Folders on trains strategies

[Kim]

Ah.  If the seatpost's all the way down that should be okay with bearing the weight.  Not sure about the saddle angle though - must try it.

Bromptons are pretty good at putting all the oily bits in the middle, but they're magnets for road grime, so the cover makes sense.

[drossall]

I sat on my folded Dahon Vitesse once.

[Kim]

Ah.  If the seatpost's all the way down that should be okay with bearing the weight.  Not sure about the saddle angle though - must try it.

Tried it.  The Brompton tipped over and I narrowly avoided landing on my arse.  Rotating the seatpost achieved a saddle angle that's best described as NSFW.  I can only assume this works with some substantially different saddle configuration.

The main tube is in a sit-on-able position, but that puts most of the weight on the easy wheels/rack, which is likely to end expensively.

[Butterfly]

But takes up a non-folding bike's space, which then ends up in the gangway.

No it doesn't, because they don't let unfolded bikes on those trains.

[Tim Hall]

From the state of one very cheap s/h Brompton I bought, I think it had been slung in an overhead rack at Esher and Waterloo every weekday for the previous ten years.

IRTA "Escher" and thought that would be inventive folding, even for a Brompton.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Ah.  If the seatpost's all the way down that should be okay with bearing the weight.  Not sure about the saddle angle though - must try it.

Tried it.  The Brompton tipped over and I narrowly avoided landing on my arse.  Rotating the seatpost achieved a saddle angle that's best described as NSFW.  I can only assume this works with some substantially different saddle configuration.

The main tube is in a sit-on-able position, but that puts most of the weight on the easy wheels/rack, which is likely to end expensively.

It probably depends on the model + proportions of one's legs - mine were favourable and I had one of the old original T3 models with a substantial rack that took all the weight, just a tendency to slide forward on the saddle.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I usually put my folder into the bike carriage, and just fold down the handlebars.  Seems to take up less space, and receive less disapproval, than fully folded bikes.

Disclaimer: I have a Dahon Speed.

But takes up a non-folding bike's space, which then ends up in the gangway.

No it doesn't, because they don't let unfolded bikes on those trains.

So how come they have a bike carriage? I can't make sense of that!

[quixoticgeek]

On a crowded HS1 train from London once I spent the entire trip with my Brompton on my lap. I didn't have a lock, and wasn't prepared for it to be out of site, out of reach, or on an over head rack. Not the most comfortable trip I've ever had.

Dutch trains, and some Belgian ones conveniently have back to back seats with a space between them where a Brompton fits nicely. If all this is full, there is enough space under the seats for a Brompton on it's side...

The Dutch VIRM double deckers, if you go up stairs, there is a very convenient Brompton sized space just to the left of the door you come through to ender the carriage.

On a Eurostar it fits nicely in the luggage rack, which is heavy duty enough to allow you to lock the bike to it quite nicely. This seems to apply to Thalys and TGV stock too.

J

[ian]

I was hoping for a thread like this. I knew I could rely on YACF!   

I have a new 12-mile commute these days that I'm not yet fit enough to tackle all the way (because my last commute was a 15 min walk).

So Southern trains. Is that space between the back to back seats big enough? It looks like it might be but I don't want to embarrass myself trying to ram the bike in if it's not.

Some may be aware that Southern trains are currently A Bit Shit due to the various issues they're having with their staff/Union etc so they're generally even more rammed by the time they get to where they're going and I don't really want the bike taking up more space than it has to. If I go to West Croydon (as opposed to East) and get the slower train I can get on while it's a bit quieter and get a seat and will have an opportunity to stow it out of the way as above.

Yes, on the off-chance you've not discovered the answer for yourself, a Brompton fits perfectly between the seatbacks (other than the one that makes a home for the bin). It's about the only benefit of those trains (that and the fact they don't have stinky toilets, until you need any kind of toilet of course, in which case – if you're me – you'll be enjoying the inconvenience of getting off and enjoying the literal convenience of the Kenley Hotel, something my wife won't let me forget about every time I get the train home after a night of pubbage). Those trains tend to run on the stopping services from East Croydon to London Bridge and Victoria too.

I will say, as a public service message, that those who take foldable items on busy trains and that includes Bromptons and 4x4 all-terrain baby buggies: fold the bloody things!*

*two weeks back we did a Tour de Kent, that involved coming home every night by train (the moral of that story is book your cats in the cattery in advance of the holiday season): the best leg was London to Whitstable on a total rammed short-formation train, which started to get fun when a large number of Orthodox Jews with buggies and holiday supplies got on. Then to mix things up, an equally large number of Arabic-speaking Muslims also with baby buggies tried to squeeze on as the whistle blew. Neither side were going to fold a single buggy which meant a detente of sorts was achieved by piling buggies atop one another. You'd need a high power laser to cut the tension (or to get to the toilet). Getting two full sized bikes off that train at Whitstable was fun, I suppose an inadvertently practical use of a burqa is keeping someone's bike chain oil off your face. It would have been easier if anyone had acknowledged our plea to step off the train, but we might as well have been asking them to step into a pool of hungry piranha rather the station platform. Outside, of course, was the man with the ramp and a waiting chap on a large mobility scooter. Unlike Southern who would have cancelled the train and run away, South-Eastern apparently found an entire spare train**.

**except everyone refused to get off the original train (or simply couldn't, every vestibule was jammed with buggy and bag mountains), apart from the other cyclist who in our bike carriage who we bumped into in Deal and updated us on the outcome. She got a ride on an near empty train to Margate with just the very relieved chap in the scooter for company.

[quixoticgeek]

*two weeks back we did a Tour de Kent, that involved coming home every night by train (the moral of that story is book your cats in the cattery in advance of the holiday season): the best leg was London to Whitstable on a total rammed short-formation train, which started to get fun when a large number of Orthodox Jews with buggies and holiday supplies got on. Then to mix things up, an equally large number of Arabic-speaking Muslims also with baby buggies tried to squeeze on as the whistle blew. Neither side were going to fold a single buggy which meant a detente of sorts was achieved by piling buggies atop one another. You'd need a high power laser to cut the tension (or to get to the toilet). Getting two full sized bikes off that train at Whitstable was fun, I suppose an inadvertently practical use of a burqa is keeping someone's bike chain oil off your face. It would have been easier if anyone had acknowledged our plea to step off the train, but we might as well have been asking them to step into a pool of hungry piranha rather the station platform. Outside, of course, was the man with the ramp and a waiting chap on a large mobility scooter. Unlike Southern who would have cancelled the train and run away, South-Eastern apparently found an entire spare train**.

I think I may have met this same group in Canterbury, loitering on the cycle paths and generally not being cooperative, they didn't seem to understand a high velocity cyclist coming at them...

I'm amazed that southeastern found a spare train, their usual policy on such things is a very polite "fsck you".

J

[clarion]

I usually put my folder into the bike carriage, and just fold down the handlebars.  Seems to take up less space, and receive less disapproval, than fully folded bikes.

Disclaimer: I have a Dahon Speed.

But takes up a non-folding bike's space, which then ends up in the gangway.

No it doesn't, because they don't let unfolded bikes on those trains.

So how come they have a bike carriage? I can't make sense of that!

Because they run much the same configurations all day into and out of London, one direction of which will always allow non-folders.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I usually put my folder into the bike carriage, and just fold down the handlebars.  Seems to take up less space, and receive less disapproval, than fully folded bikes.

Disclaimer: I have a Dahon Speed.

But takes up a non-folding bike's space, which then ends up in the gangway.

No it doesn't, because they don't let unfolded bikes on those trains.

So how come they have a bike carriage? I can't make sense of that!

Because they run much the same configurations all day into and out of London, one direction of which will always allow non-folders.

So if I understand correctly, your train doesn't allow bikes, except folders which officially you should fold and put on the luggage rack, behind the seats or somewhere similar. You take your Dahon and fold the bars down rather than folding it completely, but although it's technically not permitted at that time, train staff turn a blind eye and passengers seem to accept it. So I presume the bike carriage is one of those designated tippy seat areas.

[Kim]

I'm guessing opposite the reveal-a-door toilet.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Sometimes they reveal more than a door when people don't realise you have to lock them. 

[Phil W]

When I returned from Ireland last June the ferry got delayed. We got on the first train we could to Crewe. The bike space was full of large luggage. So I put my full size bike at the other end of the carriage next to a locked and empty driver's carriage.

The ticket inspector came along. He explained bike shouldn't be there. I explained the bike space was full of luggage. He took a look with the idea of asking people to move luggage. But  said ok leave it there due to number of cases. The train was getting busier with people trying to get on and past the bike. So myself and Stu travelling with me picked the bike up, walked down the aisle with the bike held high to the bike space. I then lent it against the luggage and used my long thin cable to lock it to the rail that is there. We then walked back to our seats. I dared someone to complain about my bike leaning against their luggage but they didn't. I put it facing out so the chain etc wasn't touching anything.

When a Virgin train turned up at Crewe the guard asked if I had a reservation. I said no, but I had a bike reservation  for their previous train which we missed due to ferry. He let me put bike in bike van and all was well.

Currently on Virgin East coast with Brommie and it easily fits into luggage space at end of each carriage.