On 04 Mar 2004 09:43:30 -0800, Jym Dyer <
[email protected]> wrote:
>> The Bike Friday is more of a transportable bicycle than a real commuter folder like the
>> Brompton ...
>
>=v= I've used it for a daily commute as well. It folds up easily (and quickly, once you get the
>hang of it), though of course not as small as the Brompton.
>
>=v= If the rail line insists on a certain size -- e.g. "must fit under the seat or in the overhead
>luggage rack" -- then the Brompton may indeed be the one to go with. I've not been turned away from
>any rail or bus service with my folded Friday, though.*
The regulations on the commuter railways that feed London are too varied for me to remember. I seem
to recall that many of the services during peak hours are off-limits to cyclists of *any* stripe.
Trains are standing-room only all the way from Cambridge to London Kings' Cross (the bit of the
network I'm most familiar with), so regulations or no regulations, there's precious little space to
fit even a folded bicycle on a crowded carriage.
English trains are also a *lot* smaller than American ones, I find, as well. You might not have any
problems on big American commuter-rail coaches--but British trains are very narrow & cramped by
comparison. There's still loads of old-fashioned "slam-door" rolling stock plying the rails between
London and Southampton. I've seen bromptons on these, no sweat.
-Luigi