Rob_E

With a limited amount of time off, I usually piggyback my trips on to some other event, so starting and ending at the same point isn't always practical, but the travel portion I rationalize because it's a trip I'd likely be taking anyway.

Did a couple of multi-day treks to the beach where we had planned a vacation, then rode home with my wife.

I go camping in Ohio every year, and now that I have no car, I have to find other transport up there. One year I rode up with family and had them drop me off a couple of hours ride from camp, then I biked around Ohio for a week after camping was done, and took the train home. Another year I flew into Cincinnati, spent few days biking up to my camping weekend, and then flew out of Columbus. This coming year, if I can swing the time off (and scrape up the money), I plan to fly into either Cleveland or Columbus, bike to my campground, then ride back to Cleveland to catch the train, but instead of taking the train all the way to DC to transfer to the train to Raleigh, I hope to get off at Pittsburgh and bike the GAP/C&O to DC and take the train home from there. But with all of these trips, since I am always in Ohio that weekend anyway, I figure the transit is a given, and every mile I ride is a mile that I would have had to fly/drive/ride anyway.

But really I don't sweat the motorized travel parts of it too much. I'd like to see how the pollutants stack up against various kinds of transportation, but I don't fly that often, and I rely on my legs and local transit most of the time.

And back on the topic of this thread, somewhat: I haven't had to box my bike for flight, yet. Amtrak has nicely sized boxes that require minimal disassembly, so it was easy to get back home on the train. The other bike I've used is a folding bike that I broke down small enough to get into a suitcase. The suitcase then became my trailer (Bike Friday style), so I had the suitcase handy for the return flight. And this summer I picked up an S&S coupler bike. Future trips will hopefully involve packing that up into an airline-legal case and checking it as a regular bag. Don't know that any of that helpful for the OP, though, because it all depends on me having a bike that packs small or on taking the train. Amtrak does ship bikes though, I think, so that might be something to look into. Last time I checked, though, it seemed like you had to send and receive it from stations on the same line, maybe. I could ship my bike on any route that went through my town, but I don't think I could transfer it. But I haven't looked into that in a while and might be remembering it wrong.

pdlamb

IIRC it ended up costing $150 for one bike, and $200 for the other. We left them at the shop for disassembly and shipping the following week (after we'd flown home). Supposedly they couldn't take off the fenders and racks, so one had to go in a much larger box, ergo the extra charge.

Machka 

Read through this article:
Airline Baggage Regulations For Bicycles

It provides some history of the changes which have taken place with regard to flying with your bicycle over the past decade or so ... skim through that part.
It also provides a chart of airlines and their charges for bicycles ... scroll down, the chart is closer to the bottom of the article.

However, note that it is always a good idea to take the information provided in that article with a grain of salt. The information may be out of date because airlines change their policies faster than some people change their socks. Always look up the airlines you are considering, thoroughly read their policies with regard to oversized luggage and bicycles.

If your bicycle is not a coupled bicycle or a folding bicycle, it will be oversized. There's no way around that. Even folding bicycles are oversized with some airlines these days as airlines reduce the allowable luggage size.

Because your bicycle is oversized, you will either be charged oversized fees ... or bicycle fees.

In the old days people would tell the check-in person that the box with the bicycle logos all over it was "art" or something to avoid paying the bicycle fees ... there's no point to doing that these days. For one thing, the check-in people are pretty bright when it comes to things like that. They know what's in the box. For another thing ... even more importantly ... oversized fees are usually more than bicycle fees. You want to tell the check-in person that you've got a bicycle so that you will be charged less. In fact, some airlines allow bicycles on for free ... or you could be charged $175 for your oversized "art". Your choice.

But do your research. Look up the airline options you have. Thoroughly read their policies with regard to oversized luggage and bicycles. And know that they can and do change their policies every so often, so check again just before you fly.


Regarding getting bicycle boxes at the airport ... while you're emailing around, email the airport you're planning to use, and ask them if they sell bicycle boxes. Check the airport website as well.

djb

if you do do it yourself, as I recommended before, do some practice packs first. Indeed it isnt rocket science, but the last time I boxed a bike for a flight, about three years ago, it had been a long long time since I had done it. Because of that I forgot more or less how I did it, but using common sense and especially using common sense when it comes to visualizing what will get banged into what when and if it will be knocked over or have stuff piled on top of it.

Being logical and using stuff like a partially filled pannier to cushion certain places, is always going to be better for your bike parts and reduce the chance of damage.
Basics like ALWAYS putting in one of those plastic fork supports in the place where the wheel QR goes is super important (stops forks from getting sqwershed) as well as those things that fit over and protect the RD (again, all bikes shipped to stores have this stuff).
The main tricky issue for me has been placing the front wheel in a way that it doesnt hurt the frame or the frame doesnt hurt it. Ive always left the rear wheel on the bike, and rear rack always has stayed on. Front rack off obviously, and bars removed in one manner or another and placed carefully in what is the lmost logical way.

when leaving from home, Ive gotten IKEA cardboard triangular long pieces of cardboard (about 4 ft long) that is ued for folks to put stuff ontheir car roof if they dont have a rack--Ive used these cut down as "crush" support stuff placed inside the box. When flying home from where I have sourced a bike box from a bike store, I just improvise with my smaller panniers or whatever for cushioning whereever I can.

as I mentinoed, it may take a long time the first time, and you may change how you do when trying out a few times, but after that, its pretty fast.
3 years ago, I screwed around for at least 2 hours getting it ready for the trip (been so long since i had done it) but on the way back (where I had kept the box at friends house) I got it in and taped up in 30 mins, so it does improve as you do it.
Ive always just put the RD on the biggest cog, so that it's closest to the frame. Touch wood (some people take the rd off, never done that)
taping on pieces of cardboard or whatever you have access to is also good for reducing scratching and things going directly up against other things.

guess it comes down to how much the airline charges. Air Canada was reasonable, $50 per flight, so $100 total, so I never considered having someone else do it for me, but in your case, it could be less expensive , as others have noted, when you look at how much for plane.

djb

I personally could never be comfortable in believing that, even if someone on the phone told me , sure we have boxes at the airport.
The risk is just not worth it, arriving at airport and no box.....

plus if you havent packed a bike before, you might do an half assed job at it because you will be in a rush and it will be a frustrating experience, and might risk more damage depending on how you pack.
I've put my bike together after a flight and ridden out of airports, but would never consider riding into an airport and hoping that a box would be there, just too risky.

one thing with flying with a bike, its always going to entail a certain amount of "roulette wheel". You could pack your bike really really well, and then Conan, the frustrated hung over just fought with his wife doesnt give a rats ass about cyclists, The Barbarian, could be the guy handling your bike.....

Ive never had real damage from a flight, but the last time I flew with my bike, I did beforehand scope out a couple of bike stores nearby just in case I had to go buy some parts....other than that I just did my best packing and then kinda just went with it. Once its out of your hands at checkin....its, well, out of your hands.

Machka 

We have arrived at airports hoping there would be boxes, and so far ... we've been very lucky.

My cycling partner and I did it at the Sydney airport at the end of my first Australian tour. We arrived at the airport early in the morning and our flights were later in the afternoon so we had hours to do what we needed to do. We had made some enquiries ahead of time, and knew that United Airlines usually had boxes, and sure enough they did.


More recently, Rowan and I needed to fly out of Heathrow, so we arrived about 2 days early and got a hotel room right across from the airport. That evening we did a preliminary bicycle ride around the area, and through the terminals, to get a feel for the lay of the land. The next day, we spent the entire day seeking boxes. One airline sent us to another airline to another airline ... KLM usually has them, they didn't. United usually has them, they didn't. We were sent to the boxing and bag shops in each terminal ... no luck.

Finally we asked Air Canada (the airline we were going with) about using bicycle bags, and they agreed we could do that, but they were a bit reluctant. As we came away from that discussion, someone from British Airways came over to us and offered us bags ... we got known in that airport!

And then, someone suggested we check one of the boxing and bag shops in Arrivals. We had checked every single one in every Departures area, but it hadn't occurred to us to check Arrivals (who boxes things after they arrive??) ... and sure enough they had one bicycle box. We begged them to try to find another, but the people on that shift didn't care ... couldn't be bothered. However, I suggested that we hang about a little longer. It was about 2:30 pm then and I suspected there would be a shift change at 3 pm. There was, and the woman who came on that shift was efficiency itself! She immediately ordered 10 bicycle boxes to be delivered later that evening or early the next morning. Meanwhile, if worse came to worse, we figured we could make something with the bags offered to us by British Airways and other boxes and lots of tape. The 10 boxes arrived first thing the next morning ... just in the nick of time.


So the moral of the story is ... if you are going to ride to the airport, arrive early. Like a good couple days early.

staehpj1

Last time I checked Southwest was $75 for checking a bike and it counted as one of your checked bags. So as long as you fit your other gear in one regular sized bag and possibly a carry on bag total baggage charge is $75.

djb

good story there about Heathrow. Kinda touches on the whole topic of being pleasant with people too, how they remembered you, but the one shift of folks werent helpful, but then the next lady was super nice.

Ive never done the bike bag thing, so am very reluctant....

Friends of ours went to Europe last summer with bikes, and I offered to help with boxing, and with tips, but they wanted to do it on your own (and were super rushed beforehand and our schedules didnt meet up) and apparently they spent about 5 hours getting their bikes ready....

Doug64

If you pack your own bike, pack it so it can be transported in almost any position. It is hard to wheel the bike through the airport doorways, check-in lines, and busy corridors in the "recommended" position.


Pipe insulation is your friend. Also, visit your LBS; they will give, or sell at low price, fork spacers, and other useful items for packing. They save some of the packing materials that are shipped to them with bikes from the manufacturer. Also pack it so that it is easy for the TSA folks to look inside the box. I've never had them pull the bike out.

adablduya

when i finished my 2010 cross-county tour in Astoria, OR, i had arranged ahead of time with a bike shop there to hang onto an empty bike shipping carton and a couple of smaller boxes (for panniers and stuff). when i got to the shop, i broke down the bike and packed the box, and packed the rest of the gear in the smaller boxes, keeping one front pannier as my carry-on luggage for my flight home. scheduled a FedEx Ground pickup for the next day, and i was set.

FBinNY 

Murphy's Law applies here.

If you set yourself up with a hard deadline, ie. arrive at the airport with a few hours to spare and depending on their promise of boxes, you can rest assured that either they won't have a box, or you'll have lost your 5mm hex key (or some other critical tool), or both, and go crazy as you scramble trying to make your flight.

OTOH - if you go out of your way to find boxes in advance and have to pay for transport as you drag the boxed bikes to the airport, you'll run into other cyclists who rode to the airport, bought boxes and packed their bikes while waiting on the check-in line.

(Murphy and I are on a first name basis)

Machka 

We've never done the bike bag thing either, so we were also reluctant, but we figured that if worse came to worse, we would use the bags and what cardboard we could get our hands on to create something.

And yes, most people were quite friendly and helpful. I think timing also helps ... we were able to time things so that we made enquiries when there was a lull in departure traffic. A terminal would empty out, and then we'd stroll up to the desk and ask about boxes ... so we weren't getting in people's way.



But a few tips for the OP and others planning to travel with their bicycles ...

1) Learn how to pack a bicycle. First time I was going to fly with my bicycle, I went to my LBS and asked if they could go through the packing and unpacking process with me ... and they did. Then I did it myself a couple times to get comfortable with the process. It's not hard, although some boxes can be trickier than others ... and shouldn't take more than an hour.

2) Given that it may take an hour to pack a bicycle at the airport, plan ahead. Plan to walk up to the check-in desk with everything packed and ready to go the moment the check-in desk opens. That's usually about 2-2.5 hours before the flight (maybe a bit less if it is a domestic flight). Be the first person in line. The check-in people are fresh and in a good mood at that point and the whole process goes a lot more smoothly. Occasionally, it is even less expensive (I'll elaborate on this in the next point).

So if you know you need to be at the check-in desk and ready to go 2.5 hours before the flight ... and you know it may take an hour to pack the bicycle into the box at the airport, you will want to have the box in hand at least 3.5 hours before the flight. Maybe add an extra half hour for a stubborn pedal or something ... so at least 4 hours before the flight.

If you've got to do other stuff like return a rental car, deal with a taxi, find a cart, find a box, or whatever ... you will want to arrive even before that. We usually try to arrive at an airport the night before and stay in an airport hotel. Might be a little more expensive, but so much more relaxing.

3) Be nice, friendly, helpful, courteous, kind, gentle ... to everyone. It can actually save you money. Not always, but sometimes. We have arrived early, the first in line, with all our bags and boxes packed and everything ready to go, and we have been really nice to the check-in people (if you are first in line, sometimes you have 2 or 3 check-in people helping you with everything), and occasionally they have waived the fee ... or reduced the fee ... or, again at Heathrow, offered a suggestion that saved us about $40 and waited while we did that. Again, it doesn't always happen ... but it does happen now and then.

Happy Feet

Good point on 3 Machka. Someone told me long ago that most people want to be helpful - because it makes them feel good. The trick is to approach them in a way that allows them the opportunity to do so. Complain or demand and they tend to revert to argue mode because they feel defensive. Letting them know you are uncertain and could really use some assistance in solving a problem let's them move into helpful mode to the point of often going out of their way to do so.

I use this technique all the time, in banks, hotels and stores etc... and usually have excellent results because it is a win/win for all involved.

Ty0604

I don't know which airport I'm using but I'll email a few and ask. I have a few options.

Ty0604

Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions. I'm confident the $200 I have put aside for getting my bike back to Oregon will be sufficient. I've made a note of several of your comments and I appreciate all of the help!

Ty0604

Same here. Not only do I not have a car but I don't have my license either and never have. I stared a topic in the LFC forum that got pretty heated and shut down unfortunately. Sounds like we get around the same way. I'm headed to the Tri Cities in Eastern Washington tomorrow and taking Amtrak there. Somewhere around $40 round trip.

Ty0604

I know what you mean. You either do it and don't need them or you don't do it and need them. Never works out

saddlesores

or here in bizarro world, you run around a strange city trying to find bicycle boxes
and tape and twine and assorted packing materials..........and you find all the
bikes here are 16" frames so you need two boxes...........and you strap all the stuff
onto your bike and navigate through mad traffic, where bike lanes are for selling
stuff or fixing engines or skipping red lights........and you get to the rail transport
office and carefully box your bike with all the staff watching, cause they've never
seen a foreigner do manual labor......and you go to the desk to handover your
carefully gift-wrapped cycle.........only for the clerk to say "we don't accept
boxed bicycles on trains."

you do this time, buddy! took a few calls up the admin ladder, but finally
got authorization to ship a boxed bicycle.

FBinNY 

Get in touch with Back Bay Bicycle on Portland, ME. They're good people and can save a bike box for you, or pack the bike for you to fly with or ship it to your home. You can use my name, Francis from New York, who used to be one of their suppliers.

Keep in mind that there are surcharges at both Fedex and UPS if the box has 2 dimensions 30" or greater, so if at all possible try to get the height down to 29" or less. Meanwhile you can go to the UPS or Fedex sites, enter the two zip codes, weight and dimensions (try 59x29x9, which is a fairly typical bike box) to get a sense of the shipping cost.

Ty0604

Thanks for the information. I'll look them up soon

FBinNY 

To the OP, I just ran some sample rates, and if you can't get the length and girth (length + once around the shorter dimensions (2w+2h) below 130" total, you'd be paying about $170. Below 130" the rate drops to about $90. Based on that, I'd suggest packing it and taking it as baggage.

DropBarFan

Touring bikes can be larger than racing/MTBs & trickier to do S&S pack/unpack. Internet diagrams & videos helped for me but after a couple of airline trips I realized that I had to write exact instructions. But after the learning curve it seems worth it.

rawly old

Here's a thought that just occurred to me. What if instead of paying as much as $200 just to ship your bike, Why not
reverse tour. Let's say I live in Seattle & want to ride to S.F. Instead, Find a cheap bike on CL in S.F.. fly there & bike
home. For instance, I just looked at a vintage lugged UJB,(universal Japanese bike) for $50. I could fly there with
my kit & wheelset, maybe a few upgrade components, and ride home & possibly sell it for a profit. In any large city
one can almost always find a good bargain bike amidst the over priced junk. That $50 dollar bike really didn't need
anything but a rack. I'm just fussy about my wheels. A 700 wheelset will fit most 27" bikes with a slight
brake adjustment. If you're a skilled bike mechanic if doesn't take much to turn an old 27 incher
into a pretty hot tour bike. Here's one I built up from a totally stripped frame I found in a ditch. It'll
run circles around a Surly long haul trucker and has.

BobG

For the lowest rate you need to keep the length down to 56" and width to 8" also. That typical size box above totals 135 linear inches. It will bump you up into the high rent district on the UPS truck. They measure height and width twice then add in the length once. See my pictured example back on post 25. The largest box you can use to avoid UPS large package surcharge would be 56"+29"+8".

59"+58"(29x2)+18"(9x2)= 135 linear inches
56"+58"(29x2)+16"(8x2)= 130 linear inches

A few years back I left my bike to be boxed at the LBS in Fredericksburg VA. They used a "typical" box that was handy and they did not have a shipping contract with UPS or FEDEX. I had to take it the UPS store and there I found out that it was 134 linear inches so I had to pay the higher price. Just 2" shorter in height and it would have been the lower rate. My point is that if you just leave your bike at the LBS for shipping you run the risk of them choosing a box just a little too big for the lower rate. You need to define this for the shop unless they ship all the time and are aware of the limit.

Tony Marley

I have gotten it back home three different ways, depending on where I am touring and whether or not my spouse is meeting me at the end point. I have driven it back with our car; boxed it and taken it with me on the plane; and coordinated with a bike shop to have them box it and ship it back to me. Each way has worked well.