Shipping to Alaska
 

I'm working for the summer in Seward, AK and wanted to ship my bike, but all the price quotes I've been finding at so high ($200+) Does anyone know a more inexpensive way to get a bike to AK? Or a good bike shop in Anchorage/Seward where I could buy a second-hand bike or lease one for the summer? Thanks!

<http://www.arcticbike.org/abc_lbs.htm>

Try the above link and perhaps one of the stores listed here can help you out. Or maybe someone will know of a decent bike for sale under 200$ that might be suitable for you.

http://www.arcticbike.org/abc_lbs.htm

Sorry, try the link now as you should now be able to click on it!

How are you planning to get yourself to Alaska? If you are driving, then strap the bike to a rack. If you are flying, box the bike and check it on the plane. Most airlines charge $80 each way for a bike now. That's much better than $200!

Can you get a better price shipping to Anchorage instead of Seward and picking up the bike there?

Did you try UPS, they seem to be very reliable when it comes to shipping bikes.

Scott

Funny you should start this thread, I've been figuring out this week how to take my bike to Dutch Harbor, AK, next month. Someone at a shop told me that shipping/UPS is always going to be more expensive because there is no ground transportation to send things up there, it's all 2-3 day air freight, so it's pricey. I talked to some people who just boxed their bikes up and took them on the plane for $50 (Alaskan Air). I don't mind paying some extra money to bring my bike up because there is nothing else where I'll be and I'll seriously regret not bringing my steed! The bennies seriously outweigh the cost.

UPS and Fed Ex are big bucks so write them off. The best bet is if you are flying to box it and take it with you.

Take it on the plane with you! Pay the extra, because if you fly it in through shipping, it will cost you so much more.

If you're working in a cannery or on a boat, and you're thinking you'll be getting some biking in, I think you'll find you will have NO time for any of that. Trust me. I've done it.

Koffee

I have heard (but don't know for sure) that the United States Post Office has VERY good rates on shipping to Alaska. What is a good rate? Well, a good bike mechanic can get most road bikes into a very compact box...that costs around $40 from Texas to California through the post office.

Alaska may have more trees than people, but it DOES have two U.S. Senators, so the Post Office will always be forced to lose big money subsidizing shipping to Alaska.

US postal service is the way to go. Even if you had to break down in to two boxes to get under ship size, it would be cheaper than just about any other way. Their ship rate is the same as long as it is a state or US territory. So keep it in mind if you go to Hawaii or Puerto Rico.

I'm on nerd duty so I'll be sitting on my arse the whole time and looking forward to getting outdoors with my bike. One of our head nerds took his bike up there last month on the plane and said that's the way to go.

As for shipping, I've heard more horror stories about that recently than taking a bike on the plane. The lesser of two evils I suppose.

Does nerd duty mean you're a domestic observer? They sat around pretty much all day.

Koffee

No, doing info management and mapping for the response to the tanker that ran aground and broke in half this winter on the other side of the island. Things have slowed down a lot, but there will still be responders up there through the summer assessing the shoreline and resource damage.

Oh, good luck with that, then.

Koffee