Apologies if this has already been discussed, but I'm starting to see blogs about European cities considering a ban on wheeled suitcases! Is that really the most important thing the tourist industry (or anyone else) has to worry about at the moment?
https://backroadplanet.com/9-european-cities-now-cracking-down-on-rolling-suitcases/
Looks like a ploy by uber to expand into the 'porter' service sector.
Who wants to get rich? Invent a 'silencing sock' to put over the luggage wheels in 'quiet zones'
That is old, very old news. Don't worry about it.
That is old, very old news.
Frank, the dateline is Jan. 1, 2026. Thirty-nine days ago. Old news?
I've been travelling in Europe for over 25 years now, not including three trips in the 1980s. I can remember when rolling suitcases were a novelty.
I also remember a time when I was in a RR station in Germany, and I heard a clatter, sounded like applause in a theater. I looked for the sound and saw someone was rolling their suitcase down the cobblestone platform.
You rolling fans don't realize (or don't care, probably) how annoying the sound of a rolling suitcase on cobblestones is.
There was a thread on this topic about a year ago and I know nothing never came of it. I imagine that’s what Frank meant.
This threat comes along every now and then.
Nowhere has an outright ban on wheeled bags.
This is someone's blog and not a legitimate news organization. Probably written to get people to click on it.
I agree with Lee that it is an annoying sound. Even being a tourist for a few weeks sleeping with the windows open, it’s an annoying clacking, when someone is leaving early morning to move to another city. Yes, the cities haven’t banned wheels, yet, but it is respectful to carry your bag when you reach cobblestone spots to reduce the sound impact.
But if you have to carry it, what's the point of having wheels? They just add more weight to what you have to carry.
So what's more annoying.....hearing wheels on the pavement or being whacked in the head by someone either wearing a backpack and not realizing that it extends out behind them or while it's being put on. I don't know how many times I've been smacked in the face on a plane by someone putting on their backpack before deplaning. They can't wait until they get off the plane?
Yes, the cities haven’t banned wheels, yet, but it is respectful to carry your bag when you reach cobblestone spots to reduce the sound impact.
Carry a bag with wheels? How far on a cobblestone street can people carry a bag? One block, two blocks, half a mile? How many people are out walking a bag late at night?
”… but it is respectful to carry your bag when you reach cobblestone spots to reduce the sound impact.”
Okay, I will explain my comment. I sit on both sides of the wheels & no wheels luggage, so I’m sincerely not trying to start something. ; ). When I’ve been on my February trips in Spain or the other 3-4 week trips these past three years, staying at 10+ cities, I take my Cotopaxi backpack because it’s easier on the trains so no wheels — no noise (and I carry my backpack in my hands on the plane).
But when I am taking a trip, such as the Christmas Markets where I will be coming home with a heavier suitcase because of the purchases and want a little more protection for the items, I bring my 2-wheel carry on. On the December trip, there were sections of the old cities where I would pick up my roller bag and carry it when we were on noisy pavement (& my daughter did likewise). Before my Cotopaxi, I remember carrying the 2-wheel a few blocks on trips such as in the Vieux Lyon neighborhood where the cobblestones were noisy.
I'm not too concerned about a ban on wheeled luggage. I really doubt that it would happen as tourists aren't going to go out and buy new luggage just to visit a particular location. They'll just stay away and the tourist businesses in that location will lose lots of money.
If it does happen somewhere, I can always dust off my venerable Backpack and put that back into service.
You rolling fans don't realize (or don't care, probably) how
annoying the sound of a rolling suitcase on cobblestones is.
You are correct, those people with wheels are obviously "you know who" who haven’t a care in the world about their fellow man. Have you noticed the color of most of those wheeled contraptions? What else do you need to know about "those people". Obviously not RS Travelers, just common tourists! I learned years ago, when I meet someone while traveling the first thing I do is check for wheels.
when I meet someone while traveling the first thing I do is check for wheels.
Do you meet many people with wheels or do most have legs?
FrankII sometimes they hide their wheels until the right moment, then BAM!! By then its too late for the good people.
Funny jokes haha funny jokes.
It's certainly crossed my mind before that the clacking of little wheely cases in narrow residential streets is pretty antisocial. I've been stuck walking behind someone in Barcelona wheeling their case and the noise did my nut in. I could see how it would get old quick if I lived somewhere residential in a city and it was going past my open window on the daily.
They'll have to pry my 2-wheeled out of my cold, dead hands.
(Mr. E, it's a dignified sage green.)
Synopsis of article that is more verbose than informative.
Dubrovnik: …asked arriving guests to avoid dragging bags…education first…noise rules…on the books if a disturbance is created late at night...rolling should be limited…
Venice: …headlines…from proposals and media reports…restricted consistently is the use of large trolleys and carts…, early arrivals...advised to lift bags rather than drag them.
Rome: …suitcase rules…monument protection rather than street noise… behavior that chips stone, including dragging wheeled luggage down famous staircases…Spanish Steps…can be stopped if bags are pulled or bounced on the steps…Most sidewalks still allow wheels…stay off protected stairs and sensitive marble zones
Portofino’s: …recent ordinance does not ban rolling wheels…, rule allows fines when people linger in key areas with luggage…crowd control tool aimed at peak season pressure...
Hydra: …target is transport rather than luggage...decree bans most wheeled vehicles…that reality turns rolling suitcases into a practical problem and sometimes an enforcement issue…
Florence: …standard public order rules for noise at night and on policing of crowding around monuments… mostly managed through existing ordinances…
Barcelona: …No citywide rule bans rolling luggage…enforcement against public disturbance has been strengthened…can include travelers dragging bags at quiet hours...
Amsterdam: ...Suitcase wheels are not regulated…hotels...warn guests about quiet hours, staircases, and narrow bridges…complaints can trigger checks…avoid rolling over bricks at night…
Prague: …Despite recurring online claims, a specific rolling suitcase ban has not been widely documented…nuisance…used when conduct crosses the line…rolling is allowed, but dragging loudly past apartment doors can bring warnings…
So its not the bag, its the person.
Kate. Sage green, okay. Forest green sends a definite signal to you know who.
Luggage doesn't click click... people click click! Well that's an old and twisted pro-wheel chant.
Wheeled luggage doesn't click, click by itself. People don't click, click. It's people with wheeled luggage that click, click.
So the obvious solution is to keep people from having wheeled luggage!
It's not the wheels, it's the surface they roll over that is the problem.
The noise happens when the wheel leaves the horizontal surface and encounters a vertical surface.
No vertical surface, no noise.
Posted by joe32F
It's not the wheels, it's the surface they roll over that is
the problem.The noise happens when the wheel leaves the horizontal surface and
encounters a vertical surface. No vertical surface, no noise.
So if the wheels leave the horizontal surface and encounter a vertical surface but there is no one there to hear it, does it still make a noise?
khansen, it only makes a noise if a tree falls on it.
