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bike shipping
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I have a race in July and have to ship my bike from NH to Colorado. I have a bike box but dont want to fly with my bike . I see two companies that supply the service, "Shipbikes" and "bikeflights". Does anyone have experience with these companies or have other suggestions? (its a Mountain bike i'm shipping)
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Re: bike shipping [fxjeffrey] [ In reply to ]
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I've used bikeflights many times, it's just someone using a commercial FedEx account and passing on the savings to you...and keeping a little bit for themselves.
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Re: bike shipping [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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I've been debating doing bikeflights (or similar) and getting my own bag to fly with. Curious if you or anyone has sprung for bikeflight's more expensive box option (coroplast) or if cardboard is generally solid enough?
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Re: bike shipping [pgp128] [ In reply to ]
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I wouldn't ship my bike worth thousands of dollars in a cardboard bike box, opinions will differ.
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Re: bike shipping [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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My stuff is only in the hundreds but I feel the same way lol I'd really like an option where taking stuff off is minimal (not that I can't do my own work, would just rather have it as close to ready to ride), but realize those options cost more.
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Re: bike shipping [fxjeffrey] [ In reply to ]
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fxjeffrey wrote:
I have a race in July and have to ship my bike from NH to Colorado. I have a bike box but dont want to fly with my bike . I see two companies that supply the service, "Shipbikes" and "bikeflights". Does anyone have experience with these companies or have other suggestions? (its a Mountain bike i'm shipping)

I've used both - shipbikes for a wheelset a few months ago and bikeflights for a fork last week. I was all set to use shipbikes for the fork shipment but out of curiosity I ran it through bikeflights' shipping calculator and it came out a few bucks cheaper. IME, exact same service (as pointed out above, both companies are leveraging volume discounts with FedEx and passing along the savings to you, presumably making a % on each shipment).
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Re: bike shipping [fxjeffrey] [ In reply to ]
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Perhaps tribike transport can help. I’ve never used them but have heard good things.

Per their website they do ship for other type events, not just triathlons.
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Re: bike shipping [new_trimes] [ In reply to ]
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I've used TriBikeTransport once last year and it worked out well for me. I had my bike shipped from NYC to Whistler for IM Canada. The only downside was having to surrender my bike almost 2 weeks before the race so I had nothing to train on in the interim.

As for boxing it up, my Canyon was shipped from CA to NYC via FedEx in a large cardboard box with no problems. If you can put some padding inside and secure all the parts with foam or whatever I don't see that being an issue.
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Re: bike shipping [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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jaretj wrote:
I wouldn't ship my bike worth thousands of dollars in a cardboard bike box, opinions will differ.

You do realize your thousands of dollars bike was shipped to your lbs in a cardboard bike box?
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Re: bike shipping [IntenseOne] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, sure but can you find me a brand new Cervelo P2 size 45 if it's broken?

Or how about a 650C Orbea Diva 47?
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Re: bike shipping [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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jaretj wrote:
Yes, sure but can you find me a brand new Cervelo P2 size 45 if it's broken?

Or how about a 650C Orbea Diva 47?

I am certain that if you looked at the data, you are far more likely to damage or break your bikes by riding them, than by shipping them properly packaged in a bike box. Bad things can happen, and if they do you deal with it :-) My point is, that while you assume a risk while shipping your bike, you also assume a risk every time you handle or ride your bike. If you look at the objective data, damage to bikes being shipped is pretty rare. Sure there are people on this forum who have had that happen, but how many on this forum have crashed their bikes? I live in California, and swim multiple days a week in open water, bike on roads with no shoulder or bike lanes, lots of bad things COULD happen, but I choose to focus on the great things I experience my going forward in spite of the daily “risks”. BTW- I ride a fully custom made Guru, that can never be replaced. If it breaks, I would be seriously bummed out, but I would quickly find another bike.
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Re: bike shipping [IntenseOne] [ In reply to ]
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I'm sorry, I have no data to look to evaluate damage caused by shipping in a box vs shipping in a bike case with FedEx or on a plane.

I'm still not going to increase the chances of shipping in a cardboard box 5-6 times a year when a proper bike case can be had for $250
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Re: bike shipping [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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jaretj wrote:
I'm sorry, I have no data to look to evaluate damage caused by shipping in a box vs shipping in a bike case with FedEx or on a plane.

I'm still not going to increase the chances of shipping in a cardboard box 5-6 times a year when a proper bike case can be had for $250

I do agree with you on the use of a “proper” bike case, but probably for a different reason. I find that having a bike case makes it much easier to pack, as you have consistentcy. With bike boxes there is a lot of variation, and you have to deal with asking for one at a shop, and then disposing of it after.
I have used a number of different cases, hard and soft, and strongly prefer my soft case from Pika. I do, however, go to the bike box method on the occasional times I ship fedex, as it is by far the smallest container you can pack your bike in, so it is the least cost of shipping, and the boxes have been designed and thoroughly tested to withstand shipping. BTW- DO NOT use a bike box that has been folded, or has cardboard that has been compromised. Generally 1 round trip is the most you can expect.
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Re: bike shipping [IntenseOne] [ In reply to ]
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IntenseOne wrote:
jaretj wrote:
I wouldn't ship my bike worth thousands of dollars in a cardboard bike box, opinions will differ.


You do realize your thousands of dollars bike was shipped to your lbs in a cardboard bike box?

Yeah, but at that point it's not 'your' bike, so you're not on the hook if it gets smashed.

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.
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