Flying with Ryanair - Bicycle Touring

CormacH94

Hi,

Am planning a cycling tour around the Netherlands with the missus for this August and really need advice/tips/experiences in terms of flying a pair of touring bikes with Ryanair, we would really prefer to bring our own bikes and equipment as opposed to renting for the trip ( 10 days) but I'm a bit anxious from reading plenty of horror stories on line.

The main concern I have is the packing of the bikes, on the Ryanair website it states that the bike must be packaged in a box/bag, from my bit of research I like the idea of the CTC plastic bag in that the bike is pretty much read y to go as soon as you land but in terms of panniers/luggage being added, the cardboard bike box seems to be a bit more value for money but requires a bit more disassembling and a chance of the bike getting mangled.

If anyone has flown with Ryanair for a touring holiday fairly recently, any and all advice would be greatly appreciated, really looking forward to the thought of a holiday like this, but have a lot of concerns regarding transport.

Many thanks

Get In There

CormacH94 wrote: »

Hi,

Am planning a cycling tour around the Netherlands with the missus for this August and really need advice/tips/experiences in terms of flying a pair of touring bikes with Ryanair, we would really prefer to bring our own bikes and equipment as opposed to renting for the trip ( 10 days) but I'm a bit anxious from reading plenty of horror stories on line.

The main concern I have is the packing of the bikes, on the Ryanair website it states that the bike must be packaged in a box/bag, from my bit of research I like the idea of the CTC plastic bag in that the bike is pretty much read y to go as soon as you land but in terms of panniers/luggage being added, the cardboard bike box seems to be a bit more value for money but requires a bit more disassembling and a chance of the bike getting mangled.

If anyone has flown with Ryanair for a touring holiday fairly recently, any and all advice would be greatly appreciated, really looking forward to the thought of a holiday like this, but have a lot of concerns regarding transport.

Many thanks

Flew with Ryanair last year with the wife into Basel and out from Amsterdam. After reading up on forums, we both got a heavy duty clear single bed mattress plastic bag each from a local store, (no different from the CTC bags apparently) cycled to Dublin airport and removed front wheel, zip tied it to frame, removed pedals, turned in the handlebars. Also removed rear mech, wrapped it in bubble wrap (also zip tied to frame). The whole lot would be inserted into the plastic cover and taped off with duct tape before they went through via the oversized luggage desk.

The pannier bags served to protect the frame as well (we left them on our bikes)

Repeated the process at Amsterdam airport and cycled home from Dublin airport. The staff at Amsterdam airport initially insisted we buy a bike box in the airport but we stood our ground and after the officer at check in rang upstairs, she stood back down and we were good to fly with the bikes the way they had been packed leaving Dublin.

CormacH94

With regards to the rear mech removal, did you have to do much re-indexing when you landed or was it a case of pop it on and go?
Was there any damage to the bikes at all?

How much hassle was it in Amsterdam? Did you point out that the Ryanair website states bike box/bag with no clear specifications on what sort of box/bag?

Miklos

Taking on and off the rear mech shouldn't have any effect on your indexing etc. Definitely do it as a the derailleur hanger can be a pain in the arse to replace if it's busted in transit.

Get In There

CormacH94 wrote: »

With regards to the rear mech removal, did you have to do much re-indexing when you landed or was it a case of pop it on and go?
Was there any damage to the bikes at all?

How much hassle was it in Amsterdam? Did you point out that the Ryanair website states bike box/bag with no clear specifications on what sort of box/bag?

It was a case of just pop on the rear mech and go. There was no damage to the bikes in our experience.

No I just explained we had no issues to the staff member that we had no issues with Ryanair flying in with the bikes in a plastic bag so I didn't see why it would suddenly be an issue on the way back.

TGD

Get In There wrote: »

Flew with Ryanair last year with the wife into Basel and out from Amsterdam. After reading up on forums, we both got a heavy duty clear single bed mattress plastic bag each from a local store, (no different from the CTC bags apparently) cycled to Dublin airport and removed front wheel, zip tied it to frame, removed pedals, turned in the handlebars. Also removed rear mech, wrapped it in bubble wrap (also zip tied to frame). The whole lot would be inserted into the plastic cover and taped off with duct tape before they went through via the oversized luggage desk.

The pannier bags served to protect the frame as well (we left them on our bikes)

Repeated the process at Amsterdam airport and cycled home from Dublin airport. The staff at Amsterdam airport initially insisted we buy a bike box in the airport but we stood our ground and after the officer at check in rang upstairs, she stood back down and we were good to fly with the bikes the way they had been packed leaving Dublin.

Did you empty the panniers - would it be overweight otherwise?

CormacH94

Ah ok cool, heading down to the LBS during the week to pester the owner with loads of questions, he recommended the bike boxes but I'd prefer the bag, at least the handlers can see it's a bike and there's probably less chance of it getting luggage stacked on it.
Thanks a mil for all the info

You get 30kg allowance if you pay the bike fee as far as I understand?

bp_me

Get In There wrote: »

It was a case of just pop on the rear mech and go. There was no damage to the bikes in our experience.

No I just explained we had no issues to the staff member that we had no issues with Ryanair flying in with the bikes in a plastic bag so I didn't see why it would suddenly be an issue on the way back.

To be fair it is definitely the Schipol policy and you will find it on your website. I think you probably got lucky on the day.

CormacH94

Which takes precedence, if Ryanair says a bag is acceptable and the airport says it isn't, where do you stand?

blobbie

I'd try to check-in with the CTC bag first and see how it goes. Worse case they are 23euro at the airport (see below).

Had a similar with AL out of Santiago. No problem with CTC bike heading out of Dublin but the oversized luggage check-in staff wouldn't take plastic bag on return flight.

If you have discs, take then off to prevent damage and put a spacer/block into the brake. Pedals can be inverted. Tons of online bike packing info. Some folk use plastic bottles to protect rear derailleur after it is detached. But make sure to detach as advised above. We didn't bother taking front wheels off for Dublin airport.

Make sure you have some packing tape, a good multitool, zip ties and enjoy the trip.


http://www.holland-cycling.com/planning-your-trip/getting-there/air

https://www.schiphol.nl/en/page/hold-and-odd-sized-baggage/

Can I bring my bicycle with me?
Yes, with most airlines you can take your bike with you as odd-sized baggage. Please purchase a special box to prevent damage to your bike from the left-luggage office, located in Departures 1 and 2 on the basement level under the central stairs. The office is manned every day between 06:00-23:00. You can call an employee on the intercom outside of those hours.

Bicycle box specifications

Price € 23 incl. VAT
Weight 5 kilos
Size 99 cm high, 21 cm wide, 175 long

CormacH94

Is the special box a cardboard bike box? 23 euro is daylight robbery for a bit of cardboard

mvt

Have to say think it's a great idea to be able to buy a bike box at the airport- you can just cycle out & not need to worry about what to do with it at the other end..
Even at 46 quid round trip it saves a lot of hassle to protect a valuable item.
But each to their own

Get In There

CormacH94 wrote: »

Which takes precedence, if Ryanair says a bag is acceptable and the airport says it isn't, where do you stand?

Airline rules took precedent in my case.

Before we flew out https://twitter.com/cmoloney13/status/981164089681461248?s=19

CormacH94

mvt wrote: »

Have to say think it's a great idea to be able to buy a bike box at the airport- you can just cycle out & not need to worry about what to do with it at the other end..
Even at 46 quid round trip it saves a lot of hassle to protect a valuable item.
But each to their own

I mean it is good that they have the option to get one at the airport instead of a frantic search around LBS' in the area for one, but it is a bit of a monopoly at that price imo



Is it a standard cardboard bike box they sell or a bit more heavy duty?



Glad I'm finding out here and not on the day of the return flight though, would cause a mini stroke haha

Diarmuid

I'm hoping to do some touring this summer too. I was considering flying with my bike and use the CTC plastic bag approach. The one question I would have is about the panniers. Is it really an option to leave the panniers on the bike while in the plastic bag? I would only have a pair on the back. Will the handlers at the airport accept it as is? I don't fancy paying €20/pannier/flight if possible.

velo.2010

Interesting. I've met a number of touring cyclists (as opposed to someone bringing their road bike to the Lanzarote, Majorca, Alps etc) who have had no issue simply using either a cardboard box or heavy duty plastic bag to pack their bike.

There may be something in the baggage handlers taking more care with a bike that's not obviously well protected as opposed to a bike in a hard case. The fact that a touring bike is heavier than a road bike, and comes with attachments, may mean they have to be more careful where they put it in the hold.

I've a hard case booked for late July/August for a road bike.

Seaswimmer

I have done 8 or 9 tours to Spain/France/Portugal. We have always started and finished in different airports so a bit of research before you go is ideal..

We have always used cardboard boxes from Dublin which we source in the local bike shop. The advantage of these is that you can store everything inside it (subject to weight). We simply leave them beside rubbish bins in our arrival airport usually after asking airport staff what to do with them.

Coming home if the airport dosent supply a box then we have always used Decathlon. They will happily give you a box. You can fold it up and carry a short distance (few kms) if you have a couple of cable ties and shoulder strap.

Some towns will have a bike shop who will give you a bike box but we always found opening hours to be unreliable so stuck to the Decathlon/Airport boxes..

Also a point to note is that some airport boxes are huge. We flew from Biarritz last year and the entire bike fitted in with no need to remove front wheel or handlebars. Just removed the pedals and saddle and turned the bars

Diarmuid

Does anyone know where to get the CTC Bags or something similar in Dublin?

C3PO

Diarmuid wrote:

Does anyone know where to get the CTC Bags or something similar in Dublin?

Someone earlier in the thread suggested that they were the same/similar to a mattress storage bag in which case you can buy one in any self storage company - loads dotted along the M50.

cdaly_

C3PO wrote: »

Diarmuid wrote: »

Does anyone know where to get the CTC Bags or something similar in Dublin?

Someone earlier in the thread suggested that they were the same/similar to a mattress storage bag in which case you can buy one in any self storage company - loads dotted along the M50.

I just asked in a bed shop and got one for free...