Flying with a bike
 

While I'd much rather fly on my bike, I am going to be flying to Seattle from NYC on Alaska Airlines in May, and I'm bringing one of my bikes with me. The whole purpose of the trip is to ride in my old stomping grounds. I've never brought a bike on a plane and I'm guessing it is somewhat of a hassle.

What is the preferred method of boxing up a bike? Should I get a hard travel case to put it in or should I just use a bike box from a bike shop? I doubt I'd use a travel case again, but I'm also worried that the box I use won't be in good shape when I'm ready to go home and I'd be stuck looking for one in Seattle. This isn't what I want to be doing there, and I won't have a car to use. This is a BIKE trip.

How much would it cost to ship the bike via UPS instead and have it waiting when I get there? I think Alaska Air charges $50 each way and that doesn't seem too bad, but would UPS be cheaper? And then I'd need somebody at the other end to receive it, either the hotel I'm at or a shop in Seattle. I don't know anybody out there anymore as it's been over 20 years now.

Either bike that I would take is relatively expensive and I am a little worried about damage. One is carbon and the other is steel. I keep reading horror stories of bent cranks, forks, rear triangles. Of course you can't bend carbon, it'll crack instead. I think I have spacers for the dropouts from another time when I had a frame shipped to me so I'd use those. Do I need to worry?

Any other good advice out there?

Get a hard plastic case. I bought one a few years ago and I've hauled my bikes back and forth between Europe and the US several times without damage. I think it is worth it to have your bike there when you land and not having to worry about it being delivered late or not arriving at all. The last time I looked into shipping via UPS or FedEx it was not any cheaper. With as much use as I've got out of that case, it has paid for itself.

FWIW, hotels will receive shipped product on your behalf without issue for the most part, I know of many who elect to ship their golf clubs rather than the hassle of bringing them through the airport. I'm not a big UPS fan though, I'd go fedex if you did go that route.

Coming to Europe, I put my bike in a cardb oard bike box, packed it with clothes and gear up until the weight limit and flex with it. I made sure to put a couple of nylon straps around it just in case the handles ripped. Two flights later, I got the box delivered to me by a smiling trilingual Belgian woman, without a mark on it.
If you're just flying within conus, then check airlines, if the price is more than like $20-30 or so opver what shipping would be, then fly with it. The baggage apes were easy on my bike.

Check crateworks.com for shipping cases. Cheaper than hard cases, but good if you don't plan to be shipping or taking your bike often. Fedex is generally good and cheaper than UPS, and the grapevine says that they take better care than UPS. I have shipped my bike a couple of times a Crateworks case and Fedex.

Leland

Anyone tried the Pika Packworks case? It gets good press from all of the magazines and articles about this sort of thing. I bought one, but I am starting to have second thoughts about my new Cervelo on a plane or in a UPS truck in a soft sided case.

Agreed; if someone plans to travel more than once or twice, I believe a travel case is worth the investment. I have a TricoSports Iron Case that i've been very pleased with.

Sidenote: great step-by-step guide to packing up your bike here

Sorry- thread title made me think of this:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=142009

:)

If your frame is small, on Southwest, Bikes will be accepted in substitution of a free piece of checked baggage at no additional charge.

Note that L + W + H must be 62 inches or under.

Non-motorized Bicycles, including Bike Friday and Co-Pilot, will be accepted in substitution of a free piece of checked baggage at no additional charge provided the bicycle is properly packaged and the box containing the bicycle fits within the 62-inch sizing limit and weighs 50 lbs or less . (Maximum weight is 50 pounds and maximum size is 62 inches (length + width + height) per checked piece of luggage). The handlebars, kickstand, and pedals must be removed and placed inside the box. A $50.00 each-way charge applies to bicycles that don’t meet the above criteria. Bicycles packaged in a cardboard box or soft-sided case will be transported as a conditionally accepted item.

http://www.southwest.com/travel_cent...equipment.html

Man, "L + W + H must be 62 inches or under" is pretty small. The Iron case is 47" x 30" x 10", even the soft cases by Race case are 46" x 30" x 10"

If the price is really $50 each way, I don't think you will be able to ship it any cheaper. If you get into the $100 each way you might want to check FedEx. Also remember that if you can ship the bike ground and let it take a little longer you will lower your cost compared to two or three day shipping. As CPFITNESS said, the hotel should accept your delivery without any trouble.

If you do fly with your bike. Reserch the airline policys concerning oversized baggage and bicycles, and, print it out. So you can bring it with you to the airport. The people at the check in have thier own ideas and policys about how this is handled and you are at thier mercy, so have some ammo when you check in. I travel frequently for work and bring some large tool chests with me and I dont think that the charges for the trip out and the return trip have ever been the same.

For a one-off trip, I would go with a cardboard box. Even if it gets destroyed on the way out (unlikely), it's not like there's a shortage of bike shops in Seattle. If you break it down and fold it in half, it is possible to carry one on a bike for short distances. Also, Alaska Air has one the best policies for bikes. Fee is $50, and they don't double dip for overweight and oversize. UPS will be at least that and probably more depending on the dimensions.

Definitely get the plastic dropout spacers and hub protectors (free at a bike shop). If you're OCD about your paint, wrap the frame in the large bubble wrap or pipe insulation.

edited to add: As long as nothing is moving around in the box, and everything is lightly padded, there's not much chance of damage. Because of the large surface area, the box does a good job of protecting the bike from stuff getting stacked on it.

I would agree. If your bike has any value at all and you want it available when you arrive, I say take it with you. Back in 2001, I bought a CrateWorks plastic bike box. It cost $55 from California to NYS, one way, on UPS. Somehow I don't UPS has reduced their prices.

Some bike shops rent bike boxes. Probably a good alternative if you don't have a continuing need for a box.

The CrateWorks box has been used 8 or 10 times with no problems. However, I bought a Ritchey BreakAway mostly because it was such a hassle handling the bike box. In Asian countries, larger taxis are not that plentiful. Even the vans may be compacts. Also, the fact that the BreakAway has its own piece of luggage decreases the chances that people will think it's a bike and want to charge more.

For occassional use, the Colorado Cyclist bike box works well, and its $109. Disadvantage is no wheels on the case.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/img/p...c/cxyulzdy.jpg

I travel a lot for work and I ship one of my training bikes ahead of me using Fedex. I fly mostly American and Continental and they charge an arm and a leg for a bike box. Typically, I can Fedex my bike, plus pump, shoes, helmet, some clothes, etc in a Trico case for $35-$50 each way. Usually, I ship it to the Hotel, who will hold it or deliver it to my room.

So how does that work? Mrs. Grouch and I flew from Seattle to St Louis via Alaska Air. We tried to check in at the Alaska Air counter, were directed to go to American, and eventually flew on an American Air Lines plane. My question is: Whose baggage rules apply?

Our new tandem is a take-apart but we haven't ordered the $800.00 bag for it yet. I could picture us taking our bike to Seattle some time, visiting a few days with our daughter and grand kids, and touring the San Juan Islands.

American's rules would apply. That was a codeshare flight; your ticket read something like "Alaska Flight XXXX operated by American." You would have to actually fly Alaska Air to get their rates.

Just flew on Alaska from Seattle to Hawaii last month with my bike packed in a SCI-Con travel case (07 Specialized S-Works). I have flown my bike several times before in this case with excellent results as you only remove the wheels and secure the bike by the dropouts to the metal frame in the bottom of the case. Alaska waived the fee as a frequent flyer courtesy so I was good to go for a week of riding. Under new guidelines the TSA removed the bike from the case for inspection and didn't bother to reattach it to the metal frame, allowing the chain stays to bounce against the case frame the entire trip - chipping off the outer layers of carbon and cracking through the chain stays, leaving me without a bike to ride upon my arrival.

Because the TSA had opened the bag and stamped the claim tag, Alaska wouldn't accept a damage claim and left me with the only option of filing a claim with the TSA for a replacement frame. They'll let me know the results of their investigation within 6 months.

Moral of the story - don't fly your bike, ship it UPS with full insurance.

I'm shocked that a company would design a case that had unpadded metal on the inside. Which model is this?

A lot of the guys that use S&S couplers use a net to hold the bike and parts together so that the TSA can pull it out and put it back without taking anything apart. Sounds like this is a common complaint against the TSA people. I don't think that they do this on purpose, I bet they just didn't know how to put it back in the case properly. This is something to consider in the airline vs shipping company decision.

I've flown using almost every imaginable bike case at one time or another. This is what I've been using lately: http://bitingduck.com/?q=node/19

YMMV, offer not valid with any other discounts, and if your bike arrives flat as a pancake don't blame me, though I haven't had any trouble with it and find it more convenient than a hard case. Most recently I added a frame (made from 2x4's and a fork mount from performance) that works the same way as the internal steel frame in a bikepro case. I've also been using closed cell foam sheets that they sell for putting on your garage floor instead of the cardboard shown in the pictures.

You could rent a hard case from a bike shop (probably $5-7 per day with a weekly price of maybe $40-45) or look for one on Craigslist. I rented the Thule hard case -- all good. I just purchased a Trico Iron Case through Craigslist -- in essence, same as Thule with slight variation inside. Works great!!

Nobody uses this one?

Ater having to get picked dropped off at the airport in a minivan, and picked up by a friend with a pickup truck, when I was traveling with a hard-shell I was looking for something more manageable. I read a bunch of reviews on this one and and pulled the trigger. I was impressed when I got it. I haven't used it yet, but will soon.

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6...6835-1,00.html
http://bicycling.com/gear/detail/0,7...2877-0,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/fa...2physical.html (number 3)
http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/...-or-hardshell/

All I can add is TSA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont get me started.