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Hi, I am travelling from Geneva Airport to Aix-Les-Baines, then onwards to Bourg D'Osains.
- Travelling with a Bike Box
- Travelling in a few weeks time (peak summer)
- Most routes are via train, or come be that Blabla bus / Flexi bus thing.
- I must get the T75 bus from Grenoble to Bourg D'Osains as the final bit of the journey
Has anyone done any of the above? In particular, has anyone ever got the T75 bus with a bike box and been O.K?
Thank you!
Marking this as I have an interest too. Have tentative plans for 2026 which would be far simpler using trains in France.
All the public transport I use has max dimensions for luggage. Anything bigger usually requires either a reservation or is refused. Bikes almost always require a reservation if the box is bigger than max dimensions The only exception being folding bikes in a bag.
Hi Edella,
Did you make the trip in the end?
I’ll be taking part in the Étape du Tour de France from Bourg d’Oisans to Alpe d’Huez on Sunday, 19 July 2026.
I'm flying into Geneva and heading towards Grenoble so looking into if using public transport with a bike (box/bag) is achievable? Or just hire a car?
I've looked into specific transfers for the event but they appear to be only included as part of a package with accommodation (which I dont need).
I took a bike to France twice, first time by plane to Geneva, picked up by the company coach to Chamonix, second time was Eurostar to Paris, then TGV down to Lyon.
Never had any issues going or coming back. Bike was in a bag, rather than a box, if that makes any difference.
Thanks for the reply.
Can I politely ask, what do you mean by "picked up by the company coach"?
Thanks
I was coming along to say that if there is a flixbus option you can probably add it on easily and they are a cheap way to travel. We had to use a bus as a replacement for trains where there was work on the lines in September and the ticket price difference was pretty vast.
FWIW I got the TGV+local trains back up through France a few years ago. Squeezed my bike into a TGV-compliant 90 x 130 x 50 cm cardboard box and all was fine.
https://www.sncf-voyageurs.com/en/travel-with-us/plan-your-journey/luggage-on-bpard/
I may need to travel CDG - Central Paris with a bike / bag in a few weeks. Is this totally unrealistic on public transport? I'm even nervous about trying to find a taxi that will accommodate it.
I may need to travel CDG - Central Paris with a bike / bag in a few weeks. Is this totally unrealistic on public transport? I'm even nervous about trying to find a taxi that will accommodate it.
I'd imagine it is fine on the RER, though the hike through the airport from baggage claim to the station might be a bit of an ordeal.
The RER only allow bikes at some times unless the bike is folding. They introduced a 75cm limit on baggage size which definitely meant no bike boxes for a while but there was something of a revolt and they dropped that rule. Non folding bikes are still banned at the following times but I've no idea if they'd stop/fine you for an enormous bike bag/box because anything big enough to hinder other travellers is still banned - no longer a defined size limit, it's at the appreciation of the job's worth. So if it's outside the following times you could be stopped:
- Les samedis, dimanches et jours fériés : toute la journée.
- En semaine : avant 6h30, entre 9h30 et 16h30, puis après 19h30.