UKC

Hi

Anyoe got experience of taking bikes on these buses?

Would a bike in a bike cover (not a full bag) be taken on?

Cheers

In reply to Flinticus:
http://www.citylink.co.uk/carriage.html

"Subject to availability of accommodation, bicycles in a box/bag and skis/surfboards will be carried"

I would suggest probably not (because I guess of the risk of it moving around in the hold, the cover coming off and it damaging other luggage or the bus itself). Though I don't have direct experience, if it would ruin your trip to have it not carried, don't take the risk, as if some drivers show extra discretion you don't know if you'll get one. It's like people planning to take gear as carry-on on flights - you might be lucky, but if it's going to ruin your trip if it's refused then it isn't worth trying.

Though notably the Oxford-Cambridge X5 coach has bike racks in one of the lockers for 2 non-bagged bikes (I believe), so coaches taking non-bagged bikes is not *totally* unknown (though rare).

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

Cheers. Can't take the risk. Bike bags / boxes are too expensive and defeat the purpose of using a coach in the first place: WTF would I do with the box at the end of the journey (my hope was to cycle into Glen Scaddle after taking the ferry over)?

I'll have to cross that plan off my list for tomorrow & Friday

In reply to Flinticus:

Last time I needed to move a bike around, I walked into Evans and they gave me a cardboard box for nothing. We "recycled" it after the trip. You should try asking them. (Either way, they did me a favour so they deserve this shout-out.)

In reply to Flinticus:

Yeah, most bike shops will give you a giant cardboard box for free. They always have them lying around from bike deliveries...

In reply to Flinticus:

Something like this:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tifosi/lightweight-unpadded-bike-bag-ec...

could be rolled up and carried with you, perhaps?

Neil

In reply to Flinticus:
Unlike you publisher, I doubt I could be bothered with the hassle myself

You could always get the train to Fort William then take the Camasnagaul ferry over to the far side. Despite being a passenger ferry, they take bikes. I assume your original plan was to get off the bus at Corran?

In reply to Flinticus:

If you are travelling from the south just get the train and then the ferry across from Fort William or Corran. It's a nice cycle on the west side of the loch.

In reply to malky_c:

Yeah...that all been out of my hands!

Didn't know about that ferry, though it leaves at 12:20 with the Glasgow train due in at 12:08. That's too tight (been on that train a lot and its all too easy to lose 12 mins on that arrival time)

In reply to Flinticus:

Might be worth enquiring if it is timed to meet the train and would wait?

Neil

In reply to Flinticus:
Hi

I have circumvented the Bus and Train rules about transporting bikes a few times. I just didn't tell them that my dodgy looking package was actually a bike.

Removed the wheels, wrapped both of them together fully in heavy duty black bags and Gaffer tape.
Then wrapped the frame in black bags and Gaffer tape with extra padding on the forks, dropouts etc (balls of kitchen roll wrapped in Gaffer for extra padding).
These two packages can even be taped together with a mini wheel attached to the rear dropouts of the frame like a wheelie suitcase.

For the return journey, take the bags and tape in a rucksack and repeated the whole wrapping process.

It's a bit of a faff but it depends how much you want your bike with you.

In reply to Neil Williams:

I don't think it is, but it is fairly ad-hoc, and they do chartered cruises in between the ferry runs (probably at considerably more cost). So might still be worth giving them a ring.

In reply to ogreville:
I can't think that they would have cared if it was. Full-sized cycles are banned during peak times because they get in the way. Remove the wheels and pack it down to the size of normal luggage (no dimension bigger than 1m is the railway rule[1], above which they can charge extra but rarely bother) with a bag keeping the oil in, and they wouldn't care less if it was a bike or any other kind of luggage, as it could just be treated as normal luggage.

[1] Edit; seems to be 90x70x30cm for some TOCs which might be hard to achieve.

I did that really blatently to KLM once. Had paid to transport a bike, but it was too heavy for the bike allocation and they wanted to charge me extra. So I went away and removed enough stuff from the bike (luggage rack, bars etc) to get the weight down, put it in a holdall I had taken just in case, and went back and checked that in with a bit of a grin on my face (I was entitled to a second regular hold bag as a gold card holder). They knew full well what I had done, but I had complied with all the rules.

Neil

In reply to ogreville:
Too much faff! I'll wait till I have a car at my disposal again!


I'm off to Aviemore instead, with my bike on the train!

In reply to Flinticus:

The cycle touring club sale clear plastic bike bags, which way about 1kg, take the wheels of, Tie them to the frame, then you can fit the bike in the hold, with no risk of getting oil on luggage etc. You could jam the bike into the corner of the hold with luggage around it to stop it moving. I use the clear bag to package my bike when flying home from cycle touring holidays, never had any damage to the bike. Only difference is I use towel and clothing to give a little padding. But you could use pipe lagging and bin it on arrival, hasel. But won't take long to assemble on arrival

In reply to daftdazza:

I transported a bike by city link once, however it was early December so I was fairly sure that the hold wouldn't be full. However carriage was still subject to the drivers discretion, even if boxed.....WTF are you meant to if they say no. Driver hummed and harred a bit, even though we were the only passengers and then decided to look in the compartment on the far side. Two cardboard boxed bikes neatly fitted on top of the enclosed engine block, almost as if the space were designed for the purpose. So at least on some bus designs there is actually a space that never normally gets used....yet could form a book able service for bike transfer.........

In reply to Flinticus:

I use a Ground Effect - Body Bag. I remove pedals and front wheel and rotate handlebars 90 degrees. The bag folds to A4 and travels easily with you. Bag is easy to carry (obviously depends on size and weight of bike). Google my description for details. Costs £59 new customer. A worthwhile investment. Great for City Link . I often find myself reassembling bike at pier (Oban or say Ullapool) before embarking so when I reach, say, Castlebay, I'm good to go. Bits of card packing, etc, I have found are unnecessary.