Is your bike box the only option? I've shipped a tri bike cross-country (CA -> NC) via FedEx Ground for $85 in a cardboard box, properly packed. If you're handy at building it back up this is a pretty cheap/easy option.

What is great about the transport stuff, is your bike is fully assembled, and it is right at the transistion area. No hassle having to take it to a hotel, etc. The few extra bucks is worth it, IMO. This is how mine is going to
Edmonton in a few weeks.

.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Check out bike flights

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

I just packed up my Speed Concept in a Pika Packworks bag and put it on the plane. It was under 50 lbs, so no one asked me any questions. I know airline baggage handlers are rough, but I've heard stories about what happens at a UPS and FedEx behind the scenes. I just asked the guy at the counter to put some fragile stickers on the bag.

I think you can ship from one REI to another for pretty cheap if you're a member. Not sure of the details though.

I've had bad luck with both TBT and UPS shipping.

I'm going to invest in my own bike box and take on the plane the next time I travel. I am going to/from Hawaii so there is some distance involved, but in the end, had I bought a bike box, I'd have saved a lot of money and headache in the long run.

What are you putting in the bike case? How much does it weigh? Is it over-size? I've shipped my bike, in a Performance bike case all over the country on FedX ground and only spent over $100 one time. That was from a FedX/Kinkos in Honolulu back to New York.

First of all; keep it light

Second; go to FedX, not Kinkos.

Third and most important; don't except a high price. Tell the agent that they are wrong; the price is is too high and they should measure it again. Make them keep measuring until they can get the price down to around $100.

Good luckI

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Hey Ian:
If you are bouncing around the midwest with your bike, you might try BikeFlights.com. Because they ship so much, they get a discount on Fed EX, UPS, and DHL shipping.
http://bikeflights.com/aboutus.aspx
My mechanic, Gordon of VeloHangar, packs a lot of bikes for BikeFlights shipments.
You can fill in the size, wt, destination, etc and get an estimate and pay for the whole shebang online.
I did a quick check on Southwest, which charges $75 for a bike in the case.
http://www.southwest.com/..._pol_tab_list_tab_12
I have to assume you'll need to pay for extra insurance for your bike, since it's a high value item.
Aside from your bike arriving assembled w all your gear, it seems like one of the advantages of TBT could be the insurance coverage.
KS

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Karen ST Concierge

I've used bikeflights.com and saved time and money shipping a bike from Michigan to Florida and back.

Easy to do and I shipped to a FedEx hold location. I picked it up at my leisure.

jaretj

I know you have been given some options but having used Bike Flights for my races and my clients - I really recommend them. Hope this helps

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Graham Wilson
USAT Level III Elite Coach
http://www.thewilsongroup.biz

I really appreciate all the mentions of Bike Flights. I'm embarrassed that I've never heard of them before this thread today.

I've just scoured their site and sent an email to them for greater clarity on one issue - can I up my "declared value" of contents beyond their standard $100. If not I may simply acquire supplemental insurance from a third party.

I had TBT at ~$325, UPS at ~$284 and Fedex at $259 but that was with $5k in insurance.

I went back and re-tabulated UPS and Fedex with $100 coverage so that I could compare apples to apples and they came out at $239 (UPS), $209 (Fedex). While Bike Flights is quoting $119.

That's thrilling!!!

Ian

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Ian Murray
http://www.TriathlonTrainingSeries.com
I like the pursuit of mastery
Twitter - @TriCoachIan

Take a look at shipbikes.com. I've used them about a half dozen times

At over $200, I'd just take it on the plane!

When I did Bike flights I paid for the shipping, they emailed me a label and I dropped off my bike in my work's shipping department.

FedEx picked it up on a Tuesday, delivered in Florida on Thursday.

Then they emailed me another shipping label for the way home. Printed it out at a FedEx location and shipped it home. Shipped on Monday, delivered on Wednesday.

jaretj

What dimensions are you using to estimate the shipping cost? The common hard shell cases (trico,etc) are right at the limit for 'oversize' charges for UPS/FedEx. If you're playing with the online calculator, try reducing the dimensions by an inch or so in each dimension and see if some combination causes a significant price drop. I haven't shipped something recently, but it'd expect prices including insurance to be about half what you listed. As someone else said, make sure you're not going to a Mailboxes Etc reseller. Also, at the size of a bike box, I think the shippers give you 80 pounds before they care about the weight.

Regarding Shipbikes.com:
1. Did you purchase one of their bike boxes or use your own?
2. It looks like they use UPS, Fed Ex, etc. Was there an option to purchase additional insurance?
3. If you don't mind to share this info, where did you go?
4. You did use them a few times and recommended to Forum, but did you have any other feedback about them?
After reading thru this thread, I've decided to put together a spreadsheet of the shipping options.
This also got me going down the bike insurance road, which is a twisty, turny path with blind alleys.
KS

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Karen ST Concierge

I have my own bike case.
I've shipped to hotels but usually call first and see if it's ok. But mostly to fedex/kinkos locations. I just track the bike and when it gets signed for, I call to verify.
Instead of shipping the bike back to my house. I have it sent to my lbs.

I just make sure that wherever it's going, there is someone always there to sign for it.

As far as extra insurance; I've never used it and so far. I have not had any issues

Thanks for the info. sounds like everything worked out.
I will contact them to ask about insurance options.
KS

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Karen ST Concierge

Hi, I'd caution you against bikeflights.com. I shipped my bike with them for an event, and it was a disaster. They basically take your money and send you a fedex label. They do get a bulk discount, but if you make an account on Fedex.com you'll get the same price within a few dollars, but you'll be able to change or cancel the shipment details at your leisure, and you won't have to wait for the bikeflights guy to process your order. In addition, with bikeflights.com, you are prohibited from filing a claim with fedex. You have to go through bikeflights.com.

I tried to file a claim with this fellow, but he told me by looking at the image of the damage I sent him he could tell that the H3 wheel had been damaged and repaired previously. What would it matter whether the a new or a repaired wheel was damaged? Unless there was evidence that the wheel was damaged before shipping or that it was improperly packed it's irrelevant. He gave me a lot of other hokey run around too. I had a strong case because the shipping box was hugely damaged. He eventually let me use his carbon repair guy at no cost. However this took over 7 months. Months went buy without responses to emails. For a while I thought they had lost the wheel. I'm also skeptical about the quality of the repair.

No way would I use bikeflights.com again. Print your own label on fedex.com. If you've made an account and there's still a big price difference, make sure you're comparing apples to apples with declared value, box dimensions, and weight. I found that a bike box can easily be a bit bigger than what bikeflights.com lists as a standard bike box. The important thing is to make sure length + girth < 130 inches as that bumps you up in price quite a bit. When I did booked I found my cost to ship was much greater than what the little estimator tool on their website suggested.

Also, there's no way I'd risk shipping via fedex in card board. I'd get a proper hard case. The extra weight won't cost any extra at those dimensions. I've been fine a few times, but I had one incident, and that's enough.

Raceday transport was 280 for me using their coupon code from nations. They drive it out fully assembled like tbt. The only hassles is their closest bike shop is in woodland hills.

I just got back from racine and was the fourth time I used my Pika Packworks case. Never had any dings or accidents using the soft side case and of the 8 trips only had to pay twice (southwest).