Shock watches anyone use them? Engineers, how much shock can a bike take?
 

I am a big fan of MythBusters. They use a lot of shock watches on the show.

Has anyone used one of these when shipping their bike? I have not been able to find a price on a single shock watch but f they are under $10, it might be worth putting one on your box.

I am not sure if your bike would be handled more gently or if it might act as some kind of challenge to be broken.



Anyone have a guess on which one would be the best to a box being shipped?

Boy I wish you could edit the subject line!!!! That should be how much not how how. :)

I doubt that a shock watch would be worth the money. If you pack it correctly (fork spacer, foam insulation, etc), it shouldn't matter if the box is dropped on any end. What will damage the bike is if the box is laid sideways and other heavy boxes placed on top of it, and a shock watch probably wouldn't help you with that.

I recommend using FedEx to ship bikes - in my experience it is faster than UPS, usually cheaper, and much better at not breaking things.

I wouldn't bother with a shock watch either. I've never had a bike damaged in shipping but I've read about some that have. Usually, they are either 1) very poorly packed or 2) completely crushed or damaged by a fork lift tine penetrating the box, etc. There is a thread in the classic and vintage about how to ship a bike. Follow the instructions there and you should be fine. I've used UPS, FedEx and USPS. I prefer FedEx but the size limits are different so if you have a big box you might need to shop around to get the best price. Insurance is a better idea than a shock watch and will probably do more to get your bike careful attention but really, once it's in the shippers hands, you just have to hope for the best.