invisiblehand

FedEx is very reliable. I've boxed a full size bike and it cost ~$40 to send from DC to San Francisco. Just from memory or what some airlines are charging for a second piece of luggage, it might be worth it to simply box some supplies, panniers, whatever and mail it. Probably would be too expensive once you go outside US/Canada. But for a lot of destinations -- I believe that many hotels and such would be willing to receive such a package -- it would be cheaper and make life easier.

I know a few people who rode the C&O canal that did something similar. (1) Take their Bike Friday to Cumberland. (2) Ship their suitcases to their DC hotel. (3) Picked them up when they arrived.

lucille

I agree. We've rented bikes in different destinations, they were always pretty crappy. If it's just one day of riding it does make sense to suffer through it, but I can't imagine touring on a rental, unless it was indeed of a high quality.
And I love riding my bike, that I have spend time and money to get the way I like it. And of course I want to photograph it in different locations

lucille

That is not a bad idea, and I will keep it in mind for trips within North America. When you think about $50 for a second piece of luggage each way, that's $100 per trip per person, and having more luggage means having to take a cab to and from the airport, which would easily be another $50 each way, and maybe the same at the destination... That's $300-400 just to transport the bikes! Ouch!

wahoonc

I like the idea of using FedEx to ship a bike in a suitcase, but not a regular bike box. I didn't think about it, but one of the guys that works for me moves his stuff from job site to job site by FedEx. When a job winds down he loads up a large rolling Stanley box and has it sent via FedEx ground to the hotel at the next job site. Then he either flies, Amtraks or Greyhounds in.

Aaron

invisiblehand

I'm trying to remember who Bike Friday uses when they ship their bikes to customers: I know that they do it both in a suitcase and a box. I can't remember how much the bike box -- a used cardboard box that I got from a LBS -- measured; but I would think that it had to be more than 64". So it could be a very reasonable price to FedEx the suitcase/bike.

lucille

Little update. The panniers arrived, Ortliebs ordered from Wiggle (great site!). We loaded them up and went for a test ride today. Bike behaves very well, stable and less twitchy than without luggage. It's all working out so far. Thanks again for all the responses, you guys are great!