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What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane?
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I'm going to L'etape in Las Vegas this May. I haven't shipped a bike or flown with one for a long time and I'm wondering what will be better, shipping or fly with the bike? I don't want to be foolish and say cost doesn't matter but mostly I'm concerned with safety...it would suck to get out there and end up with a broken bike.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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I have flown with my bike for over 30 years on countless flights to five continents and have only ever had one issue (it got lost once on the way home to Cairns from Guam,which was fine as they delivered it a couple of days later). I have never seen the need to ship my bike anywhere.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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I have flown probably 50x with a bike and never any issues. I pack it well in a hard case. With all the luggage getting lost with airlines lately probably wise to put an air tag in the box.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [ThailandUltras] [ In reply to ]
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How do you get the big bike case from airport to hotel?
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir wrote:
How do you get the big bike case from airport to hotel?
.
Cardboard for 31 years....In most countries the box fits along the back seat of a taxi, If not a maxi cab or courtesy van.

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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [ThailandUltras] [ In reply to ]
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I tend to agree if you know how to pack a bike... Just do that.

E-DUB
Chief Janitor @Slowtwitch
Life is short. Dont be mad all the time.

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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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If you're flying domestic USA, on several major airlines the bike flies for the price of a bag.

Shipbikes.com isn't working right now, they were the best price around for me.

bikeflights was over $100 each way for ground shipping from Michigan to California a few weeks ago.

Either way you have to pack your bike in a box, might as well take it on the plane.

Edited to add:

I talked to the Delta ticket agent before my flight last week, she said the absolute limit is 52 lbs even though they advertise 50 lbs as the limit
Last edited by: jaretj: Jan 27, 23 5:49
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [Ewynn] [ In reply to ]
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Ewynn wrote:
I tend to agree if you know how to pack a bike... Just do that.

x2

Invest some time in researching how to pack the bike and see how others do it. You'll encounter a lot of tips and tricks that you wouldn't think about. YouTube helped me a ton when I made the jump to flying with my bike 5 years ago. GPLama and col collectives videos on this subject I recall were good. I have a budget level soft case and have never had an issue, I've done 5 trips I think, which if you include layovers and stuff I think was like 12 or 14 individual flights.

Get creative with protection and cushioning if needed (pool noodles, bubble wrap, etc.). Do the little things - remove RD, disc rotors if you have them, tape down anything that can move (for my case that was handlebar/stem, crank arms, etc), label stuff, etc. I wasn't super confident with my case's wheel protection and I made my own custom wheel protector "bags" with bubble wrap and duct tape. Everytime I left that bike bag with the airline counter or TSA I knew I had packed it PERFECTLY. That was my way of ensuring I maximized my success.

My only regret is that I should have gotten a bike bag with wheels...lol. but mine has worked well overall so I can't complain too much!
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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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!
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [cgrubb] [ In reply to ]
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cgrubb wrote:
But only with a hard case and it must, must have wheels!

More than one way to skin a cat. I have a "cheap" soft case without wheels (Aerus biospeed bag) and I've been fine. Yes, it stinks to lug it around an airport without wheels, and perhaps being "soft" it is more at risk but I literally paid 60 bucks for it (got it used on these forums) and i can fit it into ANY rental car or taxi. It fits across the back seat even in a compact sedan, so when it's just my wife and i traveling i can get the least expensive rental car and never have to worry. It also is much easier to store at home than a big bulky hard case. at the time when i got it, i wasnt sure how much i'd fly with my bike, and that was during the days where there was still extra fees for the bike bag ($150 each way on delta) as opposed to it being a regular checked bag, and i lived in an apartment at the time. so budget and storage were key considerations, and i haven't ever regretted my choice!

I feel like the case is just like any other bike industry item. you can pay top dollar and get the best, but even if you get a budget option, it will do the job more than handily.

FWIW i have heard people say that baggage staff will be more violent when handling a hard case simply because it's a hard case. so having a soft case isn't necessarily more risky because it may not get thrown around/buried as violently. i don't know if there's any truth to that, but it's a thing people say.

I say get whatever case works for you budget/home storage/function wise, and you should be just fine!
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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I have flown with my bike numerous times both internationally and domestically with no issues. I use a Scicon soft travel case which only takes about 10 minutes to pack my bike and Im good to go.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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My worst and only damage ever while flying with a bike was a bent rear mech hanger because I forgot to take it off.

I fly with the bike(s) because it's only $50 on a few major airlines these days. I can't remember which. Seems like it's sometimes a musical chairs of airlines that offer just the "oversized bag fee" as their bike bag fee.

Flying with your bike also means you can pack lots of stuff inside the bike bag and still come in under 50 pounds. 50 pounds is the limit, or you'll get charged more, with most airlines, IME. That's my n=1 & 2 cents. ymmv!

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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [DrAlexHarrison] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks Dr Alex and everyone else too. You have all given reasonable advice about flying with the bike so I'm going to do that. I might have access to a hardcase but I also found a really good bike box that I stored in my attic from my old s works as a backup. It has a lot of the foam tubes and I'll get more too!
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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Cardboard box (shows damage, light and easy to replace) and fly with it. If you’re nervous look at bike insurance.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [Ohio_Roadie] [ In reply to ]
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Any recommendations for insurers? A quick search shows quite a few.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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Velosurance was great to me in 2022. I got it for a trip to Punta Cana. I didn’t cancel it after the trip thankfully. I broke the frame in an accident late summer and they gave me to choice to pay out the policy or repair the bike. The also had great customer support and helped me with any questions I had, even we we left Punta Cana unexpectedly early with a medical emergency.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [ThailandUltras] [ In reply to ]
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See Flora Duffy, July 2022

#swimmingmatters
Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
The Doctor (#12)

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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [LazyEP] [ In reply to ]
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LazyEP wrote:
See Flora Duffy, July 2022

.
Could you be any more vague?
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [Ohio_Roadie] [ In reply to ]
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That's funny because velosurance was the first one that came up when I searched. I'll look into it today and see what they come back with. I also think I'm going to practice packing the bike in the box that I have so I have a little proficiency.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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I'll add that it also depends on timelines and if you've got a second bike.

I've shipped/flown with my bike about 30-40x over the last 5-6 years. If I was going back east I'd typically ship it since I was either driving, flying or had work at the tunnel and was on a more fixed schedule where there were days I wasn't going to be using the bike.

if I was racing I flew it about 85% of the time. There were a few races where I shipped it and it was waiting for me at the hotel.

shipsbikes.com is down as someone mentioned which was the least expensive and fastest shipping option. Bikeflights was often $25-50 more and 1-2d longer. shipbikes switched from fedex to ups at some point and shipping times increased.

Over the years the one thing I've noticed at airports is hardshell cases typically get put on top of the baggage cart and soft shell cases on the bottom of the baggage cart.

If you ship make sure you pack your case/box so that nothing moves (too much) when it gets rotated 90 degrees to it's side. When trisports.com was in Tucson, UPS and Fedex would line the stack the bikes up on their sides

Hope that helps

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [desert dude] [ In reply to ]
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Any advice how to catch a cab or car-app that will fit the big bike box if you're not renting a car? I'm honestly more worried about airport to hotel than the flight itself - have arrived at some smaller cities and very few carshares or taxis were available, especially late at night.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [ThailandUltras] [ In reply to ]
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I can. I am. I will...

Flora was supposed to do Mount Tremblant last year. Direct flight from Denver to Montreal. She made it. Bike never did. Many an age grouper arrived in Montreal for Sprint Worlds last July only to discover no bikes and/or bags. Air Canada had major issues this past summer. Communities served by regional airlines have limited capacity to put bikes on little birds. 20 years ago, USAT held nationals in Shreveport, LA. Bikes had to be trucked from DFW because there was no capacity. Kona has had issues with bikes arriving late because of the number of bikes headed to the Big Island. Southwest over the recent holidays simply just stopped flying for a few days because of weather, personnel scheduling & software problems.

Checking your bike as luggage is no guarantee it arrives with you. Throw in a couple of connections with different carriers, and the risk of late arriving or not arriving increases. People just need to be prepared and accept the risks involved right now flying in the US.

#swimmingmatters
Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
The Doctor (#12)

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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [rrutis] [ In reply to ]
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I like using the foam pipe insulation that can be found at any hardware store if you don’t have packing materials already. I also have an old duvet cover that I slide the frame into once she’s all wrapped up. Wheels go in two padded wheel bags and slide it all into the bike box. Fill with floor pump, clothes, tools, etc until you hit that magic weight limit 23kg/50lbs.

Coming back from Punta Cana American ripped the handhold out of the cardboard box and lost some of my custom NoPinz kit that I’d had made to look like my club kit. They paid retail value for replacement kit with little hassle.

Years ago TSA improperly put my TriCo Ironcase back together and damaged my cx frame coming back from nationals. They fought that claim for 6 month but eventually paid out. I have two of the IronCases laying around but find cardboard is generally better as it’s lighter and they are willing to sling the hard plastic case at full strength since it’s probably not going to show the damage on the exterior.
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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir wrote:
Any advice how to catch a cab or car-app that will fit the big bike box if you're not renting a car? I'm honestly more worried about airport to hotel than the flight itself - have arrived at some smaller cities and very few carshares or taxis were available, especially late at night.

uber max or whatever their big vehicle service is called. You can schedule a lyft or uber the day before. call a cab company and ask for a minivan
a lot of hotels have shuttles if staying near the airport or resort.

hope that helps

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

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Re: What's better, ship a bike or bring it on the plane? [desert dude] [ In reply to ]
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Yes it does thanks. Good idea with hotel shuttle as well
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