Thanks for the replies and I wonder why someone would think that I found this issue hard to research? I clearly state in the OP that I know Avianca's policy and the claims on the site were clear as again you (and I above) point out, but I've had more than one instance where after arriving with something I thought was clearly in compliance with the stated policies something came up and oops what do you know I didn't read some fine print and there's an additional charge or some other policy nuance I didn't understand.
That's why I asked the question the way I did. Has anyone actually flown to Nica on Avianca with a bike? I'll be OK and won't worry about the consequences which will not truly harm me but again was just curious about someone's actual experience flying to Nica with a bike.