bikes on planes

avalanche

just wondering how safe is it to bring a bike on a plane? has anyone any experience doing this. i see a good bike case costs around 300 but is this really necessary? seems to be pretty pricey.is it possible to just pack it properly in a normal box using some kind of padding? or is this asking for trouble.

Hungrycol

Best to put your trusty steed into a bike box. They are expensive but I remember seeing somewhere that you can rent them for about €50. Unfortunately I can't remember where.

Morgan

It's definitely worth putting it some kind of box - especially on the outward journey since it could ruin your holiday if something got damaged on the way out.

A cardboard bike box is fine if you pack it carefully. You can rent bike cases too, here for example:

http://www.wheelworxbikes.com/index.php?cPath=114

hunnymonster

I've travelled all over with my bike in a bike bag (this one - https://www.bikeprousa.com/construction.php?UID=20080128040641143.239.163.93) and not had much in the way of problems. Don't forget that airlines charge for bike carriage.

blorg

I often fly and don't bother with anything at all. Never had a major problem.

My personal view would be that if it isn't a hard case you are better off with nothing; the handlers can then see what it is and wheel the bike around. If you have it in a bag it is very difficult to handle and they will be throwing it about the place (have you seen how they handle baggage?)

Having said that I don't think I'd bring a carbon bike in anything other than a hard case. Anything else I would be happy to just wheel it on.

cowan

A friend of mine brought his carbon stayed and forked roadie away, got it out on the other side, and couldnt fit the wheels onto it, stays and forks bent!!!

Chips Lovell

Huh? Didn't think carbon could bend like that?

blorg

Yeah, I find that surprising. I've bent a carbon fork on a head on collision but it was the alloy steerer that bent, the actual fork did not. Could it have been metal dropouts that bent?

avalanche

thanks for the feedback. have been looking at bike cases but boy are they pricey. anyone know of any alternative type of case that a bike could be put in?

blorg

You can partially disassemble, put spacers in the fork, remove the rear derailleur, wrap all the tubes in foam (you can get special cylindrical foam for this) and put it in a cardboard bike box (e.g. the type of box the bikes come in to a bike shop.

If you get them at the right time your local bike shop should provide all this stuff for free; they will only have to throw it out otherwise. Ask in advance if possible and they will save one for you.

I've done it this way before but to be honest it was more trouble than it was worth and I found it didn't give any more protection. Most particularly it means you can no longer cycle to/from the airport and in my experience your bike is more likely to get damaged in this portion than on the flight itself. It's difficult to find a taxi willing to take something of this dimension, particularly if there are two of you. It's also very difficult for the baggage handlers to handle, and they really seem to take it out on the box, absolutely fecking it around.

Note the guy with bent stays and forks above- probably wouldn't have happened if he hadn't removed the wheels in the first place. (If you are removing wheels make sure to fasten plastic spacers.)

macplaxton

I've carried a bike as sporting goods before.

Get free used cardboard box from local bike shop or hellfrauds. You can always get another by the same means for the return leg.

I left the wheels on, turned bars, dropped saddle and removed pedals. As it was, I left the wheels on and the front had to peek out by six inches at the front of the box. A bit of strategic bits of cardboard wrapped wrong some projections. Sneak a second frame...

Had to check it in at Heathrow in the oversize luggage. It was too big for that X-ray machine so was manually swabbed.

Arrived okay and first on the belt.

I'll post a photo up later (or link) when I find the camera. I've been too lazy to unpack it since it brought it over.

coggs

the blue bike case in the superstore is top notch , on a recent trip to south america it survived a trip that another box three times the price didn't . As for bike bags.... 4 others used bike bags , one had a rear drop out wrecked and another had fork damage !!! and they where both parrded up to beat the band . Not bad considering it took 3 flights to get there .

The_B_Man

Is this the sequel to that Sam L. Jackson film? :eek:

TinyExplosions

The_B_Man wrote: »

Is this the sequel to that Sam L. Jackson film? :eek:

I wasn't brave enough to go there.... was thinking it though!

cowan

Im 99.9999999999999% sure he said it was the stays and forks that were bent, ill ask when i see him next and report back.

blorg

The_B_Man wrote: »

Is this the sequel to that Sam L. Jackson film? :eek:

The way some people view bikes you would think they were scarier...

natdublin

what about this? free delivery too.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=15325

avalanche

Thanks for that natdublin, that looks to be what im after. hopefully it will last. the one in cyclesuperstore looks ideal but it costs about as much as the bike plus i will probably only use the box/bag once.

Type 17

Number one thing to do when removing wheels for transit:

Buy suitable naked axles with just cones or suitable nuts on them, for the fork/frame, and tighten them into the dropouts to prevent bending/crushing.

Also unbolt rear derailleur and tie it to the seat stay with cable still attached.