Reserving cycle spaces online - finding trains with spaces

[DynamicSpirit]

Any recommendations on which websites are the easiest for booking tickets and reserving cycle spaces?

In particular, a problem I repeatedly find is that, with the booking engines I've tried, if - for a return journey or a journey involving changes of trains - any one of the trains I'm booking for has no cycle spaces, the booking engines normally just display a message saying that there are no more spaces, but without saying which train is the one causing the problems. I then end up in a frustrating and very time-consuming game of blindly changing one train at a time to try to find a combination that is free, but with no idea whether the train I'm changing is actually the one I need to change. If anyone knows of any booking engines that actually tell you which trains are the ones that have no cycle spaces, it would be much appreciated.

 

[cyclebike]

I would suggest using a site with the "Mixing Deck" interface - for example MixingDeck (hulltrains.co.uk)

You can select a bike reservation next to where you select seat reservations. I believe it then on the next page gives a leg-by-leg breakdown if reservations could not be made (it will also then show up in the overview column on the right-hand side whether each leg has a bike reservation, or not - along with your seat assignment)

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I would suggest using a site with the "Mixing Deck" interface - for example MixingDeck (hulltrains.co.uk)

You can select a bike reservation next to where you select seat reservations. I believe it then on the next page gives a leg-by-leg breakdown if reservations could not be made (it will also then show up in the overview column on the right-hand side whether each leg has a bike reservation, or not - along with your seat assignment)

Ah yes, you're right, the Mixing Deck works better for that. Guess from now on I need to only use TOCs that have a mixing deck to book trains

 

[cyclebike]

It is a pain. Depending on the journey, sometimes I use a Mixing Deck site to double-check the availability of bike reservations, but then book the tickets elsewhere (e.g. TrainSplit - who don't do bike reservations), and traipse down to the station to separately make the bike reservations....

 

[DynamicSpirit]

It is a pain. Depending on the journey, sometimes I use a Mixing Deck site to double-check the availability of bike reservations, but then book the tickets elsewhere (e.g. TrainSplit - who don't do bike reservations), and traipse down to the station to separately make the bike reservations....

Agreed on it being a pain.

That sounds a high risk strategy of booking the tickets then going down the station - the cycle spaces could get booked up between the two, which would totally screw you if you bought advance tickets

 

[Bletchleyite]

Agreed on it being a pain.

That sounds a high risk strategy of booking the tickets then going down the station - the cycle spaces could get booked up between the two, which would totally screw you if you bought advance tickets

Trainsplit now seems to have a "free refund within 2 hours" feature, presumably done by non issuing the tickets, which if you live near enough to a station could be useful for this purpose.

 

[telstarbox]

From another forum GWR apparently offer them via Facebook Messenger and other TOCs may do similar?