RAD & TRAIN
Bicycle and train travel are a great combination for sustainable, flexible, and adventurous journeys. However, in practice, cyclists often face restrictions: on many trains, bicycles are only allowed under limited conditions or not at all—especially on busy routes or long-distance services. A common exception applies when the bicycle is treated as luggage, meaning it must be folded, dismantled, or packed in a suitable bag.
If the system already requires a “packaging,” then I simply sew one myself. Based on this idea, and inspired by Walter, Viavelo, Ara Breisgau, Uli, and Doris, I made a bicycle bag that makes the bike transportable while still being lightweight and easy to fold down small.
I store the bike bags inside a large supermarket shopping bag or carry them over my shoulder tied together with Restrap straps.
The bike can be carried quite easily by the saddle, which is left sticking out of the package when boarding the train.
Here is Walter’s guide, also known as Viavelo: “Bike travel by train – a packing guide”
Das Rad auf Zugreise – eine Verpackungsanleitung
Using this information, I then made my own bike bag, which is much more space-saving than commercially available ones and also cheaper.
