spectastic

I don't really want to pay for a s s coupler or ritchey breakaway bike just to use for traveling. I would like to also use this bike to run errands, and not worry about someone taking it apart and stealing it.

right now, the idea is to get a fixie and add on an internal geared wheel, and use that simple machine for everything around town, and everything travel/touring related.

so here's my question.. people can bring guitars on to a plane as a carry on, why can't I just put a bike frame in a big duffle and put that in the overhead compartment? A 56 cm bike will fit, won't it? what if I find a compact frame to make it narrower?

BigAura

nope

nun

You'll be over the carryon size limits. However, I've never had an issue (or been charged extra) for my bike on a transatlantic flight. I remove the wheels and pack them either side of the frame in a soft sided case.

BigAura

Besides the rules I'm sure the TSA would frown upon someone carrying on 10ft of steel pipe

kpfeif

Get some security allen bolts if you're worried about someone taking apart your Breakaway frame parked at the grocery store. Packs securely in a 26x26x10 hard case and you won't ever have to worry about charges or arguing with airline people. Plus you can have exactly the bike you want, instead of a 7-speed approximation.

indyfabz

+1. Not even close on even a large plane.

OP: You can ship a bike for much less than what many (if not most) airlines charge. I flew from Philly to Montana in June. Shipped my 60cm LHT with racks, stove and fuel bottle using bikeflights.com. Wildly overestimated the weight at 90 lbs. Charge was $73 dollars each way, including $5 pickup from my LBS. The airline I flew wanted $175 each way.

Machka 

1. Have you seen an overhead compartment?

2. When was the last time you've seen someone bring a guitar on a plane as carry-on? I've travelled the world and have yet to see that.

spinnaker

This explains it:

spectastic

i saw it last weekend

spectastic

what if I stack everything in a large bag and check it in.

prathmann

The usual airline limit to avoid overcharges is that L+W+H is 62" or less. That's pretty hard to meet even with a take-apart frame or a folding bike with 20" wheels. Most such bikes fit in cases that are right at 62".

Yan 

If you put an internal geared wheel on a fixie, it won't be a fixie anymore. You're also looking at a Shimano Nexus or Rohloff hub. The Shimano hub is 8 speed and $250. Perhaps usable for touring if you severely limit yourself on the high end. The Rohloff hub is 14 speed and $1250. Those S&S couplings not looking so expensive now are they?

An off the shelf track frame is not suitable for touring due to the inability to mount wide tires and racks.

A bicycle will not fit into an airplane overhead compartment. A bike is a lot bigger than a guitar. There are small wheeled folding bikes which will fit into the overhead compartments of the trans-Pacific aircrafts, but those bikes are not great to ride for more than an hour. If you fly out of North America, there are plenty of airlines from other countries which do not charge an extra fee for bicycles.

Probably best to skip eating out for the next two months and buy separate bikes to suit your needs.

Yan 

That's North America only. Where I live the airlines don't care how large your luggage is or what is inside. Only weight is tracked and there is no surcharge for bicycles. There's probably a limit for outrageously large pieces, but my full sized touring bike in a case has always been fine. All they ask you to do when they see that your luggage is oversized, is send you to the end of the terminal so you can put your luggage through the oversize scanner. When you arrive someone pushes your bike to the pick up area on a trolley. I've even had the bicycle's weight waived once when I was flying home from the end of a tour, severly overweight with camping gear in another suitcase. Hainan Airlines.

Machka 

It is not North America only. It's also Australia and New Zealand and several other places. And if your flight is shared between airlines, you've got to check the baggage requirements for all involved and go with the smallest of the lot.

spectastic

well someone else told me the bag would be hard to measure because it doesn't have a shape. and if I check it online I before I get there, with a lenient check in agent on top of that, there's a good chance they'll just let it go

replying to the 62" comment

Machka 

Some info about flying with bicycles:
Airline Baggage Regulations For Bicycles

Before flying, read through that ... and then look up the baggage requirements, as they pertain to bicycles, for the specific airline with whom you would like to travel.

Double-check the requirements the week before you travel ... they change from time to time.

Machka 

I wouldn't count on it.

spectastic

what's up with the bicycle tariffs. the ones for united and american, i noticed, are exactly the same as oversized luggage. is the table assuming that all bicycles will be oversized, or are bikes going to be taxed every if they're within the 62" mark.

Machka 

It would take some doing to get a non-folding bicycle under the 62" mark ... therefore, yes, all non-folding bicycles are oversized.

Even folding bicycles can be right on the edge of that 62" mark.

And in fact, some bicycle boxes will even push the upper limits of oversized luggage, presenting a risk that the airline might not take it at all.

spectastic

what if I get a compact frame, and put that in a bag separate from the wheels, so that the width can be thinner. I can pack all my clothes in with the frame, take off the crank/chain and saddle, and put them in with the wheels.

I might be able to find a compact frame that would fall in spec when all packed up.

Machka 

Good luck!

62" is not that big ... barely the size of a large suitcase.

And several airlines have dropped their baggage allowances to 1 checked bag and 1 smallish carry-on. You'll want to check that before you make a decision on the airline.


Air New Zealand, for example, says this:

Checked Baggage Allowance
1st checked bag --- no charge
2nd checked bag --- AUD200.00

Each piece of checked baggage is limited to 23KG(50LBS) and total linear dimensions (length + width + height) of 158CM(62IN). Bags that are heavier and/or larger than this allowance will incur extra charges.


Carry-on Baggage

1 piece of carry-on baggage up to 7KG(15LB) weight, 118CM(46.5IN) linear dimensions will be accepted at no charge

Some quick calculations ... a 700c wheel is approx. 27.5 inches in diameter, right? It would fit in a box that is 28 inches x 28 inches = 56 inches. And that leaves 6 inches of depth to work with. Can you fit two wheels into a box that measures 28 x 28 x 6?

And your compact frame ... what would be its length? and height?

What about your handlebars? Are you thinking straight bars?

imi

Before booking a flight go through the airlines baggage allowance meticulously... and as Machka said, even the flights that are "code shared".

My go-to for international flight is British Airways.

Checked cardboard bike box with tools, stove, liquids, tent poles and pegs and other sharp objects, under 23kg.

No extra charge for the oversized bike box!

Handbaggage in a pannier with everything else. If need be you can wear ALL your clothes getting on the plane.

Oh, and did I say "beware the darned code-sharing"!

Cardboard boxes can weigh a few kgs, so pack and weigh everything well in advance.

digibud

Wow. That's high. AK air charges $75 for a large bike box. Shipping from AK to Albuquerque was going to be $100 via bikeflights so it all depends on who you're flying with and where you're going. Our upcoming bike tour with flights to two cities then home will result in 3x$75 per bike. Painful.

Rowan

I am sorry, but I am crying with laughter. This is one of the most surreal joke threads I have ever read. Really. A 56" bicycle fitting into an overhead aeroplane locker?

Even before my very first attempt to fly with a bicycle, I knew that I had to pack it up in a box to conform with airline requirements. And pay the requisite oversize fees.

It's not as though this forum hasn't discussed flying with bicycles in umpteen threads over the years.

The solution for us when travelling now (or at least, from 17 September) is the Bike Friday that will fold down to a large suitcase that just conforms to the 62" L+W+D equation.

imi

I used to fly with both a bike and a guitar. Nowadays a guitar is too big as handbaggage (though some people still get away with one in a soft case).
I just buy a new guitar at destination and donate it at the end of the tour.

A bike frame as hand-baggage? Forget about.