Pino by train - Worked well with a bit of preparation

[Chris Rust]

Hi Everybody, 

We just took the Pino on a 4-day ride and needed to take the train to and from the start in Manchester and finish in Hull.

UK train companies are officially against tandems but with some care over the preparation, to reduce the length and width of the bike and make it more manoeuvrable, we found it quite easy and had no problems with train staff.

http://sevenleagueboots.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/pino-by-train/

Hope you find it helpful

Chris

[John Slater]

When Sue and I did the Transpennine some years ago we just covered the pedals, places pannier on the stoker seat and pretended it was a solo. No problems for us fortunately

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[Chris Rust]

Thanks John, your photo is of the same Turbostar type of train we used. I was keen to reduce the bulk of the bike partly because the Northern Rail trains are a bit more cramped and also some of the Transpennine trains are very crowded with airport passengers and their luggage.

I had a tricky experience with a Turbostar train from Glasgow to Edinburgh a few years back, I needed to catch that particular train to make my connection back to Sheffield that evening but I was late and the train was very full, including two baby buggies in the bike space. It took a lot of tact and negotiation to get my touring bike and panniers on. With a full-width Pino we would have had a real problem. (You can't just tell a Glaswegian father to move his baby because it's a bike space)

So I hope my fairly minimal strip-down will allow us to get on most trains in the UK without fuss. Actually I was wondering if your old-style Pino with the curved seatpost is shorter than the current version? The saddle looks to be well-back over the rear wheel.

Best wishes from sunny Sheffield
Chris

[John Slater]

I think we improve our chances a little by taking only the off peak trains Chris.  If Sue and I work together we generally work something out, though a crowded train with a full complement of baby buggies is something we have yet to tackle.

Just for interest we have found the ESGE centre stand that was provided as original equipment pretty reliable.  Since fitting a larger section tyre to the front wheel we have had to add a couple of walking pole tips to raise the stand height. Its good enough to load up the panniers but not substantial enough to support the stoker too.

Glad Sheffield is sunny, just a glimpse or 2 in Leeds. Would love to have the temperatures we enjoyed over the bank holiday in York. We took the crowded Selby cycleway into the centre across the racecourse and along the riverside, I think they'll have to build an additional bypass to accommodate the increasing cycle traffic.


 

[Chris Rust]

On 13/05/2013 16:16, John Slater wrote:
> We took the crowded Selby cycleway into the centre across the
> racecourse and along the riverside, I think they'll have to build an
> additional bypass to accommodate the increasing cycle traffic.

We were there on Monday evening on the CycleSheffield Route66 ride to
Hull, very nice.