Trains

[HF2300]

444s (Desiros) ... with bike spaces using wheel-bender type bike holders screwed into the floor.

Anyone had any problems with these? Took our bikes on a short trip on one the other week. Only just wide enough for our 37-622 tyres (a guy with an MTB couldn't fit his in), and they really did seem like wheel benders, particularly with the bike wobbling around furiously on the worse parts of the line. I ended up standing next to the bikes to hold them steady, in fear of getting of the other end with bent rims...

 

[Bollo]

Anyone had any problems with these? Took our bikes on a short trip on one the other week. Only just wide enough for our 37-622 tyres (a guy with an MTB couldn't fit his in), and they really did seem like wheel benders, particularly with the bike wobbling around furiously on the worse parts of the line. I ended up standing next to the bikes to hold them steady, in fear of getting of the other end with bent rims...

They fit 1.5" tyres and very little else. My road bike with 23mm tyres is effectively free standing - I carry a little strap to hang it from the orange rail and I've seen plenty of MTBs fail to fit in.

There are some particularly bad points heading south out of Basingstoke that could easily cause a wheel to buckle.

 

[Molecule Man]

The best solution I've seen for bike storage on trains is where there are hooks to hang the front wheel of the bike from, along with appropriate bolsters to brace the frame against. Very space efficient. I can't remember where I've seen them though, maybe Germany or Switzerland?

I don't like those wheel-benders much, I usually manage to brace the bike with a bungy, but it seems very poorly thought out.

My girlfriend used to commute on SWT with her bike (~1990), and there used to be 10-15 bikes in the guard's van every day. Such a shame that that would be impossible now.

 

[domd1979]

Cradley Heath, Old Hill, Stourbridge, Lye, and Rowley Regis as well. Cradley Heath / Rowley Regis fall just outside the boundary for Dudley MBC I think.

Cosley, Tipton and Dudley port.

 

[hackbike 666]

I think this bike space thing is all about money.I remember the 442's had a big guards brake for bikes but money talks,so they were refurbished and 16 new seats were put in and only 5 bikes were allowed.At first it was chaos and a lot of trouble for the guards and it also made the trains run late due to ensuing arguments.

 

[Bollo]

I think this bike space thing is all about money.I remember the 442's had a big guards brake for bikes but money talks,so they were refurbished and 16 new seats were put in and only 5 bikes were allowed.At first it was chaos and a lot of trouble for the guards and it also made the trains run late due to ensuing arguments.

Hi Hackers! I remember those horrible buggers. Getting a bike on was like one of those puzzles where you have to separate the two bent metal rods.

Its the same with the X-Country Voyagers now - they're losing bike spaces and the buffet to make way for more seats.

 

[hackbike 666]

Hi bollo,yeah got to please the shareholders so cyclists go down the queue.

 

[Molecule Man]

And yet, with a bit more intelligent planning and design, they could probably find more space for seats and still have a few more bike spaces.
An example of good design for the purpose is the new train design that Southeastern have brought in on the commuter routes going out from Charing Cross. There are fewer seats than before (most journeys are probably no longer than half an hour), but more room for people to move past each other. It's much better for bikes (when permitted), as there is enough room by the doors to stow a bike without blocking the door.

 

[skrx]

Going by the bike racks outside London Waterloo station on Sunday at about 23:45, many people leave their bikes outside that station overnight (and all weekend). There were only a few spaces.

 

[LOGAN 5]

I find it difficult to get passed the barrier staff after showing my ticket as they just don't give enough room to get by them. Why don't they just stand behind the screen/barrier instead of in front of it in the gap. Why do they do this?

The situation at London Victoria in the evening rush hour is chaotic as there's only one barrier for both entry/exit to the platform which causes a bottleneck as people wait to get through. Why can't they have two barriers for entry/exit. Can't the station managers work it out? And why don't the barrier staff insist that people without luggage/bikes/prams etc go through the automated barriers which would ease the congestion on these manual gates.

Also found passengers getting on the train don't give me enough room to get off and the step down at East Croydon is quite a drop so it's tricky with a bike plus luggage to get through the tiny gap they leave. Accidentally knocked a few people with various bits of the bike.

Also had the businessman making a point by not moving when I tried to get my partially folded Brompton off. I was very polite to him when asking him if I could get the bike off which prompted him to have his say. Some people are just waiting to have a go.

The other day the train was late and when it finally arrived people were rushing to get on and this idiotic man behind me tried to climb over my bike as I was getting it into the cycle storage area. He caught his shin and said couldn't I see he was rushing for the WC! Oh right, yes I'm psychic now. Then he said that I'd stopped on the platform to look at the monitor for the train. Er yes, people do do that it's quite normal! Weirdo.

 

[Arch]

Its the same with the X-Country Voyagers now - they're losing bike spaces and the buffet to make way for more seats.

And yet there's still bugger all legroom, even for a short person like me....

 

[PashleyPrincess]

Its the same with the X-Country Voyagers now - they're losing bike spaces and the buffet to make way for more seats.

Oh yes. Started my usual summer commuting off on the wrong foot on one of these the other day. After getting on in the end with the quiet zone (where the bike storage used to be) I found a buffet cart At the next stop I got in the carriage where the bike storage is now located only to find that it's narrow cupboard in which you have to hang the bike. I didn't have the Pashley thank God but even with my light weight frame I struggled to negotiate the narrow gap, standing commuters and the complexities of being just over 5" and struggling to reach to hang the flippin thing up.

 

[hackbike 666]

Going by the bike racks outside London Waterloo station on Sunday at about 23:45, many people leave their bikes outside that station overnight (and all weekend). There were only a few spaces.

It wasn't as busy as that when I first started at Waterloo...As there were not that many bikes outside in the bike rack from the platforms 11+12 I even had the privilege in getting a bike nicked from there in 1990(as there wern't many to choose from).Guess they couldn't see into the future and how cycling would become more popular.