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Daydreaming about travelling places by train when this is all over. One of the things putting me off is the hassle of travelling with a bike. I'm talking about Eurostar and France rather than local UK.
There's a max length of 85cm on some services, so I looked at my full suss and measured it.
If you took the swing arm off, the cranks and the fork/handlebars, then no part is greater than around 75-80cm.
For the ease of being able to just travel at will, I don't think the hour or so to strip/rebuild would be that bad.
Thoughts?
In classis STW not what you asked mode
IBIS Tranny... https://images.app.goo.gl/QRnN7qqMkfWPuJYUA
I reckon it’s a good idea, I’d be tempted to try and get hold of a suitcase with wheels for lugging it around, and if possible a hard case so you don’t have to worry about it getting damaged in the luggage rack
It'll need to be quite a thick suitcase.
How bad is it traveling with a bike on a train in France? I'd have thought it'd be better than the UK.
I bought a Giant Anthem frame in Hong Kong about 15 years ago. Had the shop remove the swingarm so it would fit into my suitcase. No problems until I got home and went to reassemble it and could not find the bolts. Was too lazy to bother trying to order new ones, until months later I finally decided to try on the new dress shoes I had also bought at the same time, only to find that I'd stuffed the bag of bolts into one of them so they wouldn't be rattling round the bottom of the suitcase.
A proper bike box would be better than a suitcase if you were planning on doing this regularly.
Guess it's the hassle of pre booking, finding the right storage compartment, limited availability and extra cost, versus the hassle of stripping the bike down.
I build all my bikes from parts so the wrenching side doesn't really worry me. A cup of coffee and a quiet hour would see it done in my book.
What would you do with the case? Only ever do loop routes and leave it in station Left Luggage?
We've done a few cycle tours round France by bike. Bikes + trains on the continent are no issues at all. The slower trains you can just hop on and rack your bike up. Eurostar you need to book ahead, bit no real issues.
Nothing at all like bikes on trains in the UK. We drove from Edinburgh to Dunkirk, parked in a long stay carpark then used French trains from there uk trains are such a pain in the arse.