Bike Express experiences please

[Penfold]

Am considering using the Bike Express service to get down to Bordeaux.

I have searched the forum but can't find a specific thread about the service, so I thought I would start one now.

So basic questions are these...
Whats it like?
Do they care for your kit (Bike/Panniers etc)
If you have used it would you use it again?
Do you consider it to be fair value for money? (They quote £131 as a one way price to Bordeaux)

If you have any comments please let em rip.

Thanks in advance
Graham

[tatanab]

Whats it like?

Not luxurious but more than adequate. Much better than being crammed in on a tourist bus and far less stressful than any airport. The staff are very helpful. You stop every couple of hours for a pit stop.

Do they care for your kit (Bike/Panniers etc)

Luggage is stowed either in the rear of the bus or on the decks of the trailer. No problems. A personal plea - please do not take the kitchen sink inside with you, like on an aircraft there is limited stowage around the seat. Bikes are generally stowed almost vertically in racks in the trailer lower deck, the upper being used for tandems etc and overflow if the lower level is full. Your bike is handled with care but the loaders are of course working against time.

If you have used it would you use it again?

Undoubtedly, although not every year.

Do you consider it to be fair value for money? (They quote £131 as a one way price to Bordeaux)

Expensive compared to cheap airlines, but think of the convenience of not having to prepare a bike in any way and that the bike is better stowed and probably better handled than by most airport baggage handlers.

[Ridgeback]

Last year I did Bordeaux to Nantes via train £36, might be worth considering, although you do have a greater distance.

[robgul]

We used the bike bus from Montpellier to Gravesend in 2008 - excellent service, on time, bikes handled carefully, loads of leg-room in the seats ... BUT it was a bit like sitting in a prop-aeroplane charging down the runway but never taking off! [I plugged the headphones in and sort of dozed]

Yes it was good and convenient, but now that the TGV/Eurostar has more sensible bike arrangements (many of them you now just wheel the bike on, before you had to have it in a bag) I'd look at that ahead of the bus ... it's quicker by a long way - bus ~60 mph, TGV ~ 180 mph - and cost is probably a bit less if you book ahead with Rail Europe.

Rob

[cavasta]

+1 for EBS. Used it last year (Northants to Macon). Very punctual, staff friendly and helpful. Didn't get much sleep (overnight trip). On-board food not the best (microwaved, cheap white baps, processed cheese, etc). Impressive set-up for storing/transporting bikes. Not as cheap as flying but well worth paying the extra for peace of mind (bike arrives in one piece!!!). Would use again.

[Penfold]

Many thanks for the replies so far..

I quite like the idea that once you have reached your destination (Bordeaux) you are faced with only having to re-set your handlebars, clip on your panniers and away you go. So no re-assembly of your bike in the corner of some airport.

Wasn't aware that they offered food for sale (be it cheap babs and plastic cheese)

So far it's looking like my prefered method of travel (if the trip comes off that is, just gotta win wifey over to that )

Graham.

[JMaude]

Have used the EBE on 3 occasions now - echo comments re friendliness, safety of bikes and no storage issues. Yes the food isn't brilliant, but there are a number stops at motorway service stations (and the ferry), so there are alternatives.

[horizon]

I've used it once (return). Living in Cornwall it loses some of its usefulness - if it ran through Plymouth that would be amazing. If someone said, "I'm new to touring abroad, don't like flying, not sure about the trains, like the idea of being with fellow cyclists etc" I would say go for it 100%. I cannot recall anything about it that would put me off apart from the things you know in advance like the cost.

[slowpeddler]

Used it this Summer from J28 to Auxerre and back from Beaune.

About the same cost as doing it yourself but much easier.

I didn't use the on-board loo (I never do, ever, on any bus)

Breakfast was good. My luggage went in the trailer as I was one of the first off. Most luggage is put in the hold so mark your pannier carefully (all Carradice bags look the same in the dark)

Staff very good and I was very impressed with the drivers as they were very safe and careful. The bus is getting on a bit but clean and adequate. There are regular comfort breaks.

The bad news is they dropped me off at 2.00 in the morning so either book a hotel room ahead, or as I did, cycle through the countryside to a nearby camp site. So do some internet research before you go. Not the Bike bus fault of course but you must plan what you are going to do.

For going to Provence and further south it really is one of the best ways to take you and your bike.

John

[cavasta]

Wasn't aware that they offered food for sale (be it cheap babs and plastic cheese)
Graham.

And (plastic) glasses of (cheap) wine!

[skicat]

And (plastic) glasses of (cheap) wine!

Really? I didn't think it was legal to consume alcohol on coaches in France. At least that was what we were told on a ski trip coach run incidentally by the same company that runs the Bike Express service.

[tatanab]

Catering
Please remember that it is all done by the steward/loader who has access to a freezer, microwave and kettle. That's it. Also the stuff that is shown as homemade is just that, made at home when he is not on the road. He also does all the shopping etc. Given this, I think it pretty good that he can offer the food and drink that he does.

[eileithyia]

Used it 3 times and would use it again if fitted in with a future planned trip.

Fod was Ok, best though to have a slap upmeal on the ferry, have found in past that it is probably cheaper or just as expensive to go to the proper restaurant on the ferry and get a decent meal.
Everyone heads for the self service, you queue for ages, and every tiny item gets charged for soon racking up a bill, the restaurant is often an inclusive price and reduces reliance on the EBE menu, however if they still do them their orange and apricot flapjacks were ACE and I even managed to get the recipe out of them.

[ANTONISH]

I've used it three times and it does get you and your bike to the destination (but not necessarily where or when you would have preferred) in reasonable shape. I find the train preferable - daily service, many more possible destinations , faster , more comfortable and cheaper if you book early - but still cheaper than the bike bus if you dont (booking direct with SNCF rather than rail europe).
I haven't yet used the "wheel on service" which adds to the attraction of the train.
My experience has been the small inconvenience of partial bike dismantling and a home made light bike bag which doesn't add much to my touring weight.
Another disappointment with the bike bus was that they had run out of beer when I last boarded it at Perpignan.

[Penfold]

Cheers guys for some more positive comments and advice.

Seems everyone that has used the service believes it to be an excellent method of transfer. I also like the idea that the bike is nice and safe.

An idea for my 4 panniers would be to lump em all into one of those large Ikea bags and tape em in all together. Then with luck I wont get to my first camp to find a bikini and pink clobber in 'my' panniers...Oh how we laughed