stevage

Hi all,
I'll be flying out of Lutton on Sunday evening, but passing through Heathrow to collect my partner on the way. I'm having trouble finding up to date information on where you can get a cardboard bike box (preferably free, but you know...)

My preference would be 1) Heathrow T4, 2) Heathrow other terminals, 3) Lutton.

Does anyone know? Thanks very much.

Steve

Machka 

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/84...-heathrow.html ... especially post19.

[HR][/HR]

And ... scroll all the way to the bottom of this page ... my website:
Charlene Barach (Machka) - 2012 Round the World Tour

There's heaps of info on getting around Heathrow, but near the bottom there's a section that starts ...

"As for getting bicycle boxes at the airport ... that's not easy!!"


Scroll up a bit to my October 16 entry ...

"Tuesday 16 October - Today we hunted for bicycle boxes."


Those two sections describe our hunt for bicycle boxes at Heathrow.


And no, your chances of getting them for free are very, very slim. You're probably looking at 20-30 Pounds each.

stevage

Thanks Machka - I had actually read your post, but didn't realise it was you So in the end I'm going to suck it up and just pay the extortionate 25 pounds that the left luggage place charges at Heathrow. They conveniently will arrange a box for pick up at any terminal you nominate.

I couldn't find any other option at all, really, and your experience of shuttling back and forth sounded pretty awful - so I'd like to thank you for sparing me that particular misery

Machka 

That's it. That's the only option we found, and believe me, we searched. We spent a day searching. We know those terminals like the backs of our hands now.

QueueCT

I'll just chime in that, unless you're willing to taxi from a bike shop, the left luggage is the best option (though ridiculously expensive). You will get a great box for your money, though. Plenty of room and very thick. Info as of last August, at least.

stevage

Just reporting back here. I've now bought two of these boxes.

#1 in mid June was super thick, quite long, quite high, but had no handles. On the plus side, it had "bicycle box" written all over it. The size meant it was very easy to pack (no need to remove rear wheel, pedals, seat or front rack). On the downside, it was pretty tough to lug around, especially without handles - ended up carving a few in the side, and also making some out of packing tape. I called up on the morning to reserve one at Terminal 4 - they seemed happy enough to make sure there were boxes at whatever terminal you need.
#2 , in early July was completely different - about the normal size, with handles, but without any printing on the outside. The guy mentioned something about a different supplier. We tried to reserve, but this guy said there was no need.

We spent a while trying to work out a better solution than handing over the 25 pounds per box. Couldn't come up with anything that was guaranteed, less stressful, significantly cheaper and didn't require awkward steps like trying to transport bike and box together but unboxed.

Also, if anyone's wondering, to get to Heathrow Terminal 4 from Reading, we took the airport bus - they weren't thrilled about taking unboxed bikes, but said it was ok since there wasn't much other luggage. They've had lots of issues with bikes destroying other people's luggage, apparently. It drops you at Terminal 5, and it's a comfortable and safe ride from there to Terminal 4 - bike path most of the way, then a dodgy footpath for the last 500m.

vijinho

Have you thought about buying a bicycle bag? I'm also flying with my bike for the first time this weekend (via Manchester on Friday). Check out Wiggle | CTC Plastic Bike Bag | Soft Bike Bags and the reviews. If it's Luton, easyjet I'm guessing, they allow bicycle bags: Bicycles | easyJet

stevage

Yeah, but by the time I thought of it, there wasn't time to get one from Wiggle. I'm still not totally convinced. I'd be interested to hear more about how much damage bikes get in bags compared to boxes. On this trip, my partner's bike ended up with a bent chainring (on a brand new crankset, grr), so interesting to speculate on whether that would have happened in a bag.

vijinho

I ordered my bike bag from Wiggle last Wednesday afternoon using 'Standard Delivery', it arrived the following day! If you read the reviews of the bike bag on the link I sent you, you can see what other people's experiences of them are with regard to any issues with damage etc.

SlowAndSlower

I used the CTC and post to obtain bike bags and had no issue with damage. Easy to haul your bike around in the bag too. Bus had no problem with bagged bike.

Machka 

Can you expand on this?