Bikes on trains in France

[briantrumpet]

If you want to take the TGV with a bike in a bag to Barcelona, there's another interesting option bypassing Paris with changes in Brussels and Lyon.

Certainly, if you're heading south, it's much easier to change in Lille from Eurostar to TGV... simply hop across platforms.

 

[Low Gear Guy]

Certainly, if you're heading south, it's much easier to change in Lille from Eurostar to TGV... simply hop across platforms.

But not with a full sized bike
.

Unfortunately Eurostar do not permit bikes in SNCF sized bags. It would have to be in Eurostar box which presumably has to be returned to the Eurostar luggage desk.

 

[Ian H]

Two of us are planning a trip with bikes to Corsica. One option is train travel to Nice or thereabouts. A couple of years ago I returned from Perpignon on a sleeper with hanging bike storage, but similar to Nice appears to have disappeared.

 

[Ivo]

Certainly, if you're heading south, it's much easier to change in Lille from Eurostar to TGV... simply hop across platforms.

But beware, there are 2 railway stations in Lille. Lille Europe and Lille Flandres. They are not that far away from eachother but lugging a bike bag between them would take a few minutes.

 

[briantrumpet]

Haha, I'm on a TGV at this moment, and what can I see?

 

[Ian H]

I'm not riding Corsican hills on a Brompton, okay?

 

[BalkanExpress]

But not with a full sized bike
.

Unfortunately Eurostar do not permit bikes in SNCF sized bags. It would have to be in Eurostar box which presumably has to be returned to the Eurostar luggage desk.

Eurostar is a bit of an issue. It has been a couple of years since I used it and so someone please correct me if I am out of date.

As far as i Know You can take a full sized bike on Eurostar if you book in advance, the wrinkle being that you can only unload at a terminus. If you want to bag the bike and take it in the carriage it needs to to fit eurostar baggage dimensions meaning no side longer than 85cm, I think you can put a bike in a bag and have it treated as oversized but this means that, like a bike you need to go to the terminal.

It is all a bit of pain and as I did the trip regularly I ended up buying a bike with Ritchey breakaway couplers so it fits in an 85cm case

 

[mjr]

Eurostar is a bit of an issue. It has been a couple of years since I used it and so someone please correct me if I am out of date.

As far as i Know You can take a full sized bike on Eurostar if you book in advance, the wrinkle being that you can only unload at a terminus.

Not only terminuses. Booked boxed or bagged bikes can be taken to Lille. See https://help.eurostar.com/faq/uk-en/question/Can-I-take-my-bike-on-Eurostar

 

[Tenkaykev]

I'm not riding Corsican hills on a Brompton, okay?

There's a YouTube video of a guy going up and down Alpe d'Huez on a Brommie, gets a tad hairy on the descent.
Just swap out the front chain ring for a 44 and you'll be fine 😉

 

[BalkanExpress]

Not only terminuses. Booked boxed or bagged bikes can be taken to Lille. See https://help.eurostar.com/faq/uk-en/question/Can-I-take-my-bike-on-Eurostar

Thanks for the update

 

[Ian H]

There's a YouTube video of a guy going up and down Alpe d'Huez on a Brommie, gets a tad hairy on the descent.
Just swap out the front chain ring for a 44 and you'll be fine 😉

A friend of mine will descend on his Brompton at speed, with hands linked behind his back in a sort of head-first aero-position. But he is a complete insaniac.