How do you travel by train with your bike? All our tips and adapted Bike travel bags .

Whether you're preparing for a bike trip across France with train stops or you're a daily user of the vélo train to get to work, discover in this guide all our tips to choose the Bike travel bag for train best suited to your use.

The bicycle train, an increasingly common use

Both part of a responsible mobility approach, bike and train offer a beautiful complementarity. In just a few years, taking the train with your bike has become extremely commonplace. Regular train users have noticed this. For leisure or business reasons, cycling and taking the train are complementary, provided, as we shall see, that certain administrative and material rules are respected.

Instructions to know and respect

In fact, you need to know the instructions, which vary from company to company, to ensure that your bike is accepted on board the train.

We'll concentrate in this article on the conditions of travel with the SNCF, but be aware that each company posts on its site the conditions of travel with a bicycle. You'll find useful links throughout this article.

Bike disassembled or not

Whichever train you take, SNCF offers you the opportunity to travel with your bike (disassembled or not), for daily commutes, weekend getaways or vacations:

• En TGV INOUI
• En OUIGO
• En TER, Transilien and Intercités
• In Europe

As traveling with the bike disassembled is by far the most common practice, and since we make and sell Bike travel bags :-), we're going to present the various solutions that exist for this option.

If you transport your bike folded or disassembled in A travel bag, your bike counts as hand luggage and must be placed in the baggage slots provided. The bag must measure a maximum of 120x90cm.

Bike travel bag special train TRAINBag Original - 120 x 90 cm

TGV INOUI 

All TGV INOUI trains offer the possibility of traveling free of charge and without reservation with your bike folded or disassembled and stored in A travel bag dimensions 120 x 90 cm like the TRAINBag Original.

OUIGO 

If you're traveling with OUIGO, SNCF's low-cost TGV offer, your bike will absolutely have to be stored in A travel bag with dimensions 120 x 90 cm, but unlike INOUI TGVs, you'll be charged €5 for bike transport.

It is also specified that its weight will have to be less than 30 kg, that gives you some leeway!

When booking your ticket you'll need to add an "extra or bulky baggage":

Caution : the SNCF specifies that not all bicycles are accepted on board the INOUI and OUIGO TGVs: recumbent bicycles, tandems, tricycles and all types of trailers are not permitted.

TER, Transilien and Intercités 

TER, Transiliens and Intercités are special cases given that it is not necessary for the bike to be disassembled in order to board.
Some carriages have dedicated spaces for bicycles, easily identified by pictograms on the doors and windows.

All types of bicycles are allowed with the exception of tandems, three-wheelers and tricycles. In addition, bags must be removed and trailers folded.

Please note: the transport of bicycles is prohibited on certain lines at certain times on TER trains.
Ask the SNCF for more information.

We invite you to consult your regional TER website for full boarding details.

On Transiliens trains you can take your bike on board free of charge from Monday to Friday before 6:30 am, between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm and after 7:30 pm. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays too.
However, whatever the day or time, you will not be able to access the train with your bike if it is very busy.

You can find all the practical details on the dedicated website: Travelling with your bike on Transilien

As for Intercités, you should know that some Intercités lines offer spaces for undismounted bikes, always within the limits of available spaces. In this case, you'll need to install your beloved biclou in a dedicated area, clearly identified by a pictogram.
Rates vary from €5 to €10 per bike depending on connections.

Here too you will find all the information on the SNCF website: https://www.oui.sncf/train/velo-a-bord

 

In Europe

Our tips for transporting a bike on a train

If there was only one thing to remember it would be this one :-) 120 x 90 cm, it's the key to taking your bike with you on any SNCF train.
And it's just the thing, because we've developed the bags range of TRAINBAG bikes, specially designed for the SNCF, perfectly suited to bikes from Road and mountain bike up to 29 inches! The TRAINBag are 4 in number and we present them in detail right after.

Anticipate!

As far as possible, make sure you get to the dock early, so you can quietly prepare your bikes, remove the bags if necessary, fine-tune the final details.

Try out your new Bike travel bag for train at home at least once, to get used to disassembling the bike and possibly see what tools you may need for this.

Not all bikes are allowed

Unfortunately the SNCF, as we have seen in this article, does not accept all types of bikes on its trains. Recumbent bicycles, tandems, tricycles and scooters are not permitted. The same applies to trailers.

Schedules and practical information

You will find online, on the sites yes.sncf and sncf.com all the information you need to organize your train trip with your bike.

Travel bags TRAINBAG from Buds-Sports

At Buds we love to ride our bikes and have been confronted, certainly like you since you are reading this article,

TRAINBAG LIGHT

The TRAINBAG LIGHT is the bag ultralight (810 g) and compact (barely larger than a water bottle), ideal for your bikepacking trips. It will easily find its place on your bike or in a backpack when you're on the move.

TRAINBAG CLASSIC

The classicmodel, with integrated pockets for storing wheels. The TRAINBAG CLASSIC is made from PE600D, an extremely durable material.

TRAINBAG ORIGINAL

Like the TRAINBAG CLASSIC, the TRAINBAG ORIGINAL features padded wheels pockets for superior protection. A best seller!

TRAINBAG TRAVEL

The TRAINBAG TRAVEL is the bag padded of the range. Designed to withstand the toughest treatment, you can count on it to keep your bike in top condition all the way to the end of the world. It has two inside pockets, also padded, for slipping wheels.

BICYCLE ACCESSORIESBAGS

All Travel bags in the TRAINBAG  range come with clever, universal accessories for optimum protection of your bike. These include the Fork Bike Protect, the Universal Support, the Rear Bike Protect, the Pedals Protect, the Frame Protect, the Frame Protect Maxi, the Handlebar Protect, du Saddle Protect et des Wheel bags WHEELBAG et WHEELBAG DOUBLE.