Cycling with bike bags

[Ktwolly]

I was hoping to go cycling in the South of France this summer - taking my bike down to Nice on the train. However, to do this I'll need to pack the bike in a special bike bag. Can anyone recommend a good one but most of all - is there one that folds up small so that it is easily transportable while you're cycling round? The ones I've seen on the internet weigh a lot and I don't see how you could take it touring with you.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Katie

 

[Ktwolly]

I was hoping to go cycling in the South of France this summer - taking my bike down to Nice on the train. However, to do this I'll need to pack the bike in a special bike bag. Can anyone recommend a good one but most of all - is there one that folds up small so that it is easily transportable while you're cycling round? The ones I've seen on the internet weigh a lot and I don't see how you could take it touring with you.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Katie

 

[andym]

I'd recommend the Ground Effect Tardis. It fits fine in train luggage racks and folds down to the size of an A4 phone book. Only downside is that it doesn't have wheels.

My top tip though would be to send it to your final hotel, or send it 'poste restante' to a post office near your final destination. (Use one of those grey polythene mailers from Post Offices; put your surname first and take ID when you go to collect it). The addresses of post offices can all be found on laposte.fr

(You probably know this already, but just in case). The other top tip is, if you can time it right, to take the Eurostar to Lille Europe - there are a couple of trains a day from there - one changing in Marseille and the other in Lyon.

 

[andym]

I'd recommend the Ground Effect Tardis. It fits fine in train luggage racks and folds down to the size of an A4 phone book. Only downside is that it doesn't have wheels.

My top tip though would be to send it to your final hotel, or send it 'poste restante' to a post office near your final destination. (Use one of those grey polythene mailers from Post Offices; put your surname first and take ID when you go to collect it). The addresses of post offices can all be found on laposte.fr

(You probably know this already, but just in case). The other top tip is, if you can time it right, to take the Eurostar to Lille Europe - there are a couple of trains a day from there - one changing in Marseille and the other in Lyon.

 

[Ktwolly]

Thanks a lot for your reply, that is really helpful, I'll take a look at that.
Katie

 

[Ktwolly]

Thanks a lot for your reply, that is really helpful, I'll take a look at that.
Katie

 

[Ergle]

The CTC do a cheapie which is basically a large bag made of heavy gauge polythene, closed on three sides. No handles or other frippery - it doubled for me as an additional layer of protection for my tent groundsheet when I camped last year in France.

If you're travelling with your bike by train in France, you won't need a bag if you book your bike on the train. You'll pay an extra 10 Euros for this, but will be able to hang your bike on a rack provided for the purpose. I believe most trains have this facility - google Seat61 for more info.

If there are no racks available, or you don't want to pay the 10 Euro, you could remove the wheels and mudguards and pack the bike into the CTC bag, closing it with parcel tape. The bike is then a "suitcase", and can be taken as luggage on the train.

 

[andym]

If you're travelling with your bike by train in France, you won't need a bag if you book your bike on the train. You'll pay an extra 10 Euros for this, but will be able to hang your bike on a rack provided for the purpose. I believe most trains have this facility - google Seat61 for more info.

Unfortunately, while some of the new and the refurbished TGVs have cycle carriage facilities a lot of them still don't - especially on the routes to Marseille and beyond.

You can check whether the train you are proposing to catch has cycle carriage facilities. Here are some screenshots I made earlier (perhaps for a post on this forum).

www.tgv-europe.com is probably the best site if you want to book and buy online.

If you search for trains you get a series of listings like this:

click on the '+details' tab on the top right-hand side. The expanded listing looks like this:

Unfortunately this train doesn't carry bikes (no little white bike on blue background pictogram). Here's one that does:

or at least the second one does.

If you want to plan a route using trains with bike carriage facilities then your best bet is the DeutscheBahn website (yes really - I wish I was joking). But unfortunately you wont be able to buy tickets from them.

The cost of booking bikes onto Eurostar and French trains means that a bag like the Ground Effect Tardis will quickly pay for itself.