Good morning, my wife and I will be moving overseas soon, and we are trying to figure out how to safely get our bikes there with us. We have been told by the moving company not to pack anything (this is the first time we haven't moved ourselves anywhere, is this normal?). I am particularly concerned with letting them decide what to do with our bikes, and I am curious if anybody has been in a similar situation. If so, what did you do? Pack it up yourself even though you were told not to? I have contemplated packing it up and leaving the box open and letting them seal it, but I'm not sure how the movers might respond to that. Any thoughts or experiences would be very welcome.

If you pack anything yourself, they mark it "Packed by Owner". They are not responsible for things you pack.

Ask them. When I moved my stuff from Canada to Australia, I packed it all, but I was in constant communication with my moving company asking them questions about the best way to do this that and the other.

I went through two overseas moves (actually one round trip and a move from NYC to Houston). In all three cases, the packers 'packed' the bikes.

They turned the handlebars 90 (parallel to the frame), they removed the pedals (in one trip they screwed them on backwards (facing inward), in the other cases they stuffed them in the existing panniers.

They wedged the bikes between softer boxes.

Although in two occasions (1 overseas and one in the trip to Houston) the contents shifted, the bikes were undamaged.

You could pack it yourself and send or have a friend send via bikeflights.

https://www.bikeflights.com

PODS, ... Portable On Demand Storage, https://www.pods.com/moving is a Container, you pack.




You can get a carton and some of the same packing materials that New Bikes have wrapped around them .

their having been already shipped by sea and truck freight to get to the bike Shop..

the waste stream of packing materials getting bikes looking good at the LBS is not small.





'/,

Last time I moved, the moving company gave us the option to pack or for them to pack. They offered insurance both ways with the cost and deductible being higher if you packed yourself. At the end of the move they gave us (x) number of days to file.

We found a few things damaged, but overall it was not enough value to overcome the deductible price.

So your doing the full service moving service? I.e. They're packing books and clothes and pots n pans etc?

I'd pack up your bike and tell them that you want the resulting bike carton packed anyway they want.

Just an assumption, I could be wrong, but are you Military? If so, when I moved from Germany to the states I had my bike packed by a bike shop in a bike box which I took with me on the plane. When I moved back to Germany I let them take it. When it arrived it was loose in the crate standing vertical next to my recliner. Both tires were blown and there was a scratch in the seat. From here on out, when and if I move I'll have it packed and fly with it.

Shawn

Civilian, but the basic assumptions apply, as we are using the same services and didn't exactly get to choose. I feel like if I disassemble at all I'll have to go all the way. I worry that if I take the wheels off, then I'm asking for the derailleur hanger to get bent, or the fork to get sandwiched. I don't know that I have a particular issue with the "packed by owner" idea, because I DO get to watch them seal the crate at my house.

Yep, close enough. Just do it like box store bikes come, partially assembled. When I flew with mine the front wheel was removed, and handlebars removed and bubble wrapped and ziptied to the frame. Everything made it great without issues. Perhaps grab a few of the larger boxes from a bike shop and a large roll of bubble wrap and do it yourself. Then tape both boxes together and make sure the shippers don't stack stuff on top of them and they remain upright in the crates. Leave them open and let the shippers look inside and let them verify that it is a bike. Write your serials on the outside of the boxes so they can add them to the paperwork.

Where are you moving to?

For these, have you tried going to a LBS ans asking if you can get any of their packing material, bikes usually come shipped with spacers for the fork and rear axle to prevent this sort of damage

We're going to Southwest Germany. Exciting and a little scary since neither of us have moved in 10 years!



I plan to stop into my shop today to see what they've got.

The moving company will usually not pay insurance if you pack yourself.

When I moved from CA to VA earlier this year I was professionally moved and not allowed to pack myself for insurance reasons either. The movers removed the handlebars from my bikes and thoroughly bubble wrapped the whole bike. The bikes were marked as high value items and they took good care of them. Not a scratch.

My biggest problem with packing and shipping my bike with the move was the 2 1/2 months waiting for the container to arrive. If I had to do it again I would have flown with it as excess luggage. It would have been cheaper too as I bought a bike to use until it got got here.

I think that I would take the bikes to the LBS and pay for them to pack them unless you are comfortable doing it yourself. Movers wouldn't be disassembling any part of any of my bikes. They are movers, not mechanics. Would probably either fly with them or ship them separately from your normal stuff. I have seen that some bike shops now are using TV boxes in hopes that they are handled a little more carefully.

On my overseas moves they packed everything into crates that are about 4' wide and designed to slide right into a standard 20 or 24 foot shipping container. So I think I had maybe 4 or 6 of these wood crates filled. I pulled the wheels and pulled the pedals/handlebar and wrapped all the tubes in bubble-wrap, then let them figure out where to stick it in the crate (it wasn't in a bike box at all). No problems. Of course this sounds like a PCS move so if there is a problem you have to go through the US Gov claims process which is less than "fun".

scott s.
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Many overseas moves are in sea containers, either 20' or 40'. As such the load will travel well, and never be touched until it's unpacked at the other end, except possibly for customs exam.

The folks who do this tend to know what they're doing, and will probably pad the bikes and place then along a wall trapped by some boxes or furniture. You shouldn't box the bikes because that it impossible to determine the condition.

But there are things you can do. Shift to low so both derailleurs are inboard, pad them and the tubes with bubble. Remove both pedals so they have a flat profile, maybe also turning the handlebar. Also cover the saddle, and if you've turned the bars, double pad between them and the frame.

In the end, you want the bikes to be visible so the mover can be sure they're OK. If you're a fast worker, you can let them check the bikes, then prep them while they work on other stuff.

OR

Simply remove the pedals, shift to low, maybe turn the bars so the bikes are flat, and let the movers place them with those large blankets they use everywhere.

Thank you for all the answers, this is much more than I expected. I have many decisions to make now!

Or let them pack it as they suggest. Worst case is its insured by them, right? You could get a new bike out of it

All of the HHG that will fit into cardboard boxes is packed in cardboard, or stuffed in drawers of the furniture. All of it is then placed in the wooden shipping crates, later to be stuffed at the warehouse or port into 20' or larger shipping containers. Did the same thing for two PCS moves to/from Germany. My last move involved 13 of the wooden crates. No bike boxes involved, no damage to any bikes. Also shipped two bikes by "hold baggage" which went by military air rather than sea and was not boxed at all; also no damage

Moving tip:
If you have a lot of possessions and/or family, make sure to pay attention to what gets packed into what boxes, especially nuts, screws and fasteners for anything that is disassembled for the move or you will be searching forever for the table legs forever. Mark every box as to which room it came out of and don't let the movers mix up the contents from different rooms in the same cardboard box.