IM Austria 2012 Bike Shipping

duffyshuffle

Anyone know of prices/contacts to ship bike over and back to Klagenfurt? I remember we did it before in 2007 but can't remember with who or how to organize it. Anybody know? I see a few on here are racing, anyone keen on shipping to get a discount or anyone organized this already?

Thanks

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

duffyshuffle wrote: »

Anyone know of prices/contacts to ship bike over and back to Klagenfurt? I remember we did it before in 2007 but can't remember with who or how to organize it. Anybody know? I see a few on here are racing, anyone keen on shipping to get a discount or anyone organized this already?

Thanks

Why not fly with a hard bike box? Probably around €100 return or therabouts and I would imagine cheaper than sending it across with a shipping company.

Izoard

Timothy Great Tightwad wrote: »

Why not fly with a hard bike box? Probably around €100 return or therabouts and I would imagine cheaper than sending it across with a shipping company.

Aer Lingus only take a max of 6 bikes per flight, for some reason...

Oryx

Already booked to fly the bike over. Had to go via stansted. Thought flying would be the simplest way. The only crowd I know that ship vehicles for holiday purposes work with motorbikes, but thats what they do, transport to your destination while you fly. I'd have to look up the name for you, but a bit pricey for a pushbike. Sorry I can't help you more than that.

duffyshuffle

If it wasn't too expensive it'd be a handy way to do it as travelling through Vienna so bit of a trek with the box, thanks for the input, thought there was a company that does it so thought someone would know

tunney

I looked into shipping a bike a few years back and the price was prohibitive. Some clubs, Limerick I think, organise a man with a van who drives over with a load of them.

anfearruaaris

Hi lads and ladies,
Details are been finalised on a new bike transport service from Ireland to European triathlon locations for the coming racing season. Full details to be announced shortly.

tunney

anfearruaaris wrote: »

Hi lads and ladies,
Details are been finalised on a new bike transport service from Ireland to European triathlon locations for the coming racing season. Full details to be announced shortly.

At this stage gav is the exception in not having organised bike transport to his race I would think. For 2012 events I would imagine most would have it nailed down by now.

duffyshuffle

tunney wrote: »

At this stage gav is the exception in not having organised bike transport to his race I would think. For 2012 events I would imagine most would have it nailed down by now.

I wouldn't agree with that. Theres still loads of room left on the flights for bikes, just thinking of transport since lots are going and it could be less hassle than lugging it around.

duffyshuffle

anfearruaaris wrote: »

Hi lads and ladies,
Details are been finalised on a new bike transport service from Ireland to European triathlon locations for the coming racing season. Full details to be announced shortly.

What ballpark pricing would it be? Group discounts?

anfearruaaris

Hi, Full information and details will be announced shortly - Thanks for the interest. Cheers, Pearse.

trihead

far as know aerlingus increased their limit to 10 bikes per flight this year instead of six. They have taken loads more in the past but for an A race like ironman it is bit too risky to not have a spot booked/secured.

DHl were used in 2007 for the huge gang that did im austria that year - it was handy alright!

trihead:)

kala85

Is it possible to rent a bike over there??

kingQuez

Hey kala85, I assume you're not planning on doing the race if you're thinking of renting a bike (you'd really want to have your own bike that you've done all your training on), but if you're looking for something to go for a shorter ride or support on the day of the race you can rent bikes (not fancy, and not really road bikes) from the tourist info centre down by the zoo where you park when walking to the IM expo. Cost a couple of quid a day lastyear IIRC.

sherdo2010

duffyshuffle wrote: »

Anyone know of prices/contacts to ship bike over and back to Klagenfurt? I remember we did it before in 2007 but can't remember with who or how to organize it. Anybody know? I see a few on here are racing, anyone keen on shipping to get a discount or anyone organized this already?


Send us your bike to Klagenfurt and let us do the rest! You will get your bike completed and set up – ready for the big day! We will store your bike case in our deposit and you don’t have to care about anything anymore!
Price package I:
Package adoption and
Service (Bike setting up, bike check incl. small bike service, gear adjustment)
exklusive shipping costs
€ 149,-
Price package II:
Package adoption and
Service (Bike setting up, bike check incl. small bike service, gear adjustment)
Acceptance of bike after race
Deconstruct of bike
Packaging
Shipping
exclusive shipping costs <LI sizcache="2" sizset="56">€ 199,-
Please note: when sending us the bike from overseas check the customs duties first!

More information and registration for the service: klagenfurt@mountainbiker.at

Seems a lot as you still got get the box! mabye the best option would be to see there is an Irish company who will ship the bikes over as mentioned above! On the subject if you have your bike booked on a plane, your bike is gaurenteed to be on is that right?

tunney

sherdo2010 wrote: »

duffyshuffle wrote: »

Anyone know of prices/contacts to ship bike over and back to Klagenfurt? I remember we did it before in 2007 but can't remember with who or how to organize it. Anybody know? I see a few on here are racing, anyone keen on shipping to get a discount or anyone organized this already?


Send us your bike to Klagenfurt and let us do the rest! You will get your bike completed and set up – ready for the big day! We will store your bike case in our deposit and you don’t have to care about anything anymore!
Price package I:
Package adoption and
Service (Bike setting up, bike check incl. small bike service, gear adjustment)
exklusive shipping costs
€ 149,-
Price package II:
Package adoption and
Service (Bike setting up, bike check incl. small bike service, gear adjustment)
Acceptance of bike after race
Deconstruct of bike
Packaging
Shipping
exclusive shipping costs <LI sizcache="2" sizset="56">€ 199,-
Please note: when sending us the bike from overseas check the customs duties first!

More information and registration for the service: klagenfurt@mountainbiker.at

Seems a lot as you still got get the box! mabye the best option would be to see there is an Irish company who will ship the bikes over as mentioned above! On the subject if you have your bike booked on a plane, your bike is gaurenteed to be on is that right?

That doesn't include the actual shipping................. I looked into that before.

As for your bike being guaranteed? No - not with Aer Lingus. Hence I avoid them like the plague they are.

Oryx

I will never use aer lingus again when bringing a bike. Used them once and it was not good.

Izoard

Just to balance the Aer Lingus bashing - I've used them 3 times (6 flight legs), each with a bike bag, rather than hard box (not clever, I know...), but no problems at all....

sailing

Aer Lingus will carry up to 10 bikes on their flights, more if there is space available which is rarely an issue. There are a number of exceptions which are located on their website. These exceptions are a guideline only and it's not to say they won't carry ten or more on a flight, it just depends on space available as they have contracts with various companies to carry cargo on certain routes. I have never seen an issue with carrying bikes in the past. To book your bike you contact the airline reservations beforehand and pay a 40 euros fee each way when you arrive at the airport. The information is on their website. I have used them in the past and so far have never had a problem.

Oryx

I had to book my flight with no guarantee they could take the bike, I had to phone them after the booking to put the bike on. (they stipulated 6 per flight) They broke my box and charged me excess baggage even though the sales rep assured me repeatedly that would not happen. (Their limit is 15kg and I did try to preempt the problem by prepaying extra, but couldnt. I wasn't told you can bundle your luggage allowance into the bike allowance, I now know you can, if you push it). This was this year.

Maybe my experience was an exception, I dont know. Ive flown ny box twice since with another airline, no hassles.

tunney

sailing wrote: »

Aer Lingus will carry up to 10 bikes on their flights, more if there is space available which is rarely an issue. There are a number of exceptions which are located on their website. These exceptions are a guideline only and it's not to say they won't carry ten or more on a flight, it just depends on space available as they have contracts with various companies to carry cargo on certain routes. I have never seen an issue with carrying bikes in the past. To book your bike you contact the airline reservations beforehand and pay a 40 euros fee each way when you arrive at the airport. The information is on their website. I have used them in the past and so far have never had a problem.

I have seen issues, many. They are incompetent, ineffective and the embodiment of Irish semi state mentality. It says alot when ryanair are more pleasant to fly with.

mloc123

When it comes to flying with a bike, Ryanair all the way.
You can book book it online with your flight and a 30kg weight limit.

Aer Lingus is a mess, phone up customer care... check they have space on the flight, go online and book the flights, phone back and then book the bike on separately

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Yeah i travelled Ryanair with the bike earlier this year and actually had most of my gear packed in with the bike given the weight allowance they give you.

I think i will have to upgrade from a soft to hard bike box next year especially now with the carbon frame.

sailing

I have seen issues, many. They are incompetent, ineffective and the embodiment of Irish semi state mentality. It says alot when ryanair are more pleasant to fly with.

What issues did you have Tunney? Was it in relation to a bike or is it just a rant in general? Did you take the issues up with them?

When it comes to flying with a bike, Ryanair all the way.
You can book book it online with your flight and a 30kg weight limit.

That seems a generous allowance and worth booking if travelling with a bike

tunney

sailing wrote: »

What issues did you have Tunney? Was it in relation to a bike or is it just a rant in general? Did you take the issues up with them?

Bikes. Their inability to commit to a bike being booked on. Their inability to give a consistent answer to how many bikes are able to be booked on. The fact that despite bikes being booked and paid for on they still operate a first come first served approach for getting bikes on planes.

I complained yes but the joys of the free market mean that the ultimate take up of issues is not flying with them again.

tunney

mloc123 wrote: »

When it comes to flying with a bike, Ryanair all the way.
You can book book it online with your flight and a 30kg weight limit.

Aer Lingus is a mess, phone up customer care... check they have space on the flight, go online and book the flights, phone back and then book the bike on separately

bikes can weigh up to 30kg before they are refused on the plane. However the weight from 20-30kg, ie 10kg, will be charged as excess is my understanding.

Lufthansa on the other hand €70 each way (but no luggage charge so works out the same) have a 34kg limit, yes 34kg.

sailing

Bikes. Their inability to commit to a bike being booked on. Their inability to give a consistent answer to how many bikes are able to be booked on. The fact that despite bikes being booked and paid for on they still operate a first come first served approach for getting bikes on planes.

I complained yes but the joys of the free market mean that the ultimate take up of issues is not flying with them again.

I'll take this issue up with Aer Lingus and see if I can get them to commit to an improvement in the website and the service. My understanding is there is very rarely a space issue so I can't see any reason why it can't be improved. I'll post back if I get an answer.

tunney

sailing wrote: »

I'll take this issue up with Aer Lingus and see if I can get them to commit to an improvement in the website and the service. My understanding is there is very rarely a space issue so I can't see any reason why it can't be improved. I'll post back if I get an answer.

If you can talk to them and get someone who can do anything.

A company wide, coherent, consistent policy is whats needed with everyone educated.

Ringing one day to be told "don't know", and other days "no limit on bikes", "6", "10" etc etc is not one.

Oryx

sailing wrote: »

I'll take this issue up with Aer Lingus and see if I can get them to commit to an improvement in the website and the service. My understanding is there is very rarely a space issue so I can't see any reason why it can't be improved. I'll post back if I get an answer.

You have connections to them? (Did get that impression in your earlier post)


On a more on topic note, this

Price package I:
Package adoption and
Service (Bike setting up, bike check incl. small bike service, gear adjustment)
exklusive shipping costs
€ 149,-

seems a very expensive service. No shipping included? Am I right that all they do is unpack and assemble your bike? I never even rode a bike or held a spanner till two years ago, and I can break a bike down, pack it, and build it back up again. Im sure I wont enjoy doing it after an IM, but Ill pass on paying someone 200 quid to do it for me.

sailing

You have connections to them?

Yes I know someone from the club who might be able to do something about it. I can only try, not promising anything.

tunney

sailing wrote: »

Yes I know someone from the club who might be able to do something about it. I can only try, not promising anything.

Also a bike and box CANNOT weight less than 15kg.

sailing

Also a bike and box CANNOT weight less than 15kg.

Agreed, if I was to suggest 25kgs to the relevant person what would people think? I've made a phonecall and awaiting a response.

tunney

sailing wrote: »

Agreed, if I was to suggest 25kgs to the relevant person what would people think? I've made a phonecall and awaiting a response.

if you could confirm bikes on, get 25kg, and a consistent answer to the number of bikes on a plane I would fly aer lingus again. Until then - anyone but....

Oryx

Another related issue, ground staff in Dublin T2 insist that a bike box can only carry 'bike related' items. They can make you unpack and remove non bike items* and send them as regular luggage. Not directly related to Aerlingus, but it sure didnt help their pr when I was checking my box in and got chastised by the staff in excess baggage. I felt like a bold child.

*When doing tri, you tend to put things like a wetsuit in the bike box. Its good for padding out the box but pushes the weight up so its risky.

sherdo2010

So Ryanair allow 30kg for a bike and box!! safer to go with them as you would throw aload of gear in with them also. to put a TT bike in a box is there much involved. take off the wheels etc and what else. i.e. if your shown how to do would you be able to pack it and build it up when you get there?

For austria IM is it best to fly into munich (with either aer lingus or ryanair) or fly to vienna with aer lingus and whats the drive like for them? Also do ryanair fly into salzberg during the summer or is it just winter months? Any Advice info would be great?

Oryx

sherdo2010 wrote: »

So Ryanair allow 30kg for a bike and box!! safer to go with them as you would throw aload of gear in with them also. to put a TT bike in a box is there much involved. take off the wheels etc and what else. i.e. if your shown how to do would you be able to pack it and build it up when you get there?

Yes. Loads of videos on youtube. I dont have a tt bike, Just a cf road bike. With mine, you need to take off pedals, wheels, (let the air out of the tyres) seat with seat post (mark the height), undo the handlebars, secure the rear derailleur. Depending on the box, making it fit in can be difficult. Rebuilding, make sure you have a torque spanner if its carbon. How tricky it is depends on your bike. Some of those setups can be hard to get right again, but not exceptionally difficult.

For austria IM is it best to fly into munich (with either aer lingus or ryanair) or fly to vienna with aer lingus and whats the drive like for them? Also do ryanair fly into salzberg during the summer or is it just winter months? Any Advice info would be great?

The nearest airports to Klagenfurt are Klagenfurt, Graz, and Ljubljana. I dont think aerlingus fly into them. Cant help you on the other airports, I didnt look at them at all.

sherdo2010

Oryx wrote: »

Yes. Loads of videos on youtube. I dont have a tt bike, Just a cf road bike. With mine, you need to take off pedals, wheels, (let the air out of the tyres) seat with seat post (mark the height), undo the handlebars, secure the rear derailleur. Depending on the box, making it fit in can be difficult. Rebuilding, make sure you have a torque spanner if its carbon. How tricky it is depends on your bike. Some of those setups can be hard to get right again, but not exceptionally difficult.

The nearest airports to Klagenfurt are Klagenfurt, Graz, and Ljubljana. I dont think aerlingus fly into them. Cant help you on the other airports, I didnt look at them at all.

Can do everythin i think bar the hadle bars and securing the derallier but i will get bike mech to show and sort it then

ya dont think any irish airlines fly into any of those locations. Closest is munich and vienna.. anyone any experince on travelling from there

Notwitch

I went Aer Lingus to Munich last year. Went 7:20am from Dublin on the friday. All worked out relatively painlessly but it was just before 6pm before we got to Klag - a couple of pit stops for food/coffee. Roads were great and easily navigated, just busy with some roadworks around some of the tunnels.

Very doable but worth doing earlier in the week if possible as it's a long day.

Others have hired a camper van in Munich and taken their time going down and used the campsite at the race start - probably booked out at this stage.

Oryx

sherdo2010 wrote: »

Can do everythin i think bar the hadle bars and securing the derallier but i will get bike mech to show and sort it then

I just take the bars off from the front of the stem rather than the head. Leave cables intact. Just be really careful with it once its loose. The derailleur I pull around and strap to the chainstay. Not tricky at all. Most races will have mechanics available to sort out issues.

sailing

if you could confirm bikes on, get 25kg, and a consistent answer to the number of bikes on a plane I would fly aer lingus again. Until then - anyone but....

I have received a reply back. My info is that it will shortly be possible to incorporate a booking for a bike or other sports equipment when booking a flight with Aer Lingus. There is a new website being developed at the moment which when released will allow a confirmed booking of bikes when making a normal passenger booking. This is due for release in 2012. I believe it will be around March time. The release of this new system will incorporate various other options not applicable to us interested in this sport but it will be part of the released package. Believe it or not they told me there is very little demand for carrying bikes and when they do it is usually from a group booking. I suppose for us involved in cycling/tri it seems strange but they get very few enquiries about it.

In relation to the weight issue I believe the reason for the 15kg allowance is that people in the past have booked a bike on board and then used it as a suitcase rather than a bike and a much less cost. I'm not going to get into the rights and wrongs of it as it's more a consumer issue than biking but I'm sure people get the idea of where the low allowance came from.

More importantly now I am going to push for a higher allowance. It would be good to get an idea of what people would reasonably expect. I mentioned 25kgs above. At the moment the cost is 30 euros per flight. I suspect Aer Lingus would propose to increase the fee to counteract the problem mentioned above if the allowance was also increased. What would people think would be a reasonable price for a 25kg allowance? In an ideal world it would be nothing but that won't happen.

I'll continue to persue the cause but from my information today a little progress has been made and it will be possible to book your bike onto a flight at the time of booking your flight in Q1/2 2012.

Oryx

Right now ryanair charge €40 each way for a bike. Thats reasonable to me (but dont tell o'leary I said so or he'll put it up). I would rather pay a little more than €30 for a higher weight allowance than be snagged for excess baggage by aerlingus when I hit the airport. I felt like I had been conned. There was no way I could come in under that limit when using a bike box.

tunney

sailing wrote: »

I have received a reply back. My info is that it will shortly be possible to incorporate a booking for a bike or other sports equipment when booking a flight with Aer Lingus. There is a new website being developed at the moment which when released will allow a confirmed booking of bikes when making a normal passenger booking. This is due for release in 2012. I believe it will be around March time. The release of this new system will incorporate various other options not applicable to us interested in this sport but it will be part of the released package. Believe it or not they told me there is very little demand for carrying bikes and when they do it is usually from a group booking. I suppose for us involved in cycling/tri it seems strange but they get very few enquiries about it.

In relation to the weight issue I believe the reason for the 15kg allowance is that people in the past have booked a bike on board and then used it as a suitcase rather than a bike and a much less cost. I'm not going to get into the rights and wrongs of it as it's more a consumer issue than biking but I'm sure people get the idea of where the low allowance came from.

More importantly now I am going to push for a higher allowance. It would be good to get an idea of what people would reasonably expect. I mentioned 25kgs above. At the moment the cost is 30 euros per flight. I suspect Aer Lingus would propose to increase the fee to counteract the problem mentioned above if the allowance was also increased. What would people think would be a reasonable price for a 25kg allowance? In an ideal world it would be nothing but that won't happen.

I'll continue to persue the cause but from my information today a little progress has been made and it will be possible to book your bike onto a flight at the time of booking your flight in Q1/2 2012.

the lack of demand is *probably* to do with everyone knowing to avoid them

sailing

the lack of demand is *probably* to do with everyone knowing to avoid them

True, but then I've been told that the percentage of Irish or foreign travellers that bring bikes with them on flights is so small there is very little revenue generated from it. There are very few recreational travellers that bring bikes out or into Ireland with them on holidays so it's only a handful of those here in the sport that it affects. There was probably a small spike in demand for galway 70.3 but other than that very little. Anway i'll continue to persue this for the gain of us in the sport and I'll do my best to get this sorted out if I can. If it's a generous allowance and in line with other airlines then people have more of a choice when deciding what airline they wish to fly for for their training/race.

Notwitch

Why not see if they can offer a discount through TI or Cycling Ireland membership - AL increase the weight limit but build in some price protection so people aren't just booking bike boxes instead of additional suitcases and then discount it when someone provides a valid TI or Cycling Ireland number.

Worst case it would positively impact the membership numbers/revenues of TI and CI!

sherdo2010

Notwitch wrote: »

I went Aer Lingus to Munich last year. Went 7:20am from Dublin on the friday. All worked out relatively painlessly but it was just before 6pm before we got to Klag - a couple of pit stops for food/coffee. Roads were great and easily navigated, just busy with some roadworks around some of the tunnels.

Very doable but worth doing earlier in the week if possible as it's a long day.

Others have hired a camper van in Munich and taken their time going down and used the campsite at the race start - probably booked out at this stage.

Who did you fly with into munich..How much you lookin at hiring a camper? is it a minnimum of a week tho? just to confirm with ryanair you can book a bike on when booking flights and its 30kg weight limit and with aer lingus you cant book your bike on when booking flights as of yet, and the limit is 15kg?

tunney

Ring Ryan air and clarify.

I believe its 30kg max weight and the amount covered by the charge is 20kg. Anything over 20kg is excess. This is my understanding.

mloc123

tunney wrote: »

Ring Ryan air and clarify.

I believe its 30kg max weight and the amount covered by the charge is 20kg. Anything over 20kg is excess. This is my understanding.

I don't know.. I have a print out from their website in July ready to dispute this. Bike was checked in at 25kg, nobody said anything to me about it tho'

Oryx

I've not been charged excess with Ryanair yet. I have been over. Probably depends on the airport.

sailing

Following on from some posts yesterday I followed this up and was put in touch with and spoke directly to the person responsible for ancillary revenue in Aer Lingus this afternoon. I outlined the problems that people seem to have in relation to booking a bike on board, the booking system in general, the lack of understanding from customer support, the poor allowance and the lack of guarantee of a bike travelling on a flight. I outlined the importance of people needing this guarantee when booking a flight for a race. I put the case forward that tri/cycling was becoming a very popular and growing sport and they had the opportunity to put a proper service in place to accomodate people travelling abroad to race/train and if they did then people may be more willing to travel with them. I put forward a few initial proposals and they seem keen to get this problem solved and asked if I would be willing to meet them in early January to discuss how they can improve the service. I'm going to put some proposals to them and they said they would welcome input from people who would potentially use the service. I am going to propose a discount for group bookings, clubs going on training camps etc. If people have suggestions as to what they would like please send them on to me and I'll pass the info on. I'm also going to ask them to explore the idea of packages for training camps and discounts as they seem to have tie up's with hotels in various cities. Don't know if it's possible but I'll put it to them anyway. I'm hoping that following this meeting there will be some movement on this in January.

duffyshuffle

sailing wrote: »

Following on from some posts yesterday I followed this up and was put in touch with and spoke directly to the person responsible for ancillary revenue in Aer Lingus this afternoon. I outlined the problems that people seem to have in relation to booking a bike on board, the booking system in general, the lack of understanding from customer support, the poor allowance and the lack of guarantee of a bike travelling on a flight. I outlined the importance of people needing this guarantee when booking a flight for a race. I put the case forward that tri/cycling was becoming a very popular and growing sport and they had the opportunity to put a proper service in place to accomodate people travelling abroad to race/train and if they did then people may be more willing to travel with them. I put forward a few initial proposals and they seem keen to get this problem solved and asked if I would be willing to meet them in early January to discuss how they can improve the service. I'm going to put some proposals to them and they said they would welcome input from people who would potentially use the service. I am going to propose a discount for group bookings, clubs going on training camps etc. If people have suggestions as to what they would like please send them on to me and I'll pass the info on. I'm also going to ask them to explore the idea of packages for training camps and discounts as they seem to have tie up's with hotels in various cities. Don't know if it's possible but I'll put it to them anyway. I'm hoping that following this meeting there will be some movement on this in January.

Any update?

duffyshuffle

Also looking at ryanair site now, it says 30kg limit for bike @ €100 return, price and weight gone up since last April as far as I can see? Anyone find out if 30kg is limit or 20kg with each kg over being €20?