Hanging bikes up on trains

[LollyKat]

It's all right if you are strong enough, but I am not. I really struggle hanging my bike up by the back wheel - admittedly the Rohloff doesn't help but even my ordinary bike is quite heavy at the back end. On a good day I can just get it on to one of the lower hooks but have no chance of reaching the upper ones.

These trains are being phased out - the Oban train can now only carry 2 bikes, not 6.

[mjr]

Abelio East Anglia dont - have spacious van and hoops to lock up inside

Depends on service. Intercities are like that, but Turbostars have a table by the toilet replaced with a bike rack that holds bikes up by their crossbars (yes, obvious problem with that), Electrostars have an area of flip-up seats, Sprinters have the usual luggage cupboards and you just sling your bikes in the vestibules of other older commuter units (maybe the Desiros too) and keep an eye out for the platform being on that side.

[thirdcrank]

... They wanted them hung by the back wheel, ...

I have bike hooks in my garage ceiling and, although the bikes hang by both wheels, IME, the only way I can get them up there is by hanging the back wheel first. To do this I grip the downtube and toptube as near to the headset as possible and then present the rear wheel to the hook. Trying to do it the other way about is impossible for me. I suspect that anybody having trouble hanging a bike up on a train, where I think the hooks will be a bit lower than my garage ceiling, may be trying to hang it from the front wheel. Although there will be some people who are unable to hang up a bike, I'm neither strong nor tall so it's more a matter of remembering the best way.

[ANTONISH]

A lot of DB intercity, OBB railjet, many of the Swiss lines all use hooks on at least some of their rollingstock. Some is easy to use, some like the Railjet in Austria is a nightmare!

I used the Austrian railjet hooks this summer - can't say it was a problem - the train guard told me to take the baggage off the bike.

[mercalia]

Abelio East Anglia dont - have spacious van and hoops to lock up inside

Depends on service. Intercities are like that, but Turbostars have a table by the toilet replaced with a bike rack that holds bikes up by their crossbars (yes, obvious problem with that), Electrostars have an area of flip-up seats, Sprinters have the usual luggage cupboards and you just sling your bikes in the vestibules of other older commuter units (maybe the Desiros too) and keep an eye out for the platform being on that side.

what the **** are they? I have ever only seen 2 types in East anglia - the one from Liverpool st to Norwich intercity and the small diesels eg between Ipswich and Lowestoft where there is boxes area at the end for such things as bikes and suitcases

[mjr]

Abelio East Anglia dont - have spacious van and hoops to lock up inside

Depends on service. Intercities are like that, but Turbostars have a table by the toilet replaced with a bike rack that holds bikes up by their crossbars (yes, obvious problem with that), Electrostars have an area of flip-up seats, Sprinters have the usual luggage cupboards and you just sling your bikes in the vestibules of other older commuter units (maybe the Desiros too) and keep an eye out for the platform being on that side.

what the **** are they? I have ever only seen 2 types in East anglia - the one from Liverpool st to Norwich intercity and the small diesels eg between Ipswich and Lowestoft where there is boxes area at the end for such things as bikes and suitcases

The small diesels I think are mostly sprinters. Turbostars are rounded-end 2 and 3 car diesels mostly on the routes through Ely, sort of grandchildren of the Networkers and Clubmen used on other lines Electrostars are their electric siblings used on commuter lines near London. I'm not sure where the Desiros are being used as I've not seen an Anglian one yet. To be honest, it's useful to recognise the different cabs so that I can start moving to where the bike door is likely to be!

[Bmblbzzz]

I find it much easier to hang a bike up by the front wheel than the back, probably for the same reason it's easier to push it forwards than backwards. Weight distribution is a part of it but the major factor is manoeuvrability.

Whichever wheel you hang it by, luggage is a problem. You can't really hang it up with luggage on it, so you have to remove panniers, leave them on the platform then rush back against the tide for them. Easier if you have a companion, then one of you does bikes while the other looks after luggage.

[Farawayvisions]

I find these hooks almost impossible to use being only 158cm tall. Plus my bike was kitted out in bikepacking gear for a weekender and weighed even more than a naked bike. I managed to hang it up eventually but almost missed my stop in the struggle to get it out on time. I was on a train somewhere in Somerset during the summer.