thomaswclarke

Now with the new fees for checked bags with most airlines, it seems that to
check a 50lb "suitcase " bike will cost quite a bit. I can bring my regular bike on Southwest
in a bike box for 50 dollars each way.....so is it worth it in the future to spend the extra
dollars to buy a S & S coupled bike and bother with assembly/dissambly? Thasnks for
your opinions.

nancy sv

I'm not sure it would be worth the extra $ unless you were traveling with the bike a lot. Even so, some airlines have (or at least they used to have) regulations that ALL bikes were charged - regardless of the size of the box. We had to unpack our baby stroller to prove to them that it was not a bike - they saw the wheels in the x-ray and were convinced it was a bike and wanted to charge us.

imi

Nancy, was your baby stroller in a box under the 62" regulation?

I figure the best way to avoid the exorbitant extra charges is to have an S&S bike in a 62" box, and to keep the total weight of all your gear (including bike) under 30 kg (23 kg checked baggage + 7 kg hand baggage).

For me this would entail wearing ALL my clothes.

Flying to/from N.America allowances are generally more generous.

Cyclesafe

Technically airlines charge extra for bicycles no matter how small you pack them. So strictly speaking there is no financial advantage to getting the couplers.

However, in practice, when they ask what's in the box or case or whatever, sort of mumble something like "clothes and stuff", referring to whatever else you were able to squeeze in. That's so if you are caught there is enough wiggle room to avoid most embarrassment. Of course, to TSA or customs folks always be upfront and specific with what you are carrying.

I have taken 8 flights with my S&S coupled bike and have never been charged extra. I have been asked several times what's in the case, I think because I'm usually wearing (toned down) cycling gear and carrying my helmet. (I'll need to rethink that.)

Other advantages of the S&S coupled bike is that it plus my touring gear (panniers) fit in two "airline legal" boxes, one 26x26x10 and the other 28x28x6. I use polyethylene foam pipe insulation for padding too. The boxes and insulation save the $400 that the official S&S case / padding cost and can be placed next to the recycling bin at the airport where I build up my bike. This saves the trouble of having to store or send home the offical packing materials.

If your bike is 26" with a frame smaller than 60 cm you might be able to get away with one 26x26x10 cardboard box for the bike and a little more. The official "hybrid" travel case takes advantage of "bulge" that is unfortuately not available when you use a cardboard box.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...oc_id=5654&v=V
https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/...?model=S-12656

dorkypants

I used to say "exercise equipment", which is semantically accurate and never triggered additional questions. Then I bought a Bike Friday, which fits in a completely innocuous looking suitcase and raises no questions at check-in. TSA, of course, always opens and inspects the contents on the outbound leg, presumably because of all the metal showing up in scans. I make sure all the small bits and pieces are bagged in ziploc bags: not only does it keep them from falling out during inspection, it allows the inspectors to eyeball them w/o opening the bags.

I concur that most airlines will charge extra for "oversize" luggage, which means length+width+depth > 62", whatever the contents may be. Conventional bikes cannot fit into cases smaller than that limit. The cases S&S makes are right at the limit (26"x26"x10"), so they will save you at least the oversize-luggage charges. Note that Ritchey's case for their Breakaway bikes exceeds the 62" limit; however, it's just a bit over and may escape the notice of check-in agents unless they're being particularly finicky about checking dimensions.

In short, if you manage to avoid revealing that the contents of your non-oversize case (S&S coupled bike or folder bike) are a bike, at worst you'll only pay the normal baggage charges and at best you'll have avoided oversize luggage fees and/or bicycle surcharges.

nancy sv

Probably not. It was a double stroller (twins) and was back on the "olden days" when baby joggers were just coming out. Even so, they insisted we had to pay the fee because there were bire wheels in there. We ended up having to unpack the whole thing and set it up so they could see it was a stroller for the babies. Then they didn't charge us.

danacf

If you want a regular size travel bike it's the only way to go. Southwest doesn't fly everywhere. I've flown my bike twice on United and have saved about $340, almost half the cost of the couplers. In my opinion, the convenience of travelling through airports and riding hotel shuttles and taxis with a regular size suitcase is just as important as the money saved in excess baggage fees. Some complain about the breakdown and setup time. I ususally do spend a few hours breaking it down; cleaning, lubing and inspecting everything. Assembly takes about a half hour and I only need four tools, the coupler wrench and 4, 5 and 6 mm allen wrenches. I also rest a little easier knowing it's packed very securely. +1 with using zip loc bags for the parts. My case was opened by TSA at least once, but nothing was disturbed and I attributed that to everything being in plain sight.

bobframe

The key variable is this: How many times are you going to fly with your bike?

The cost of S&S couplers is substantial....Co-Motion adds $700, plus a 26x26x10 suitcase is $300-500, depending on how you configure it. So your fixed, up front costs are about $1,000-1200.

So, determine what the price advantage of traveling with an extra suitcase vs. checking a bike (or shipping one via UPS?Fedex) is and divide that number into the $1000-1200. That's how many trips you'll need to take to reach break even. Before you reach break even, your total costs are higher with couplers. Afterward, your total costs are less with couplers.

As far as bike performance, I think couplers are a non-issue.

BTW, my friends describe the suitcase as containing "bike parts"....which is actually correct, since its only a bike when its assembled.

njkayaker

???

The people with the X-ray machines (the TSA) aren't the airlines who are the ones who have the "charge for bicycles" rules. The airlines certainly do not have X-ray machines at the check-in counter.

The basic point to charge extra for bicycles is because of special handling. If whatever you have fits into a piece of luggage, it becomes a piece of luggage.

ubermensch84

I don't understand why they charge for bikes if they are under the maximum weight limit and size but I presume nobody else does either. Why does it matter to them if it is a stroller or bike or 25 pounds of ear wax you have accumulated and saved over the years?

njkayaker

If it fits within the standard size and weight, they don't care. The airline staff doesn't typically look inside luggage. Typically, bikes are too large and they have to be treated more carefully than other things. They can't really chuck the bikes in among the other luggage.

It shouldn't be surprising that the airline staff is likely to treat anything that looks like a bicycle, or is identified as a bicycle, as a bicycle.

Of course, you can't claim damage to a bicycle that the airlines did not know was a bicycle.

acantor

I have flown with a bicycle many times, and unfortunately, I have found the opposite to be true. Careful handling is not guaranteed. On one occasion, I watched through the window of the plane as a baggage handler threw my bicycle overhead into the plane. When I arrived at my destination, a tire was flat and a wheel out of true. On another flight, mishandling resulted in a dent in a brake lever. The box was torn open and the brake lever was sticking through. Fortunately, the damage was superficial.

njkayaker

No, careful handling is not guaranteed! I said they "have to be treated more carefully". That doesn't mean that they will be!

prathmann

I've flown with my Bike Friday bike on many trips and the airlines have never asked me or cared about what was inside my suitcase. The only thing I've ever been asked is whether I packed it myself and whether I had kept it in my possession (i.e. did anyone else have a chance to put something inside). As long as it fits the standard dimension, looks roughly like normal luggage, and is within the weight limit there shouldn't be any question.

Of course the TSA does know that there's a bike inside and they may also open the suitcase to take a closer look. I try to make that easy for them so they're less likely to damage the bike - especially if they have trouble getting it back in the case. Strapping the bike parts together so they can be taken out of the case for inspection and then put back as a unit seems like a good idea.

John Nelson

Flying with a regular bicycle will typically cost far more than what you see listed on the airline's baggage policy for a "bicycle". That's because unless you have a folding or coupled bike, they will also charge you the oversize fee, which can more than double the cost. Some airlines also charge you a bag fee on top of the other two fees.

And despite what some have said here, the airlines do care that it's a bike, even if it fits in the standard luggage size, so a coupled bike doesn't solve all problems. Of course, that's just the official policy and what may happen on any given day is unpredictable. But if the agent that day is picky, you could end up paying almost $400 each way to bring your bike domestically within the U.S. And of course you'll have to pay it or you'll miss your flight and/or leave your bicycle behind.

Why do the airlines make these ridiculous charges? Because they can, and because it increases revenue. There are no other reasons.

The solution I prefer is not a coupled bike, but rather FedEx or UPS.

HardyWeinberg

I love my traveller's check. In addition to flying broken down into 8 pieces or however many, it is really easy to just break it into 2 pieces to throw it into anybody's car should the need arise (that need has arisen a lot more than plane flights).

I did tell one gate person 'bike parts' when asked what was in it, I was rationalizing to myself that w/o the saddle, pedals, and axles (had to remove bolt-on hubs to fit the wheels into the width available), it was not a whole bike.

Is it 'worth' it? It would be cheaper to buy a 20 year old schwinn on craigslist after each flight. But I do enjoy it a great deal.

ps-> in terms of an outright investment, airlines changing the size of an allowable checked bag seems like a real risk, I guess I have already cast my own die on that score.

FlowerBlossom

I'm considering getting a custom bike with s&s couplers, for the simple fact that if I decide I need it for a trip, I can rest easy that the bike will be less likely to be damaged. I would need 3-4 trips on the bike to rationalize the cost (couplers+suitcase), which seems like a reasonable number of trips to me.

norcalhiker

This is a great thread. Can anyone please shed more light on the cost of traveling with a non-ss coupled bike? What size is a standard bike box? What are common weight limits? etc?

imi

Each and every airline seems to have their own bicycle policy, so read the baggage allowances on their websites meticulously, and even the differences between "weight concept" and "piece concept", "sporting goods" and "excess baggage".

Even the most common restrictions; 62" (158cm) LxHxD and 23 kg (50 lbs) limits are not adhered to by all airlines.

Some airlines even have wording similar to "bicycles can only be transported if there is available space". So, even when you are willing to pay the exorbitant extra charges you may still not be allowed to take your bike... although I have yet to hear of this actually occurring.

I assume the charges are so high so the airlines can be competitive with cheap passenger fares; a sportsman or musician is thus not only paying for the extra space their baggage takes but also subventioning the transport of other, heavier than average people, aswell as the transportation of special equipment for the disabled and infants (wheelchairs, baby strollers etc) . Airlines are not able to discriminate against these groups.

An individually priced ticket system based solely on the combined weight of passenger plus baggage and baggage volume is not feasible.

I sincerely hope I have worded this in a way as not to cause offence, as this was not my intention, but if so, I do apologize.

Concealing the truth as to what you have in your baggage to any of the airlines personnel or the airport security people could get you into real problems. I have had my bike x-rayed both at the "special and oversize" baggage counter, and behind the scenes.

A while back you could get away with having too much or oversized hand baggage, transporting "bicycle parts" etc. You still may, but in my experience it's getting harder and harder to the point where it just ain't worth it. And arguing about it will probably just get you stuck. The airlines always have the trump cards "Safety and Security".

John Nelson

Another significant problem with taking your bike on a plane is the TSA. If the TSA unpacks your bike for inspection, it is extremely unlikely that they will repack it as carefully as you did.

imi

Yeah, airport baggage handlers are not experts at geography, so I imagine TSA people are not so good at flower arranging

escii_35

YES!.

1. I ride taller bikes (61-63cm). Ever try packing a 63cm touring bike in a "standard bike box?"

If I drove a smaller frame and only flew Southwest $100 for the RT baggage fee vs a ~three day rental would be a wash. (Dutch bikes / Blazing saddles).

HardyWeinberg

For a coupled bike broken down into a specific spatial arrangement, it definitely behooves you to ziptie the pieces into position so it can all come out in one piece that is readily reinserted.

Even then, it is amazing how much slack there is on the fork and rear triangle, in my setup. I feel much better about the broken down bike packed even into my beatup reused cardboard box than I would about the whole frame/fork in a full-sized frame box. Twice I've shipped bikes w/o fork-spacers, twice I've had squeezed forks. I know, I know, 'don't do that'.

Still can't stress enough that the 62" thing is arbitrary and potentially temporary.

imi

This site has a lot of good information:
https://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/bagregs.htm

NeilGunton

I ordered S&S couplings on my new Co-Motion Americano primarily because it would make it a little easier to fit the bike into a regular size car (think rental car or taxi). In this case, the time to break down and reconstruct the bike is really not very long at all - you're not doing the full packing job, but rather simply undoing the couplings and detaching the cables, and you're done. A couple of minutes at each end. To me, being able to break it down further for airlines is just an added bonus, but not the main point (as many people seem to look at it).

Neil