Bikes Safe on a Bus?
 

5 hour trip, from DC to NY - what are the chances my bike will get crushed to peices in the luggage bay other than bus falling into ditch / act of God?

Practically guaranteed destruction. Pack it in something hard.

does this go for chinatown bus trips as well?

I respectfully disagree. I've taken my bike on the Chinatown bus from Boston to NYC several times and nothing ever happened. I suppose if it were really crowded, people might be inclined to stack stuff on top of your bike, but it won't get crushed - I think it takes more than a suitcase or two to do real damage like that.

Will there be a bomb on the bus?

snakes on a bus?

Ha, I thought that exact thing after reading the thread title.

Bike gets no packing, I'm riding it to Chinatown-DC, putting it in the bus and then taking the bus to Chinatown-NYC. Never did it before; just don't want a wrecked bike when I get to NYC.

i've taken my bike on the china town bus a bunch of times and never have had a problem. they let you put it right on there and it's always exactly where i left it.

it helps if you lock it to on the supports in the compartment.

Snakes on a Plane - that's a cause for concern.

i haven't taken this chinatown bus, but when i took a greyhound from boise to portland, i just got an old bike box from an lbs, took off the wheels and handlebars, put everything in there with t-shirts and crap for padding (so i didn't have to pack a suitcase! yay!) and went. oh, and i taped the box, i'd hope people would think to do that without being told to, though.

headed to the alleykitten?

Bikes are relatively safe on the chinatown buses. The bus
usually has one or two luggage compartments empty, that's
with a bus at 75% capacity. They've never given me any
problems and my bike isn't any worse for the wear. No need
to take your bike apart, just make sure to lock your it up to
one of the posts.

oh, to add to my previous post. you can buy tickets through amtrack for greyhound buses. if you do this, apparently you can lock up your bike underneath to some sort of rack or something, without paying extra.

Nah, I'm heading up on April 21st for my best friend's engagement party ... but I'll have 2 days to ride around and I'd go crazy locked up at my parent's place. I should really just buy a bike and leave it there.

I'm glad to know about the lock suggestion, I didn't like the idea of letting the bike sit loose to slide around in the compartment. This time I'll take the beater; if it fares well, the nice one can come up for the NYC Century in September.

I took my bike in a soft sided bag from Montreal to Philly with no problems at all.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...&highlight=bus

http://portland.craigslist.org/bik/151355137.html

i could also buy this for you and ship it to you, and then laugh at you for spending 35 dollars on it.

Bah, that'd suck, I'm riding the bike to chinatown to catch the bus too! Sit in front of the bus for half an hour disassembling then throw it in the bus? Nah. Maybe if I was gonna move to Europe and ship the nice bike there ...

i took the chinatown bus from boston to nyc and back and my bike was fine. both times when i was getting on, the driver let me pack my bike before anybody else could put their stuff in. having suitcases packed around it is a good thing imo, because it keeps it from knocking around.

i'd eventually like to get a cordura bike bag, but they're expensive as hell.

I got my cheapo one from Nashbar for about 30 bucks.

Just plain old nylon though.

i highly discourage anyone from ever considering taking a bike on greyhound bus.

I put my bike on a shortline bus all the time ( NYC to Ithaca...5 hrs). Don't take crowded busses and put your joint in the back of the last compartment. I've never had a problem. I also usually throw my chain around the wheel and frame too.

Don't take a bus. My friend was just on a bus from maine to new york and this guy sitting behind her shot himself.

kinda unrelated...

Hmm I was hoping this was a put your bike on the front of a bus thread...does anyone do that or am I a ****** if I want to get all the way across town...I always worry that some one will pick it off at a stop light or something.

Fung Wah / Lucky Star charge extra for a bike?

Not sure, I have to call up the company I want to use, New Century Travel? http://www.2000coach.com/newyorkdcrt.html rates are pretty good. Lucky Star and Fung Wah don't seem to service DC.