Cycling UK Forum

tour15 wrote: ↑26 May 2022, 12:40pm with one booked as special luggage (dismantled/folded) ?

If you can fit your bike within the maximum dimensions this is pretty straightforward. I've used Flixbus, and others, a few times with a bagged Airnimal folder without any issues. I like to travel stress free so I've always checked I'm conforming with the T&C's and made any booking required. I've yet to come across anyone checking I've booked extra luggage, or the size, the main concern of the driver loading is that it's in the right compartment for your destination, they don't want the hassle of moving stuff to get yours when the time comes. Twice I've met people traveling with bagged bikes clearly over the size limit, at least one of them wasn't booked, we had a chat at one of the rest stops, they'd used it quite a bit and wasn't aware of the booking!

Hi Everyone

I've noticed that Flix bus can takes bicycles. Does anyone have experience with using their bike service? Either travelling with a whole bike or with one booked as special luggage (dismantled/folded) ?

https://www.flixbus.co.uk/service/luggage

I have previously travelled to France by Eurotunnel but this would mean multiple trains in the UK from where I am to Folkestone, booking on the Eurotunnel bike service and once in France more trains from Calais.

thanks in advance.

Has anyone got any idea when any railways strikes might start ?? BBC say late June other media just June?


It's a shame that the bus network don't realise what an opportunity it might be catering for bikes in a similar fashion to flixbus on the continent.

Came across this article on the web and thought, hey something might be happening, then I realised the article was 10 years old

https://www.cyclinguk.org/campaigning/v ... nd-coaches

MrsHJ wrote: ↑15 May 2022, 4:27pm

glucas wrote: ↑15 May 2022, 3:23pm Flixbus only take [complete] bikes on routes where their bus has a bike carrier. This does not apply to all buses...

Noted, the measurements are very generous though so wouldn’t be much effort to put in a plastic bag...

I don't call Max. length + width + height = 240cm "very generous". My DHB bike bag measures 140 by 90 by 30 = 260cm. Admittedly that is larger than most bike bags, but is accepted by every airline I've ever wanted to use (including BA, EasyJet & RyanAir) and still requires a considerable amount of irksome dismantling, that takes at least one hour. Most importantly however, for most cycle-tourists, that is the absolute smallest size of bag or box that allows the rear wheel, mudguard and luggage carrier to remain in-situ. If those must be removed you end up with a whole lot more potentially loose items knocking around each other and what remains of the bicycle (mainly the frame, which prevoiusly stood on its forkends and rear wheel) now drops onto its chainset, which tends to loose teeth and suffer bent chainrings unless also removed. So that becomes two hours of filthy back-breaking work both ends of every trip!

So Fixbus, like the railways, have even tighter bike packaging dimensions than most airlines. That rules them out for me.

Very generous would be such that an almost complete bike - only pedals removed, handlebars turned and saddle lowered - could simply be popped into something like the CTC plastic bike bag, to make a package measuring up to 1.8m long 1.1m tall and 0.3m wide. And a lot of airlines will still take something as big as that. Lufthansa, so I recently heard, now take whole unbagged bicycles, just as they are.

glucas wrote: ↑15 May 2022, 3:23pm Yes. Just lurking on here and I saw my name mentioned. I think just to caveat it, Flixbus only take fully unassembled bikes on routes where their bus has a bike carrier. This does not apply to all buses. The way to find out is just add your bike when booking a particular route, it will tell you if a scheduled bus takes bikes at all, and if so, if a bike slot is available. On my Venice to Paris route, not all buses took bikes, maybe under 30%. On other routes that I saw no bike carriers were there so only disassembled bikes would be taken.

Noted, the measurements are very generous though so wouldn’t be much effort to put in a plastic bag (totally get why this isn’t first preference but could be useful for more awkward places to get to). It’s also been mentioned for some of the routes at the end of EV6 and balkans recently on the eurovelo pages and I think some of those could be tricky to get back from by train.

Yes. Just lurking on here and I saw my name mentioned. I think just to caveat it, Flixbus only take fully unassembled bikes on routes where their bus has a bike carrier. This does not apply to all buses. The way to find out is just add your bike when booking a particular route, it will tell you if a scheduled bus takes bikes at all, and if so, if a bike slot is available. On my Venice to Paris route, not all buses took bikes, maybe under 30%. On other routes that I saw no bike carriers were there so only disassembled bikes would be taken.

Just worth updating this to include Flixbus which is ok about bikes and goes to the sort of places that work. I remember that glucas is using one to come home from Venice and I’ve seen it mentioned a few other times.

https://www.flixbus.co.uk/service/bike-travel

Many thanks for the detailed heads up. I did think about boxing the bike and flying back - my wife has a ton of Avios points so it would have been easy to fly back with BA. But because I am not very experienced with the whole bike box thing and speak about 2 words of italian, I had visions of struggling to sort out a bike box and dismantling/packing the bike. I will face up to it one day, as I have seen from your own posts on here that it's a time saver given that a lot of places in the med area are at least a days journey - probably 2 days if you cannot travel overnight. So I have booked a Flixbus to Paris Bercy which takes bikes, departing from Stazione Mestre. I can see from your post that this whole area looks dodgy, so I'll try and minimise the time spent there.

Also - I have booked the Plaza on your recommendation.

Thanks again.

MrsHJ wrote: ↑1 Jan 2022, 10:44pm I had an idle l[.......] by train.

https://cycle.travel/map/journey/162504

Thank you for your reply. To get from Rotterdam to Langres is three Trains Rotterdam-Brussels>Brussels-Paris>Paris - Langres.

I have checked out FlixBus which looks ideal, and there is a service from Rotterdam to Langres, but Bikes assembled Bikes cannot be taken at the moment, Disassembled can. However I am hopeful that as the Summer schedules are released, Flix will put the Bike Carriers back on the Buses and it will be an option. They appear to cost €40 ish oneway, with bike.

If this is the case, we will set off from Langres, give it ago and see what happens, and travel at our own pace, 4 days from the Ferry Date we will review the situation, and if necessary, use alternate means to get back to Rotterdam Bus, Train or if need be Hire a Car

Vorpal wrote: ↑15 Nov 2021, 12:20pm

mjr wrote: ↑15 Nov 2021, 10:56am

Vorpal wrote: ↑11 Nov 2021, 7:59pmTopics merged

You did it backwards again, so even my own posts were marked as new to me. Very disruptive!

What do you mean by 'backwards'? There aren't very many ways to merge a topic.

Merging the posts from the old topic into the new one, by using the selection menu on the wrong topic (I forget if that's the new one or the old one).

The newness-forgetting may be a bug in the version of phpbb used on here, or its setup, but of course I can't test that.

mjr wrote: ↑15 Nov 2021, 10:56am

Vorpal wrote: ↑11 Nov 2021, 7:59pmTopics merged

You did it backwards again, so even my own posts were marked as new to me. Very disruptive!

What do you mean by 'backwards'? There aren't very many ways to merge a topic.

Have not used Flix bus yet, but I did a fair bit of research. The advantages are: cheap fares, they go to destinations that do not have train stations. Negatives: They can be unbearingly slow and only about half their routes take bicycles, but you can see online which. Those that take bikes, sell out quickly

A cat named Martin Bethge made a good case for bus+bike transportation economics a few years back.

(Probably not worth clicking on unless you're a bus fan, but here you go: )

http://docplayer.net/104534988-Flixbus- ... urism.html

There have been a rough couple of years for the transportation industry since, but I'm hoping this does make money for Flixbus so they'll expand and improve their efforts.

In other news, Germany's Flixbus has recently purchased US-based Greyhound's American coast-to-coast intercity bus operations from UK's FirstGroup. An upside might lead to a great future of bus service to the 5000 destinations between airports for cycletourists in the USA, supplementing America's economically unviable and therefore miserable passenger rail service. Of course, a downside might lead to Greyhound's operations bankrupting Flixbus!

Thanks, the part that I hadn’t spotted is right at the top of the link. The restriction on (not) carrying bikes as special luggage within the luggage hold seems like a bonkers policy to me. IMHO the website could be quite a lot clearer on that point.

Carlton green wrote: ↑12 Nov 2021, 1:31pm

mattheus wrote: ↑12 Nov 2021, 12:40pm

beeb wrote: ↑12 Nov 2021, 12:22pm Why does it work on the continent and not here.

Simple! Here's their answer:

"Can I take my bike on the bus? Yes, you can! Bikes are allowed on most FlixBuses, so you can experience great adventures wherever you want. Many buses in our fleet have a bike carrier at the back of the bus that allows you to transport your bike. Please note that we currently don’t offer any bike transportation on trips within UK."

See! It's just because. Obviously.

My bold emphasis.
I haven’t been able to find the above text on the Flixbus web site.

https://www.flixbus.co.uk/service/bike-travel

Jonathan