Thanks again for the tips! I got my bike's box down from the attic for the test fit. I might as well test see how much stuff it takes to get me to 50 lb. And just write the list on the box so I don't forget.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [Ohio_Roadie]
[ In reply to ]
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis]
[ In reply to ]
I seem to have a hard fitting my frame in the overhead bin.
But the wheels fit fine under the seat in front.
But the wheels fit fine under the seat in front.
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis]
[ In reply to ]
I ended up going with Bikeflights. My wife convinced me that one less thing going through the airport would be a good thing AND she didn't mind the extra cost...so it got shipped today.
Thanks again for all the tips everyone!
Rich
Thanks again for all the tips everyone!
Rich
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [cgrubb]
[ In reply to ]
cgrubb wrote:
Fly with your bike every time. But only with a hard case and it must, must have wheels! I use bikeboxalan have never has a problem, I like their boxes as they are light (approx 11kg) - so add a riad bije or TT bike and you are still under 23kg the standard weight for checked luggage at most airlines. They are really robust and come with an anti crush pole that makes the whole box incredibly strong and will not crush at all even if placed beneath a bunch of heavy suitcases . Always detach your rear deraileur before packing.
Crucial to make sure that whatever box you buy that it will easily fit in your car (to get to airport) and into a regular taxi. FYI I have travelled extensively with two bikeboxalans and always managed to fit both bikes, plus luggage plus partner in a hire car - any small hatchback will easily fit two bikes , two suitcases and two people.....but it must be a hatchback, sedans are way more problematic though - I can only just get one bike box into my 5 series BMW!
Which bikebox alan version do you have?
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [CrazyR]
[ In reply to ]
CrazyR wrote:
cgrubb wrote:
Fly with your bike every time. But only with a hard case and it must, must have wheels! I use bikeboxalan have never has a problem, I like their boxes as they are light (approx 11kg) - so add a riad bije or TT bike and you are still under 23kg the standard weight for checked luggage at most airlines. They are really robust and come with an anti crush pole that makes the whole box incredibly strong and will not crush at all even if placed beneath a bunch of heavy suitcases . Always detach your rear deraileur before packing.
Crucial to make sure that whatever box you buy that it will easily fit in your car (to get to airport) and into a regular taxi. FYI I have travelled extensively with two bikeboxalans and always managed to fit both bikes, plus luggage plus partner in a hire car - any small hatchback will easily fit two bikes , two suitcases and two people.....but it must be a hatchback, sedans are way more problematic though - I can only just get one bike box into my 5 series BMW!
Which bikebox alan version do you have?
Just the standard one.
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [cgrubb]
[ In reply to ]
cgrubb wrote:
CrazyR wrote:
cgrubb wrote:
Fly with your bike every time. But only with a hard case and it must, must have wheels! I use bikeboxalan have never has a problem, I like their boxes as they are light (approx 11kg) - so add a riad bije or TT bike and you are still under 23kg the standard weight for checked luggage at most airlines. They are really robust and come with an anti crush pole that makes the whole box incredibly strong and will not crush at all even if placed beneath a bunch of heavy suitcases . Always detach your rear deraileur before packing.
Crucial to make sure that whatever box you buy that it will easily fit in your car (to get to airport) and into a regular taxi. FYI I have travelled extensively with two bikeboxalans and always managed to fit both bikes, plus luggage plus partner in a hire car - any small hatchback will easily fit two bikes , two suitcases and two people.....but it must be a hatchback, sedans are way more problematic though - I can only just get one bike box into my 5 series BMW!
Which bikebox alan version do you have?
Just the standard one.
I have a very similar-sized box, the Premierbike case, I compared the dimensions to the BBA Premium and they're nearly identical.
In my hatchback prius, the Premierbike case slides in like cargo through the rear hatch with the middle seats down no problem. However, the case is definitely too big (fat) to slide into the backseat with the seats up from the side door. So you should be careful about car transport, as it's going to be problematic with typical sedans and definitely with compact sedans. Small hatchbacks like the Prius though should work fine with the middle seats down.
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis]
[ In reply to ]
I would say it depends, domestically if I'm flying bikeflights or shipbikes is the best way. Pack it a few days early and send it to my hotel. Easy and tends to be cheaper. Now that airlines are less for taking bikes it's also a convenience thing, do I want to drag my bike to and from an airport?
Internationally it's generally best to just bring it with you through the airport. I tend to us tribiketransport for my international stuff and way back when I raced ITU in Cozumel it was like $1K for bikeflights, so I packed my bike.
My one tip is to remove your rear derailleur hanger from your bike. That's the one thing I've broken... both in shipping and in airline travel. In fact I just remove the rear derailleur, hanger and chain and put them in a bag in my bike box. Put your tools in there too if you have weight to burn.
Internationally it's generally best to just bring it with you through the airport. I tend to us tribiketransport for my international stuff and way back when I raced ITU in Cozumel it was like $1K for bikeflights, so I packed my bike.
My one tip is to remove your rear derailleur hanger from your bike. That's the one thing I've broken... both in shipping and in airline travel. In fact I just remove the rear derailleur, hanger and chain and put them in a bag in my bike box. Put your tools in there too if you have weight to burn.
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [xeon]
[ In reply to ]
Thanks, I did all those things in my shipping box! I even packed an extra derailleur hanger and chain JIC I do something stupid during reassembly...I am a fairly experienced mechanic so I hope I won't have issues but know how easy it is for things to go wrong.
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis]
[ In reply to ]
I've flown with a bike twice and used TriBikeTransport once. TBT for the win.
My wife an I did IM Cozumel back in 2014; it was a crazy last minute idea after IMFL swim was cancelled. Neither of us had a ton of vacation time left, flights were limited, so we had an early flight the morning after the race. Finished the race, waited for a friend to finish (who was just over the midnight cutoff), got back to the hotel around 2 AM, then had to immediately break down and pack two bikes so that we could grab a quick nap then head to the airport. Longest day of my life.
My wife an I did IM Cozumel back in 2014; it was a crazy last minute idea after IMFL swim was cancelled. Neither of us had a ton of vacation time left, flights were limited, so we had an early flight the morning after the race. Finished the race, waited for a friend to finish (who was just over the midnight cutoff), got back to the hotel around 2 AM, then had to immediately break down and pack two bikes so that we could grab a quick nap then head to the airport. Longest day of my life.
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [wcb]
[ In reply to ]
wcb wrote:
I've flown with a bike twice and used TriBikeTransport once. TBT for the win. My wife an I did IM Cozumel back in 2014; it was a crazy last minute idea after IMFL swim was cancelled. Neither of us had a ton of vacation time left, flights were limited, so we had an early flight the morning after the race. Finished the race, waited for a friend to finish (who was just over the midnight cutoff), got back to the hotel around 2 AM, then had to immediately break down and pack two bikes so that we could grab a quick nap then head to the airport. Longest day of my life.
Yeah, the bike breakdown post-race can been a real bear, as you're typically time crunched already. Not to be underestimated, even if you're pretty quick at packing the bike. One thing goes wrong, and you'll be cursing to no end. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when I got my bike packed to ship after a training camp, and I don't even have to remove my aerobars to pack it. I do recall being tired enough that I just wanted to sleep or veg out, but worrying a lot that I'd have problems with the bike packing (I had a number of unexpected problems with the unpacking on arrival.)
Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis]
[ In reply to ]
rrutis wrote:
I ended up going with Bikeflights. My wife convinced me that one less thing going through the airport would be a good thing AND she didn't mind the extra cost...so it got shipped today.Been trying to figure this out myself for IMTulsa in a few weeks. Looks like Southwest is likely to charge a $75 oversize fee for any of the hard cases people have offered to loan me. So might use Bikeflights as well.
I'm going to L'etape in Las Vegas this May.
Missed this.
Hope everything got sorted out with your bike and the travel.
Glad that you will be riding L'Etape Las Vegas this weekend.
I will be Announcing on Race/Ride day and doing some Emceeing work for the Event at the Expo and Registration on Saturday.
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
Missed this.
Hope everything got sorted out with your bike and the travel.
Glad that you will be riding L'Etape Las Vegas this weekend.
I will be Announcing on Race/Ride day and doing some Emceeing work for the Event at the Expo and Registration on Saturday.
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog