Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

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nirakaro
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by nirakaro »

The 'stand on the right, pass on the left' rule is purely a London thing, isn't it? I've never seen it followed anywhere else in the UK. Out in the provinces, our escalators are narrower, and we can afford to take a moment's respite from the day's haste.
Steve X
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by Steve X »

Nearholmer wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 1:19pm
How? And does any of it not also apply to those "Max checked" suitcases now popular?
To repeat what I said earlier, bikes cause trouble on escalators[.........]

The thing to remember is that a heavily loaded down escalator doesn’t stop instantly if something goes amiss and the emergency button is pressed, and quite a pile-up can occur in that few seconds.
To be clear I would only take a Bike on the Escalator as a last resort, eg, deserted station and a train I have to catch, and certainly not in a busy train station, in that instance I would ask staff for assistance.
In this case the lift was not working, and when we came back to the station later, on our return I asked and the lift to the platform was working. However the person at enquiries said, any problems just ask the staff and they will assist.
ANTONISH
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by ANTONISH »

simonineaston wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 11:32am I recall watching a geezer in France deal with his cycle and an escalator when he simple tipped it upright, balancing it on the rear wheel, keeping the back brake on, on a step in front of him. But that's the French for you - they're like that.
ps if you try this here in the UK, you'll have the station staff shrieking at you that you're breaking all sort of rules. Meanwhile the lift will have been out of action for days and nobody will have bothered to report it. Or if they have, then the lift company won't have anyone available. Or they can't get the part. Or they fitted the part the week before and it's broken again a few days later...
I slid backwards down the escalator in Linz when I did that :( ( I had the rear brake on when I should have used the front and the rear panniers did the rest)
The platform attendant stopped the escalator and looked down at me "there's a lift round the corner"
ambodach
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by ambodach »

We once took our touring bikes loaded down and up an escalator under the river at Antwerp as the lifts were not working. I went first and wife behind. She began to lose control as it was very steep but fortunately a quick thinking Belgian man noticed and caught the back of her carrier and waited and helped on the way back up. Still gives me the shudders even after 60 years. The pile up would have been monumental as I could not hold two loaded bikes.
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simonineaston
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by simonineaston »

Never mind the blinkin' escalators, my pet hate used to be trying to board trains from stops with no platform - ouch, ouch - my back is throbbing just recalling the memory... !!
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RickH
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by RickH »

When I started regular trips to Chester & back in 2014 I initially started going via Liverpool Lime St, solo with a tandem to boot, & never encountered problems on the 2 long escalators there (& no-one, staff or other passengers, seemed to be bothered about me using them either). I just found it was best to make sure one wheel was fully on a step & use that brake to keep the bike in place & release the brake as the wheel comes off the escalator. The lift to the Wirral line platform is very small & I'm not sure I could get the tandem in, definitely not on its wheels but standing it on end might not work either as it doesn't have a very high ceiling. I don't often go that way these days unless there are problems with the trains through Warrington as going via Bank Quay is generally much quicker.
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Sweep
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by Sweep »

ambodach wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 7:19pm We once took our touring bikes loaded down and up an escalator under the river at Antwerp as the lifts were not working. I went first and wife behind. She began to lose control as it was very steep but fortunately a quick thinking Belgian man noticed and caught the back of her carrier and waited and helped on the way back up. Still gives me the shudders even after 60 years. The pile up would have been monumental as I could not hold two loaded bikes.
I would never take a loaded tourer on an escalator - learned my lesson after a near disasterous jaunt on the pretty short one at Liverpool Street London (mentioned elsewhere in this thread I think) which takes you from concourse to street. I was going up, Applied the brakes. All well until a certain point when the load on the back started to tip the bike and I couldn't hold it. Luckily a very fast acting person grabbed the bike at the rear until we very soon reached the top. If they hadn't been there/the escalator had been longer, I dread to think what the consequences would have been for me and others.
Last edited by Sweep on 21 Jun 2022, 11:28am, edited 1 time in total.
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mjr
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by mjr »

Nearholmer wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 1:19pm
How? And does any of it not also apply to those "Max checked" suitcases now popular?
To repeat what I said earlier, bikes cause trouble on escalators at busy stations, especially going down, because they either block people from walking down on the left, causing arguments and/or tailbacks, or trip people over who do try to walk down past them, or, in the worst case, by the owner getting tangled-up at the bottom, leading to a pile-up.
The first two of those are caused by London <i>[inappropriate word removed]</i> in a rush trying to push past (and the endorsement by London Underground of the practice which is both aggressive and inefficient) and the third can happen anywhere that a foolish person has more luggage than they can handle.
“Wardrobe on wheels” suitcases can and do cause exactly the same trouble, as do people trying to run two wheeled suitcases simultaneously, which some will, and if an Underground station is very busy the staff will intervene if they see anyone approaching an escalator, especially down, with luggage that they are unlikely to be able to control;
Ah, that "intervene" must be the shrieking that someone else mentioned!

I wouldn't normally take my bike on the Underground (nicer to ride, now that London streets are getting more human-friendly) but I still won't hesitate to take Dutchie on escalators, including those at St Pancras and other UK rail stations. I speculate that the swept bars of a town bike may be more helpful on an escalator than ones where the brakes are right over the front of the bars, allowing easier access to the brake from a wider range of tilts of bike.
The thing to remember is that a heavily loaded down escalator doesn’t stop instantly if something goes amiss and the emergency button is pressed, and quite a pile-up can occur in that few seconds.
That applies to everything, including suitcases. I don't see it as a specific concern for bikes.
simonineaston wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 7:24pm Never mind the blinkin' escalators, my pet hate used to be trying to board trains from stops with no platform - ouch, ouch - my back is throbbing just recalling the memory... !!
Ah, De Panne (actually in Adinkerke) is one of those. It's the nearest Belgian station to Dunkerque port, now 60% cycleway to it, but you need at least three people to load bikes comfortably if a loco-hauled single-deck high-floor train is in service — two to lift them up and one to guide them onto the carriage — but happily they are mostly Desiro multiple units now, or sometimes older Break ones, with lower doors.
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simonineaston
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by simonineaston »

Multi-person job for sure - not least 'cos the near vertical position of cycle results in front wheel flop and consequent unwillingness of said cycle to go where pointed ! :shock:
S
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thirdcrank
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by thirdcrank »

simonineaston wrote: 21 Jun 2022, 11:12am Multi-person job for sure - not least 'cos the near vertical position of cycle results in front wheel flop and consequent unwillingness of said cycle to go where pointed ! :shock:
Cue for me to point out that it's easier to to offer up a bike by holding the headtube and downtube so the rear wheel is uppermost, I've only ever done this with things like the hooks in my garage ceiling but I fancy it would be equally applicable here
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Sweep
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by Sweep »

by the by, I agree with nearholmer about LT and bikes on escalators - they have an obligation to all travellers and their welfare.
Luckily there are good maps on the LT website showing not only which bits of the network allow bikes but also which stations have step-free access to the street. As I recall there are two ratings - one completely step-free from train to street and the other from platform to street. For able bodied folk even with a loaded tourer I think the second less-generous rating is fine.
You can also set-up a daily alert from LT about service disruptions which is sent out every morning and includes info on any lifts which aren't working. These can then usually be worked around albeit sometimes with a bit of extra cycling.
In my experience lift faults are usually sorted pretty quickly though usually would not be the same day.

LT is not too bad these days with lifts, though I fear that the godgiven plague and financial hit of that will seriously slow their roll-out of lifts.
Some of the stations do have multiple stage lifts* to get from train to street and I would tend to avoid these as it increases the chances of problems.
* a change at Victoria particularly wonky as I recall - seem to remember having to lift it down, walk along a tunnel and then lift back up or something. But lifts have clear diagrams outside showing the lift arrangement.

Links off this page have lots of useful info/maps etc.
https://tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessibil ... his-page-1
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CJ
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by CJ »

BeardyWeirdy wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 11:16am I have used the ones in Antwerp fully loaded - no issues if you follow the instructions

https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2019 ... n-antwerp/

getting your front wheel turned and standing on the right step makes it easier. The video show a few of the options
Excellent! Trust the Dutch/Flemmings to show us how it's done - easily, with none of the silly fuss made by Anglophones!

I was going to post about how I pay little attention to the front whilst ensuring the REAR wheel is snugly located on a step and then hold the rear brake on, but turning the front wheel is so much simpler - going up at least. They don't seem to be turning it on the way down however, so maybe then it's all down to wheel location and brake-holding.
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Sweep
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by Sweep »

CJ wrote: 23 Jun 2022, 9:02pm
BeardyWeirdy wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 11:16am I have used the ones in Antwerp fully loaded - no issues if you follow the instructions

https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2019 ... n-antwerp/

getting your front wheel turned and standing on the right step makes it easier. The video show a few of the options
Excellent! Trust the Dutch/Flemmings to show us how it's done - easily, with none of the silly fuss made by Anglophones!
None of those bikes significantly loaded though.

In any language.
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Nearholmer
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by Nearholmer »

It’s the going down that needs greater thought, and poses the greater potential danger.
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Re: Bikes on Escalators, is there a technique

Post by mattheus »

CJ wrote: 23 Jun 2022, 9:02pm
BeardyWeirdy wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 11:16am I have used the ones in Antwerp fully loaded - no issues if you follow the instructions

https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2019 ... n-antwerp/

getting your front wheel turned and standing on the right step makes it easier. The video show a few of the options
Excellent! Trust the Dutch/Flemmings to show us how it's done - easily, with none of the silly fuss made by Anglophones!
Have you done it Chris?
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