International bike transport

[bad timmy]

Hi guys,
I'm in Melbourne, just about to move to London and wanting to take my bike. Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to get the thing over there? Has anyone here had good/bad experiences moving bikes in a variety of ways?
My current options seem to be:

- take bike with me on the plane, pay extra baggage fees (my checked luggage will be close to the 20kg limit without the bike).
- ship bike by sea. slow. would prefer to have my bike with me when i arrive or soon after.
- ship bike by air freight. not sure how much this would cost or the best company to do it. would love suggestions.

The bike is a carbon fibre road bike, which I will probably pack in a dedicated bike transport bag.
Any advice?

[LWaB]

Pay the extra for the plane. Depending on the airline, it may be the cheapest option (it was for me).

[Johnny_Monkey]

Are you only taking your bike? I moved a lot of other stuff as well as 3 bikes through a removal company. I had the bikes re-boxed at the LBS. They survived ok (and I'm about to do it again now that I'm leaving London).

[bad timmy]

yeah not taking any furniture or anything heavy like that. just as many clothes as i can carry, my laptop, and my nintendo wii

so it's probably not worth hooking up a removal company for that amount of stuff.

[garden_lark]

another vote for on the plane. some airlines take way more than 20kg... have you already booked your flight? pack your clothes into small plastic bags and stuff them around your bike, so you only have one piece of luggage.

[Cave]

another vote for on the plane. some airlines take way more than 20kg... have you already booked your flight? pack your clothes into small plastic bags and stuff them around your bike, so you only have one piece of luggage.

May not be a good idea, as single items are meant to weigh less than 32kg.

Best to check with the airline. If they have an underbooked flight the excess luggage might not be an issue.

[tmac100]

Put the bike on the 'plane. I do that and it costs about $50 for a one-way. Even if it will cost $200, you will have your bike (in a box did you say??) when you arrive.