csport

Hi
I think of riding Metro North to Brewster or Croton-on-Hudson and biking back to NYC. The MTA bike policy (MTA LIRR - Bicycle Policy Information) says that the ``..single-seat, human-powered, two-wheeled ... with a wheel diameter not in excess of 27 inches'' bikes are allowed with a permit.
Does this mean that one cannot take an hybrid with 700c wheels? Mine has the 37-622 tires, and the wheel diameter with the tires on is about 27.6 inches (well, I have divided the distance travelled in one complete rotation of the wheel from the speedometer chart by 25.4 * 3.14; i.e., 2200/25.4/3.14= 27.6). Maybe the mean the rim diameter by the ``wheel diameter''?
Has anyone ridden Metro North with such a bike (even better, with a 29er)? Are they going to kick me off the train?
Thanks for any help.

indyfabz

$100 bucks says no, if only because I cannot imagine that a member of the train crew is going to measure your wheel/tire combination.

TheLibrarian

Seems an odd distinction. Metro north does not have space specifically for bikes and I couldn't imagine where you'd put it but if they're going to allow them it would make sense to allow more than just 20 year old 26 inch bmx wheels on the train. Any road bike will have 700c and most new mtn bikes have 29 or 27.5. Maybe they dont want fat bikes or only allow childrens bikes. I doubt they know what they're talking about though and I doubt the conductor has a tape measure but I couldn't say for sure. Certainly seems dumb when you realize it excludes the overwhelming majority of bicycles. I don't think they wanted them on the train in the first place and NY is hardly bike friendly.

Papa Tom

I just took my balloon tire 26" from Milford to Bridgeport last weekend and they didn't even bother to look at my MTA Bike Pass once I got on an off-peak train (see below). Like others here, I don't think any of the conductors even know one tire size from the next.

You do need to be conscious of which trains are peak and which are off-peak, though, as conductors made me wait out three trains last Monday morning because my bike is not a folder. Heading toward Manhattan, I could not get on any train before the 9am. Ironically, the 9:01 was way more crowded than the three before it.

prathmann

The choice of a 27" 'wheel size' sounds to me like they actually wanted to include essentially all normal bicycles without opening themselves up to very rare and unwieldy sizes. The 27" (630 mm bead diameter) wheel size is larger than 700c (622mm), 29" (622 mm), 27.5" (584mm), or MTB 26" (559 mm) wheel sizes. Unless you have a bicycle with rather unusual wheels (like the Coker or Dirtysixer 36" wheels) I really doubt you have anything to worry about.

Steve B.

It sounds like something some MTA lawyer wrote 30 years ago. Probably the only tire size he/she knew about was 27".

I'd doubt a train conductor carries a tape measure.

kaos joe

I've never had them even glance at the pass.

csport

Thanks for the replies! Will try riding with the bike.

indyfabz

Or you could simply let the air out of the tires.

csport

Thanks! Have done it today. Took the 12PM train from Harlem 125 St., no problem. They did not even bother to check the bike permit. Nice 50 mile ride from Brewster to Van Cortlandt park.