Airplane trave w/ bikes
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triNick posted 1 year ago.
Most airlines will charge you for an oversized bag. The cost can vary from airline to airline. I've seen from $40 to $80 one way.
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Star posted 1 year ago.
I went to IM Germany last summer and rented a BIG bike box (from Carollwood Bike Shop in Tampa). That way, I could put all of my racing gear and nutrition in one box. The airline charged $80 each way (I think), and I can't remember what the weight limit was, but it wasn't even close. It was a little tough traveling in Frankfurt and Switerland on the trains with it because it was so big, but it was worth it to have everything in one box, and I only had to remove the wheels (rather than trying to put my bike back together). And we only had to pack one suitcase.
I'm going to IM Austria next summer and we're looking into shipping it to the destination, but haven't found anything I'm comfortable with yet...I'd rather have it (hopefully) with me on the flight, and the $160 is lots cheaper than what it would cost to ship.
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sgeddes posted 1 year ago.
I've paid between 80 and 90 one way in past several months on continental and united flights. I still prefer taking my bike with me than shipping it.
Also, Performance has probably the best value around as far as a decent case goes.
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magicno5 posted 1 year ago.
My suggestion would be not to use Fed-Ex or UPS. My bike store in South Florida recently stopped packing and shipping bikes for customers because of several bikes that were either lost or badly damaged while using these two companies.
If you are going to an IM race in the US, I use Tri-Bike Transport and I love them. They do a great job with eliminating any need to worry about your bike.
Outside of US, as the other people said, it's nice to know that your bike is traveling with you and it will probably be between 80-90 bucks each way. Although, if you have status with the airline (I'm Exec Plat with AA and 1K with United), you can usually talk them into lowering the price or (on one occasion) eliminating the fee completely.
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Riverbrady posted 1 year ago.
Most airlines differentiate between "oversized luggage" and "bike", and have special provisions and charges for a bike (ala $80 one way versus the $25-$50 for an oversize bag). That said, I'd rather spend the dollars flying my bike versus the chance on shipping and damage.
You'll find that a lot of the time the charge simply depends on the mood of the person checking you in and/or how rushed they are.
A number of Airline Baggage Regulations
For IM races in the continental states I either drive myself or ship it via TriBikeTransport. I don't travel enough myself to justify the cost of a case at this point, and the peace of mind of being able to have my bike fine tuned by my local shop before the race and left that way makes me happy.
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Red Devil posted 1 year ago.
I decided to ship my bike via Tri-Bike transport. No box involved and I don't need to take my bike apart
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catwood posted 1 year ago.
I fly with my bike a fair amount with school and such.
I have one of the performance cases and the good thing about that is that its shippable. Its also really heavy. Since USA Cycling has discontinued its bike voucher deal with United, I am thinking about getting a bikeprousa case because those are soft and lighter and I have heard that airlines are MUCH less likely to charge you for them. The lightest I have ever packed my performance case is 60 lbs and I've packed it to 100. Its possible to get the bikeprousa cases down to 35-40 or so lbs so its not even technically overweight, just oversized, for airlines and they might not charge you if you smile and act sweet.
I like having my bike with me. Four years ago, I had a bike shop ship my bike for me and they lost my seatpost clamp. If I had a car, I would drive with it if possible. When you ship a bike, I've had ups charge me for 100 lbs even though it was only 60 lbs because of the size and shape. It would have been cheaper to fly . For flying, I'd say the best case would be a bikeprousa case.
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kylie posted 1 year ago.
A note on cases as well: check with your local bike shop - a few near me do rent those to people.
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vanjames posted 1 year ago.
I'm heading to Australia for IM in April (leaving here in March ) for the bike cases do the soft cases requrie you to take most of the bike apart? Ie crank/Handlebars? DO you need a seperate wheel bag if you go softsided?
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catwood posted 1 year ago.
You have to take off the wheels, pedals, seatpost, and skewers. Nothing too crazy. Just takes a pedal wrench and a 5mm allen.
You have to undo the handlebars for some cases. If you have a hard case that you are stuffing tightly, its a good idea to unscrew the rear derailleur so that it does not get bent.
This one (or the bigger race-case which is the same, but it holds 2 wheelsets) is the one that I've seen and heard the best things about for flying.
https://www.bikeprousa.com/peleton.php?UID=2006120717410369.129.125.158
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UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
As far as shipping goes, I've found DHL to be the cheapest by far. Of course, you'll have to wait several days for the bike, which is why I fly with mine. If you do fly, make sure to pack it in a hard case since baggage handlers really don't care much about your bike. Also, airlines won't pay damages if your bike is in a soft case or cardboard bike box. I found that one out the hard way on my way Collegiate Nationals last year, and am now one disc short. You can find plenty of great deals on cases on eBay. Well under $300 including the shipping. (Much cheaper than a new disc). Be careful not to go over 50 lbs. on a domestic flight, though. They'll hit you with an oversize AND an overweight charge, which is another $50ish on top of the $80-$100 that they charge to send bikes now.
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Jstyle posted 1 year ago.
I think for IMAZ I am just going to go wth TriBike Transport. They take your bike whole disassemble then ship it. Once it get to the race site they resassemble and give it to you. Then you race and give it back to them they disassemble ship it then resassemble it at your home destination... Not too shabby for 210 :)
I am wondering about airline travel and bringing a bike as luggage? what are some good bike cases? do airlines charage extra? is it better to ship the bike via UPS/FedEx? Any other travel tips would be helpful!!