so, Im having a bianchi pista sent to me from boston(im in NJ). What is the cheapest shipping for something of this size, weight,etc.

I believe I saw someone post something about fedex ground is cheaper than ups ground, and that fedex ground for a complete track bike is around 30 bucks. does that sound right?

If any of you can chime in on this and give me some info, thatd be fantastic! Thanks !

Cheapest is USPS, though I don't advocate using them. We find that UPS tends to be cheaper but this is not always the case. As for the price you listed, it depnds on the distance. Weight is not the critical factor either, it is the dimensions of the box. You have to be careful packaging it or you can jump into one of the "oversize" categories at substantial price increases.

FedEx and UPS have the exact same rate charts. However, the zonings differ. With my experience, FedEx is usually cheaper and gets things farther quicker. For example, Fedex's VA to CA takes 4 days whereas UPS may take 6.

The big reason why I prefer FedEx is that they tend to not damage boxes nearly as much.

30bucks sounds right. There is no difference in rates between UPS and Fedex Ground. I agree with gw on fedex's handling of packages. I manage a shipping department and have only once had to file a claim with them. UPS on the other hand damages packages regularly. If you read the UPS shipping guide they even say the have a "unique" package handling procedure. They throw packages around.

FedEx is BY FAR the cheapest for bikes. I have had quotes at $80 from UPS, and $100+ from USPS for a FRAME. FedEx was $30.

The 3 times I have shipped bikes via UPS Seattle to San Diego was $27. The bikes where packed in normal bike shipping boxes that I got from my local LBS.

Yup, normal Cannondale box, no exotic locale. I am now banned from the UPS store for arguing that the bike box was not oversized. It was really funny and satisfying actually, because the guy behind the counter kept yelling at me telling me he had been working there for "13 years", so I let him know what I thought of his amazing career accomplishments after he started swearing at me. I'm now not welcome there... in the end it was satisfying though becuase he blew his lid in front of about 20 customers while I was really calm and even toned, so when he told me I wasn't welcome back, about 6 people left right behind me.