Do you lock your bike when it's on a train?

[martint235]

Friends don't abandon friends in Preston.

Enemies don't abandon enemies in Preston!!!

 

[martint235]

Are you sure? That is exactly what it appeared had happened to some of the people there.

I'd have to really, really hate someone to desert them in Preston. I don't think I'd even leave @McWobble behind in Preston. In Accrington possibly but not Preston.

 

[Cush]

First Class is always, very inconsiderately in my opinion, put at the other end of the train from the bike storage area.

That's to keep them away from the smell of cyclists, who have ridden many miles and are covered in undiscovered substances thrown up from goodness knows where. So in reality Virgin are being very considerate. Mind I still have secret fear of seeing the person who is supposed to open the door to let the cyclist out running up the platform as the Glasgow train pulls out of Carlisle

 

[martint235]

That's to keep them away from the smell of cyclists, who have ridden many miles and are covered in undiscovered substances thrown up from goodness knows where. So in reality Virgin are being very considerate. Mind I still have secret fear of seeing the person who is supposed to open the door to let the cyclist out running up the platform as the Glasgow train pulls out of Carlisle

Ah. So that's the thinking. Maybe I ruin it then by insisting on sitting in First Class in my sweaty lycra then.....

 

[steveindenmark]

That sounds like a gauntlet being thrown. What diameter cable is it?

I think it is 5mm. We use it for Super yacht sails and so is designed to withstand friction.

<I know it works as last year we took the motorbike to the other side of Denmark and used the wire to lock our gear to the bike and then lost the key. After 20 minutes of trying to cut through it with wire cutters, I called the breakdown guy and told him to bring some bolt croppers

 

[Flying Dodo]

I always try to sit as close to the bike area as possible. Strange thing is that on the Virgin service though you do have to book a seat and that is nearly always 1/2 way down the train. The four rear seats nearest where the bikes are stored are reserved for cyclists. Sitting in these means that you can see anyone going into the bike area. As for the service between Carlisle and Newcastle I sit as near the rear as possible.

You're right - I'd forgotten about that new facility with Virgin West Coast. They even turfed out some non cyclists from the seats for me last year. The Virgin staff on the train generally seem very attentive to bike users and checking when they're getting off etc. Certainly better than most operators. I can't comment on how the East Coast route now compares, having been taken over by Virgin, as it's been a couple of years since I last took a bike on that route but the staff always used to be rather surly.

 

[martint235]

It's never really occurred to me. When we went to Doncaster last year, I just left my bike with Ross' and Sarah's (?) and buggered off back down the train to First Class. East Coast seemed fine or at least friendly.

 

[Tim Hall]

I think it is 5mm. We use it for Super yacht sails and so is designed to withstand friction.

<I know it works as last year we took the motorbike to the other side of Denmark and used the wire to lock our gear to the bike and then lost the key. After 20 minutes of trying to cut through it with wire cutters, I called the breakdown guy and told him to bring some bolt croppers

I think it's going to depend on what you call wire cutters. At work I can use wire cutters that easily cut through 8mm wire rope, can do 12mm with a bit of grunt and can nibble 16mm. 5mm would present no problem.

 

[bonsaibilly]

I work for Northern (for my sins) & just before Christmas someone locked a bike up on the train, however it wasn't the bike's owner Not 100% sure of the facts as I wasn't there & heard the story third hand, but the bike had been locked up by another, presumably with the intention to steal at some point. The owner realised & got the attention of the guard who made an announcement asking for it to be unlocked. No one came forward, except for a guy traveling home who happened to have a tool kit & forcibly removed the lock with the required tools, so it ended fairly well. But I err on the side of caution & lock my bike up if it isn't in view whilst traveling on trains

"Happened to have a toolkit" which could be used to forcibly remove bike locks, on a train... Hmmmm! BB

 

[subaqua]

I think it's going to depend on what you call wire cutters. At work I can use wire cutters that easily cut through 8mm wire rope, can do 12mm with a bit of grunt and can nibble 16mm. 5mm would present no problem.

snap . and a cordless dremel with the right wheel in it takes seconds.

 

[slowmotion]

"Happened to have a toolkit" which could be used to forcibly remove bike locks, on a train... Hmmmm! BB

I think he might have been wearing a stripey jersey and a Lone Ranger mask.

 

[slowmotion]

I think it's going to depend on what you call wire cutters. At work I can use wire cutters that easily cut through 8mm wire rope, can do 12mm with a bit of grunt and can nibble 16mm. 5mm would present no problem.

Lightweight.

 

[Custom24]

I don't lock my bike on GWR, certainly not to the train. The guards stand at the door of the bike carriage hurrying you, 90% of the time. There just isn't enough time because of having to wait for the other cyclists, getting off as well as on. If everyone locked their bike, or even just the "nice" bikes, it would delay the train significantly.

I'm only going one stop, so the risk is less.

Having read this thread, I may look for a minimal deterrent lock for the rear wheel that's lightweight to at least prevent someone wheeling it away. I don't really want to cycle 20 miles with a heavy D lock.

 

[steveindenmark]

snap . and a cordless dremel with the right wheel in it takes seconds.

But the chance of that happening on a train is a bit slim, as is someone just passing by with an industrial pair of wire cutters. I appreciate there are thieves who use these things but the majority of bike thefts are opportunists.

 

[bonsaibilly]

But the chance of that happening on a train is a bit slim, as is someone just passing by with an industrial pair of wire cutters. I appreciate there are thieves who use these things but the majority of bike thefts are opportunists.

How can a theft be an opportunist? BB