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Bike Packing for IronMan NZ

Adrian_Wong's picture
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1019 days
started by Adrian_Wong on January 8, 2006

Hi guys,

my uncle would be doing his IM NZ this 2006.

He was asking me do we inflate our bike tires when we put our bikes into bike cases and check it into the airport.

He is afraid that the tires might burst ...Wondering if he should deflate abit and inflate it when he reaches his destination.

Also would like ot know of any impt packing tips u guy can offer especially when it comes to packing your stuff for an Intl Flight to do an IronMan abroad.

I guess the info provided in this thread would be useful to those doing their IM soon in 2006 and chking their bikes into airplanes.

Adrian
Singapore

Dreams cost NOTHING! Go for it DO IT! :)

ggalvao's picture
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ggalvao posted 2 years ago.

The most commonsense thing I can imagine and I have also heard from other people is to DEflate your tires prior to sending your bike to the ship because of thermal changes that might really 'explode' the tire...

THe other day when my father came back from Denmark to Brazil his guitar broke some part of the body because he didn't DEtune the strings before boarding, then he came from 0 Celsius to 27 celsius and *BANG*.

themutt's picture
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themutt posted 2 years ago.

Security at the airport is going to open the bike case. Be nice and ask right up front if you can be there when the case is opened up for inspection so that it can be closed correctly. The security people will be more than happy to oblige and even interested in this strange bicycle.
Don't forget, you CAN NOT fly with CO2 tire inflators. Got to leave them at home and buy new ones in NZ and then leave those behind.

Matt Hill's picture
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Matt Hill posted 2 years ago.

It wouldn't hurt to deflate your tires as you're going to have to pump them up before race day or before your first ride in New Zealand anyway.

There are plenty of bike shops in Taupo (IM location in NZ) that i'm sure wouldn't mind letting you use their floor pump in-shop if your Uncle (or anyone else doing the race) wants their tires pumped up. Just don't expect them to be open at 6 am race morning :p - a few days pre-race shouldn't be a problem though.

RV's picture
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RV posted 2 years ago.

Hadn't thought about deflating the tires when going by air. Good advice.

RV

It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss

merlinextraligh's picture
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merlinextraligh posted 2 years ago.

popping tires is pretty much a wives tale. Unless you've got 200lbs of pressure in them to start, the tires can take way more pressure than they would experience in flight. A guy on bike forums.net did a fairly detailed analysis of this. Also the cargo area is pressurized. Remember pets fly down there. Personally, I've always left some pressure in. Having the tires inflated tends to protect the rims from any impacts in handling.

ggalvao's picture
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ggalvao posted 2 years ago.

merlinextraligh wrote:
popping tires is pretty much a wives tale. Unless you've got 200lbs of pressure in them to start, the tires can take way more pressure than they would experience in flight. A guy on bike forums.net did a fairly detailed analysis of this. Also the cargo area is pressurized. Remember pets fly down there. Personally, I've always left some pressure in. Having the tires inflated tends to protect the rims from any impacts in handling.

The main concern is not the pressurization, the problem is when you move from a cold place to a warm place. The air will expand. It's physics!

merlinextraligh's picture
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merlinextraligh posted 2 years ago.

ggalvao wrote:
The main concern is not the pressurization, the problem is when you move from a cold place to a warm place. The air will expand. It's physics!

Yes, and the cargo hold of an airliner is going to be colder than the ambient air when the tire was inflated in the vast majority of instances. Even if there's a significant change in temperature between your departure and your destination, the change in pressure is not going to be enough to pop the tire.

Think about an early spring ride. Starting temp 35 degrees. you pump up the tires. Four hours later it's high 70's and your tire hasn't popped. It's experience!