Experience mailing your bike?
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kylie posted 1 year ago.
I mailed my mountain biking to a hotel using UPS once (California to Utah, and then from a Utah bike shop back to my LBS in California). It was just fine, and got there in the projected timeline. It does mean being without the bike for a couple days on each end of its trip.
I got a cardboard box from my LBS (that another bike had arrived at their store in, it shouldn't be hard to get a used box like that from one). Then I packed it up, took it to the UPS store, and shipped it off. In Utah I took it to an LBS and just had them pack and ship it back to my LBS (so that I didn't have to be home to receive it or have it sit on a porch all day).
Most bikes do get to bike shops in those boxes, and packed well it should be pretty safe.
It was about $50 each way I think -- and actually the trip home, which including having an LBS package and ship the bike for me (in the box I had used to get it out there) ended up being just as cheap if not cheaper as me taking the bike to UPS. So I'd suggest checking into shipping from an LBS if you can since they often get a good rate and can help you make sure it is packed well and of a size that will be more affordable.
Oh, and definitely insure it for the value it is when you ship it -- it wasn't too expensive to add insurance with UPS.
I'm not sure if I'd do that with my carbon bikes -- I'm really paranoid about them. I think there was minimal new wear on the box when it got back, but I just know that isn't always the case and the way that carbon suddenly fails if damaged scares me.
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TriSooner posted 1 year ago.
Donna wrote:
cardboard box
Not your best option. Try to rent a box. Call your LBS and ask to use one. Ask your roadie friends. Someone has a hard-side clamshell in the attic. And yes, buying a box is dumb unless you use it a lot. I bought a $400 box. Used twice. But I bought mine before renting anything (boxes, suits, wheels) was an option. Anyways, the container is of key importance. If your only option is cardboard, your LBS has tons of them sitting around waiting for the trash (all of their new inventory comes in cardboard boxes). They should just give you one so they don't have to walk it to the trash. After that, bulk it up with bubble-wrap and cross your fingers. Whom you choose to ship is just a matter of preference.
Did you see this?
http://www.shipbikes.com/
And where did you see stats about Ironman competitor's income? I'd believe those figures about as much as I believe posters who say they ride 150 miles a week but their logs say 50.
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kylie posted 1 year ago.
huh... maybe I'm missing something, but it seems like shipbikes.com is just an expensive cardboard box in the dimensions FedEx will accept... so what am I missing?
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brittda posted 1 year ago.
TriSooner wrote:
Donna wrote:cardboard boxAnd where did you see stats about Ironman competitor's income? I'd believe those figures about as much as I believe posters who say they ride 150 miles a week but their logs say 50.
Stats are published at each event in one of the guides I believe ... Know I saw it somewhere. Median income was $150k which really with 2 people working is not all that difficult esp for out here where one person averages that in a high tech job--but then this was hashed out in another long string recently I believe.
As for the bike, I have never sent one but I certainly would not use a cardboard box for my good race bike. I would certainly try and find a hard sided box. The LBS's around here rent them.
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zagfan posted 1 year ago.
I rented a hard case a few weeks ago for a race and took it with me on the plane. I picked the case up on Tuesday night from the LBS and dropped it off the next Tuesday at $5/day ($35 total). Not bad considering it still had a $299 price tag on it. I flew Frontier and it only cost me $50 each way for oversize. The Denver and Boise airport allowed me to witness the inspection and then place zip ties on the locks to secure it (I've heard horror stories about ruined bike cases from airline inspectors using bolt cutters).
Agree on the average Ironman athlete's income, I must be bringing it way down. I'm going to start bringing resumes with me to my races.
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ChunkyB posted 1 year ago.
There are a few things to keep in mind with the average ironman income. First of all, this is reported income. If you were to ask those same people how fast they will do the bike leg, you'd probably get an average around 40 mph.
Second of all, there's a reason no one else ever reports average income. There are plenty of people who make millions (especially all the celebrity ironmen who get exemptions because they're famous or because they're dating Tom Cruise), but there aren't any people making negative money, so it's going to be skewed.
But, it does paint a funny picture with your resume at the race. I can see you pulling up behind some gray-haired executive looking guy on the bike leg and trying to do an on-the-fly interview. I guess you'll have to put some business cards in your bento box.
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zagfan posted 1 year ago.
I know the numbers are off, it was just funny to look in the event book and see 160K as the average. I think with a little bit of profiling on the bike course someone could get a good amount of resumes passed around. You figure you have 20 seconds to make your pass without being penalized to hand off your resume. If he/she likes your resume you can both take the 4 minute penalty and continue the interview in the penalty tent. Just limit the distribution to those older athletes who are going 15-16 MPH on a tricked out bike worth $8,000. They're easy to catch and probably have a butt load of money.
Also, anyone have Brittany Spears' or Lindsay Lohan's number, I would really like to do an IM next year and it would be great to avoid the trip to go to this year's race in order to sign up for next year. My wife probably wouldn't approve, but addicts are desperate right?
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Donna posted 1 year ago.
Thanks for the advice. I do have a carbon bike (I know, I know-I'm broke but have a carbon bike! I moved back to MT and took a huge pay cut). Anyway, I guess I should go check it out with the bike shop. I certainly wouldn't be able to afford another bike if this one should break.
The stats were in the competitor's handbook at Boise 70.3....and I believe Anton had quoted them before on another string....
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M posted 1 year ago.
This site has good info about bike shipping and how to be anal about packing it for cardboard.
http://www.bikemecca.com/techstuff/packing.html
We borrowed hard cases from a local couple and took them on the plane to Switzerland. The fee was to be $80 each way. They forgot to collect on the way home. The hard case would obviously add weight and presumably $$ to shipping costs (although I think FedEx ground is amazingly cheap for heavy stuff; not sure about the timing issues). The hard case / airline option is good b/c you can load the box with all kinds of other stuff in addition to your bike.
Good luck.
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kylie posted 1 year ago.
Many of the hard bike cases are too big for FedEx to ship I believe.
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I was wondering what others' experience was with mailing your bike in a cardboard box. Did you use USPS? UPS? Fedex? I live in Montana and tribike transport doesn't come out here. Flying with it is so expensive not to mention having to buy the box. BTW: I'm on a limited budget-all those stats about Ironman athletes' average income?? I bring the average waaay down!
Thanks!
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