they're on 0844 822 5822 btw).

Spent half an hour trying to sort it out. I'm still not sure my bike will ever make it there.

^ I did that when returning from cycling abroad. It was very odd, handing my bike over to a man in a small office (nowhere near the train).

It did actually make it back to the UK though!!

I traveled to Paris last weekend with my bike, took the wheels off and put the whole lot in a laundry bag on the luggage racks. Absolutely fine both ways.

Is there a limit on the size of "conventional" luggage?

^ I did that when returning from cycling abroad. It was very odd, handing my bike over to a man in a small office (nowhere near the train).

It did actually make it back to the UK though!!

Yep, I know exactly what you mean, I made them promise to be gentle.. Thankfully they were. Was a bit gutted to have to pay an extra 30 quid each though.

Eurostar has changed it's bike policy - now they only let folding bikes on board, not full size ones in bike bags like they used to. You can send your bike as baggage, £30 a pop to be on your train, £25 for going on a train within 24hours.

Sad news from someone who regularly used to take a bagged bike on the Eurostar

http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/at_the_station/bicycles.jsp

I traveled to Paris last weekend with my bike, took the wheels off and put the whole lot in a laundry bag on the luggage racks. Absolutely fine both ways.

I went to Brussels on Saturday and at St Pancras there were signs saying bikes in bags were fine!

put it in a big laundry bag, wheels off, job done, no hassle at all. Paying to take bikes it's pointless. We had 3 bikes on one luggage rack, no probs.

done the same, worked out smoothly, perhaps a proper bike-bag would be more comfy to carry with, but I'd rather spend 50+ quids on upgrade.