Can't cycles be booked on Northern Rail trains?

A question about : Can't cycles be booked on Northern Rail trains?

I prebooked a ticket to go over the Peak District on Saturday evening intending to take my tiny folding bike with 16 wheels. With snow forecast, I now need to take my full-sized one instead, but was lucky to be allowed on the last time I made this journey (with the non-folder) as the train was full of hikers. I've tried rebooking the ticket to see if it's possible to book a cycle space online but it would seem not. Booking is not even mentioned on the appropriate page here www.northernrail.org/travel/cycling

Best answers:

• I think you just have to turn up and its first come first served with the bikes. If there are hikers in the bike area, then you have priority and they have to move. If they dont then get the guard to move them.
• No pre-booking on Northern Rail, but they're pretty flexible about bikes unless you're trying to board a really busy train (e.g. peak time out of Manchester). I've seen them allow several more bikes than the nominal capacity, so as it's not a summer bank holiday weekend you're likely to be OK. Northern has quite a motley collection of rolling stock so on many routes anything can turn up, meaning cycle capacity can't be predicted.
  What route are you travelling on? As far as I know Northern only sell advance tickets on a handful of services, and don't offer seat reservations on any.
• You could always write to Northern Rail and suggest such a scheme, giving your reasons why you feel such a scheme would be beneficial and / or details of the problems you have encountered so far?
  You never know....
• Northern are quite flexible on bikes, they say 2 bikes per train services but I've seen services with at least 10 on during peak on some services.