Ok so I'm headed to San Fran at the end of the month..just curious if anyone has had experience with bike flights...did you remove the derailleur? I spoke with a guy at the shop at rei and he said they receive their bikes with derailleur on in box..what has YOUR experience been shipping?

I just used bike flight for trip. In my opinion an excellent service where you save lots of money. The site is VERY easy to use and they really keep you informed on shipping status. I would use them again in a heart beat.

As far as rear derailleur, there really is no need to remove as long as the rear wheel stays on but that is a judgement call. Some people still remove hanger and derailleur and secure it in a position w

awesome..thank you

another question did you keep your racks on?

I have used BF for 5 or 6 round trips. Never had a problem. Fast and cheap. I have an LBS pack the bike so I don't know if it takes off the RD. Can't hurt to. Have a shop reassemble and tune so it's ready to arrive when I ride. Racks are not installed for shipping but do go inside the box (along with my stove and empty fuel bottle), which is CrateWorks plastic box. It's large but still airline/UPS/FedEx legal.

Just priced BF shipping my bike to France and back from NY: $1300.00 ! Hell, I could buy a bike in France for less. A quick check of Air France lists baggage costs of about $300 for the same round trip. BF may be more convenient than schlepping a bike box through the airports, but for $1000.00, I'll do the schlep!

Well of course there is a difference for international shipping. BF uses FedEx for the most part. Try getting a quote directly from the FedEx website for the same shipping to France. Dollar to a donut says it won't be less.

Domestically, it has always beaten going through FedEx directly, which is the point of its existence. Try getting four-day shipping from Philly to Missoula for 70 lb. of bike, box, etc. with $1,600 in insurance for $75. That's what I paid last year.

If you play with the BF rate estimator on the website it's interesting to see that, as between box size and box weight, the former drives the price more. I got estimates using the same bike box size at various weights between 40 lbs. and 70 lbs. The price was always the same. I'll bet that if you exceed a certain weight, the price will rise, but it seems that, below a certain weight, it's size that matters.

A couple friends of mine use Bike Flights regularly, extremely happy with them. I think they remove the rear derailleur, they typically do not ride steel bikes.

If I packed up a bike for Bike Flights, I would be inclined to remove the rear derailleur if it is not a steel frame bike but I would probably have to think about it on a steel frame bike. The last trip I was on, two of the group of a dozen riders had some shifting problems that were caused by bent derailleur hangers. Thus it happens and can be a hassle.

I have not used Bike Flights, only commenting on my friends experience with them.

When shipping something international there always are questions about customs duty and if you are not with your bike when your bike crosses the border, the customs agents do not know with any certainty if the bike will cross the border again within 90 days. If you are crossing the border with your bike, customs agents are more inclined to believe you when you say the bike is not staying in their country.

Don't blame Bike Flights for exorbitant shipping costs when they have no control over customs agents in foreign countries.

You have to understand that BF has no role in the physical shipping of your bike. It's merely a discount broker of FedEx bike shipping. Once you buy through BF and are emailed a shipping label, what happens to your bike during shipping is all on FedEx.

I generally remove my derailleur. Wrap it in some bubble wrap and ziptie to the chainstay. Sometimes I forget, haven't had an issue.

Yes, but domestically it is about $100-150 for round trip, i.e. cheaper than most airlines charge one way.

Blame is irrelevant here. If it costs $1000 more to ship a bike to France using BF than it does to check it as baggage, that makes BF pretty non-competitive for this, and likely many other, international destinations. I don't care why or who's to blame, it's still an extra $1000 out of my pocket any way you slice it. It does sound like BF is much more competitive for domestic travel though.

I think there are several factors people forget when they say BF is cheaper. 1) are they including cost for LBS to disassemble/reassemble bikes (or are they doing this themselves). 2) cost and time at both ends to go to LBS to drop off/pick up their bike. When I travel with my bike, 1st thing I check is what the baggage fee is for all the airlines that go to my destination. I then include that with the ticket cost to see which airline is cheapest. I also dissemble/reassemble my own bike. At destination, I take free hotel shuttle, reassemble bike at hotel, stay a night (usually both the first and last), and have hotel store my hard case box until I return. Did this last year with 2 bikes (mine and wife's) to Paris/Charles de Gaulle Airport and it only cost $300 total for bikes. Over 3 week tour, that works out to $15/day for both bikes; which we look at as a bargain compared to car rental, or trains, or renting a bike.

I agree, BF gets better rates for shipping than most people can on their own (possible exception being if you can ship using your employees discount). If you don't want to be hassled with assembly/disassembly than its probably a good way to go. But I will bet that BF can not be less expensive than you personally doing all the work.

Well it is international so it needs to go by air. Just price an airfreight shipment across country and see what it costs. Shipping international, you would then have the additional hassle of picking up the bike at customs and perhaps paying taxes. Fly with your bike if going international.

I've done the comparison myself. I don't have the option, flying internationally, but if I ever take my bike domestically, I'll gladly pay bike flights to ship it to an LBS to be assembled and waiting at my destination, and not deal with it in an airport. Short of a carrier like Southwest, it'll still be cheaper than domestic bike fees.

I am looking at it from a purely transportation cost perspective. I am not going to fly if only because it's a PITA to get to/from my airport with a bike and can be a PITA at the destination. And don't get me started on the troubles I have seen TSA agents have closing up a bike box. (We don't have the large scanners in Philly.) As such, I ship. BF is cheaper than if I purchase the shipping through FedEx directly.

With that said, it just so happens that having an LBS box my bike, shipping it with BF and having it reassembled at the destination and ready to ride when I arrive can be not that much more than me boxing myself, flying with it and reassembling it myself. For example, I have done three tours out of Missoula, MT in recent years. Boxing in Philly was $75 (labor rates are higher in the big city, and this price includes plenty of packing material), shipping with insurance was about $75 and reassembly (Missoula REI, which happens to be right next to the Missoula KOA) was $40. Airlines wanted either $150 or $175 for the bike. The Philly LBS that boxes my bike is around the corner from a FedEx/Kinko's location. They drop the bike off their for me as a courtesy. That saves me the BF pick up surcharge of $5. All I have to do is drive the box to the shop a short distance from my home before work, drive back home, ride to work and then drop off the bike during my ride home from work. (The shop is so close I can see the roof of the building where it's located as I type this.) REI olds my box and duffel bag that I flew my gear in. If they are not busy they will even let me use a repair stand to attach my racks, which I prefer to do myself. When I am done with the tour, I drop off the bike, give REI the shipping label and go have a beer. The extra $40 or so is worth the work it saves me.

One thing I don't like about BF is that they won't send you a shipping label until 10 days before your scheduled ship date. That can be a PITA if you are out on the road for something like two weeks. You need to get computer access to either purchase return shipping or to print out the label if you purchased return shipping before you started the tour. Not always the easiest thing to do. Last year I had a relatively short day from Whitefish, MT to Glacier N.P. so I hung around in town until the library opened, but I have had to scramble in the past. If you are not going to be in larger towns that can create a problem. I have come across plenty of small town libraries that are only open a few days/week and/or have limited hours.

My point exactly!

-b

I assume when you say airlines wanted $150 to $175, you are meaning 1 way. Alaska Airlines, which fly's from Philly to Missoula, currently charges $75 one way ($150 round trip). Yea they aren't direct flights but it proves my point; a little research shows cheaper options than what I keep hearing repeated. Its good we have so many options though including driving to the start/finish of a loop tour, taking the train (yes you don't need to box a bike anymore on a lot of Amtrak routes), flying with your bike (some people like foldable bikes just to avoid fees), or shipping. What works for one person doesn't work for another. The important thing is to enjoy the trip.

Yes. One way. AA schedules have never worked out for me. Don't think they were price competitive either, even with the lower bike charge, and they were two stops IIRC. I am willing to pay extra for convenience. And since my timing is tight, I pick the flight that gets me in the earliest with that hope that will minimize any disruptions due to delays. Get there in the middle of the night throws a money wrench into everything.

BTW...Just took my bike up to St. Albans, VT last month and rode home to Philly. Second time I have taken a bike on the Vermonter. The service has those bike cubbies for you hang your bike.