If your commute is too far to cycle, why not take the train most of the way and ride the rest? Here’s how to do it.

Trains and bikes are ideal for long-distance commuting, combining high-speed travel to cities and efficient journeys across them. Compared to driving, bike-rail is greener, less stressful and often quicker. It can also be frustrating as bike spaces are limited and different train companies have different rules. Yet most trains do carry bikes, and with the right strategy – or the right bike – it’s straightforward.

There are three options for commuting by bike and train. In descending order of convenience, they are: travel the whole way with a compact folding bike, such as a Brompton; use two bikes, one to travel to and from the station near home and one for the bike leg at the other end; or take a full-size bike on the train.

Option #1: folding bike

Folding bikes, including folding e-bikes, travel as luggage. They’re carried on all trains, free of charge and without a reservation. The main provisos are that the bike is fully folded on board and that it’s small enough to be stowed in an end-of-carriage luggage rack. That may rule out some fold-in-half bikes with big wheels and will certainly rule out folding tricycles.

You don’t normally need to cover your folding bike, although you are required to do so on c2c and Stansted Express trains. Exactly how the rules are interpreted ultimately comes down to the train guard. As long as you don’t inconvenience other passengers or blatantly disregard something the guard has told you on previous journeys with your folder, you’re highly unlikely to have any issues.

As you’ll be folding and unfolding your bike multiple times per day when commuting, it pays to have a bike that folds quickly and easily. And the smaller the bike’s folded dimensions, the easier life will be on crowded commuter trains. That’s why the Brompton is so popular among rail travellers: it can be folded in under 20 seconds to a package about 2ft square. Other good commuting options include Tern BYB, Link and Verge models; Btwin folders from Decathlon; the Riese und Müller Birdy; and the lightweight Hummingbird.

Whichever folding bike you have, don’t fold it until you’re about to board the train. It’s easy to pick up a folder weighing perhaps 10-14kg but surprisingly hard to haul one along a platform or over a footbridge. Push your unfolded bike through the wide pushchair/wheelchair gate. Take lifts to reach your platform. Fold your bike near the train door or – and you’ll get to know this after a few commuting journeys – on the platform where the train door will be when the train pulls in.

Stow your folded bike in an end-of-carriage or mid-carriage luggage rack – on the floor if possible as your folder will be bigger and heavier than most passengers’ bags. Aim to sit as near as possible to your bike and keep an eye on it at stations. Thefts aren’t common but do occur.

Option #2: bike at each end

This way you don’t travel with a bike on the train. You ride to the station near home and leave your bike locked there, then use a different bike at the other end.

The near-work bike can be a cheap or tatty one that you’re happy to leave locked up a railway station for long periods – or it can be hire bike, such as a Santander or Beryl bike.

Hire bikes are useful option if they’re available at the station you’ll be alighting at, because you don’t have to worry about security or maintenance. That’s someone else’s job. You just turn up, get a bike and go. Fees are modest, starting at £1.65 for 30-minute trip on a Santander hire bike. As a commuter, making regular trips, you can save money by having a monthly or annual subscription. And you can save even more money if you sign up to Cyclescheme’s bike rental scheme.

If you’re leaving a bike of your own at the destination station, use a cheaper or secondhand bike. You’ll need a good lock or locks and should thief-proof the bike with security skewers or, at the very least, Allen bolts instead of quick releases to prevent ‘piranha theft’ of parts. Don’t leave accessories like lights on this bike unless they’re bolted in place; carry them with you. The less maintenance your near-work bike requires, the better. Fit tough tyres. Use a simpler, more durable drivetrain.

Your home bike won’t spend as long locked up at a station, so security isn’t quite as big a concern. Yet you’ll still need a good lock or locks, and it’s still important to ensure parts and accessories can’t easily be stolen.

Option #3: conventional bike

You can take a conventional bike or e-bike for free on most train services. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the number of bikes carried is limited to just two, three or four on most trains. Some, such as rush hour services into or out of London, don’t carry non-folding bikes at all.

Where bikes are carried, bike spaces may require compulsory reservations or they may be open to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted earlier, different train companies have different rules. If you have to reserve a space, you’re limited to that specific train at that time; you can’t just hop on any train like a cyclist with a folding bike can. If spaces can’t be reserved there’s a risk that they’ll all be taken on your chosen train, forcing you to use a later service – which can cause expensive problems with advance-purchase tickets.

Either way it can be stressful. On top of that, conventional bikes aren’t carried on replacement bus services. In that situation, you’d have to leave your bike locked up at the station and collect it later.

One thing in your favour, as someone who will often be taking the same trains at the same times, is that you’ll get to know the patterns of bike carriage on those services. You’ll know if it’s likely (you can’t be certain) if you’ll get on board when it’s first come, first served. You’ll know whether reserved spaces tend to get booked up or not. Just as importantly, you’ll get to know the guard. If you have a good rapport with them, they’re more likely to let you squeeze your bike aboard when all spaces are taken that one time.

If you have to book a bike space, you can do that in person at the station or online when you book your ticket. Online, you book the bike space at the seat reservations stage. It’s possible to reserve a bike space (and a seat) even when you have a season ticket, as LNER’s website demonstrates. Note that you can book tickets online through any train operator’s website, even if they won’t be running the service you’ll be using.

When you arrive at the station platform, ask staff where you should stand for easiest access to the bike spaces – although you’ll know yourself after a few journeys, and there will be a bike icon on the door in any case. Some bike spaces are open areas, with flip-up seats available for use when bikes aren’t carried. Others are vertical cupboards with hooks. Fitting heavy or wide-handlebar bikes in the these cupboards can be awkward.

Aim to sit within sight of your bike if you can. If you can’t, keep a close eye out at stations, just as you would with a folding bike. You’re not allowed to lock your bike in place in a bike space. You could prevent a thief from riding off on it by, for example, turning the handlebar through 90 degrees (which will require an Allen key) or by cable-locking one of the pedals to the bike frame.

Don’t leave home without it

Make sure you install an app on your phone that shows live train times and platform numbers. The National Rail Enquiries app isn’t particularly good; Railboard (iOS only, Android version coming) and Trainline (Android, iOS) are both much better. You can use them to buy tickets but it’s the live tracking information that’s most useful for regular rail travellers.