Hard shell case like the bike box Alan which requires very little disassembly. Fly with your bike as most major airlines (eg; delta) classify bikes as a standard checked bag. Learn how to take your bike apart and put it back together yourself (YouTube videos can be very helpful).

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Fly with your bike?

I don't see the problem here.
Yes,shipping is expensive, but there aremany hard shell bike boxes out there that require minimal or no disassembly and flying with you bike only costs bagge fee.
I just flew american,bike cost $40 to fly


... problem solved

Delta just charged $400 for the hardshell box. Obviously I used to fly with my bike most of times and I started the thread because I am seeing a cartel keeping prices at $400 per race.
Can you please specify details of the $40 shipment? Overall weight below 50lbs. and hardshell or softshell? Can you please confirm you have integrated stem (manufacturers and bike techs clearly say not to disassemble the integrated stem) ?

Delta’s bike policy:

https://www.delta.com/...s/sporting-equipment

What bike do you have and what kind of case did you have it in? If you know what are doing, there’s no issues with removing integrated front ends for travel. People do it all the time.

I flew multiple times with delta this year and my bike was considered a standard checked bagged (if you have their credit card or status with them, it’s free). I use a trek speed concept with a bike box Alan case.

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I have bike box Alan (which is well below 115 linear in/292 cm). One of the counters did not have scale display visible to customers and two different scales have a reading difference of 5lbs. for the exact same item, changing from below 50 lbs. to above 50lbs. When they saw bike box Alan, they applied $200 fee each way. Period.
Can you please share details on weight of the box at the airport? It is not easy to stay clearly below 50lbs. with bike box Alan, to avoid discussions at the airport.
Being a multiple time IMWC qualifier, with years of experience, I spend hours checking airlines online shipping policies, but recently I arrive at the airport and I am charged $200 each way, aligning with the $400 of any other shipping method. Please note that

https://www.delta.com/...s/sporting-equipment

and

https://www.delta.com/...s-overweight-baggage

have totally discording statements about oversized bags. Probably the latter should read "[..] are not permitted with the exception of sports equipment, for which the linear limit is 115 linear in/292 cm", as of former page. These contradictions allow cartels to charge unbelievable fees.

We promote fitness and health, inspiring communities all over the world. We cannot be treated as cash cows, with fee nightmares at every travel. We cannot have a credit card from each airline and choose triathlon events upon credit cards. Plus, I am searching the web following the replies above and I am learning now that handlebars and stems allow different degrees of integration. Albeit the traditional "Kona bike counts" available around do not clarify, it is my experience that way more than 50% of Kona qualifying bikes, say 80%-90% are fully integrated, with proudly proprietary design of manufacturers, so that it is clarified by any bike tech and manufacturer that the stem cannot be removed once installed. I understand that for athletes with low stem integration it is strange, but there is a large number of successful triathletes that live everyday with no-removal of the 42"-45" base bar. Aerobars are usually easy to move backwards to fit the box and tighten back at race location. In fact, it is usually thought that a bike with fully integrated stem bar gives more chances to qualify for World Championships than low integrated, because of no dispersion of energy, higher alignment and more attention of designers and bike techs.

The BBA is definitely difficult to stay below 50. Mine is usually around 60lbs and I haven't been charged any overweight charges. I don't know if the agent is just being nice or if that's because me and my wife have status. She's platinum and I'm gold. And she's usually with me when I travel with my bike so we travel under her platinum status. My bike has been free to fly on delta the last few years.

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Delta does not reach all race destinations. Why are you advertising Delta credit cards?

Not an advertisement at all. Just trying to share my n=1 experience flying to several races or training trips a year for the last several years. Feel free to fly whatever airline you like.

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The solution is go back to a 2007 to 2013 Cervelo P3. We had some threads on it just recently, for most people it’s a faster bike than the latest and greatest. The fault is not the airlines or shippers but the bike manufacturers in the first place. They were warned that these bikes will be overly proprietary and too hard to adjust and maintain, and too hard travel with. They didn’t give a shit, they just snookered you and thousands of other people into buying their nonsense.

Of course most people really truly don’t give a shit what’s the fastest they just want to see seen on the latest and greatest bike.

So either go back to an older bike, or use a soft shell and buy a ton of insurance.

I’m riding a 2016 trek speed concept with a fully integrated front end. I’m able to remove the basebar and extensions as a unit and turn it sideways in the case without any “cabling” issues. I also remove the seat post and tape the di2 battery cable to the frame. I fly with the hard case scicon which is under the linear inches requirement. As well, staying under 50 lbs is relatively easy. Airlines charge this case as just another bag. It’s really a great option.

As I said. I didn't ship, I flew with it.
American airlines
Weighed 52 pounds at the desk and the guy didn't say anything.
Premier tactical hard shell case.
Handle bars still attached as usual ime no disassembly except wheels and RD

$40 total, plus my credit card covers cost for incidental airline fees like this

Gold status and up is 70lbs per checked bag on Delta, 2nd bag free.

I'm sorry, but this is too funny.
We do not "inspre communities around the world" we pad our own egos and give ourselves slaps on the back and M-dot tattoos out of self centered narcissism.

I have zero tatoos, I thank volunteers every time and I am cheered at every finish line, when I qualify for IM Worlds and when I don't, because I have a 60/70-hour a week job.

That said, I understand from the above that staying clear below 50lbs is the key, to avoid that the difference between two scales determines an increase in fees of $160 each way. The Roman Empire dissolved because of the difference in scales.

Thank you everybody for contribution.

The P2 fit me better and now I am on a P series.

I bought a speed concept frame set years ago and I sold the bike after putting it together. I decided I wanted a regular stem bike. Seconds won’t matter for me as I am not on the podium.

You might want to check out the Premier case mentioned above. It will accept basebars of about 42 out to out. It does need the extensions removed. But getting the weight under 50 typically isn’t a problem.

Already in this thread this Mario guy has managed to tell us in 3 out of 5 post he had qualified for the world champs, and not just once, he is a multiple qualifier.. Not sure if this sums up your post perfectly or the OP is just a master troller...

I wasn't saying you specifically, but.... the fact that you think doing triathlons or triathletes in general inspire people around the world is certainly on the spectrum of an delusion built our of self importance and ego and the mere fact that you have mentioned your world championship in nearly every post in this thread (which is entirely irrelevant to the topic as many people across the world who don't race the world championship fly with bikes all the time) is another clear sign that it is very important to you that people know how good you are


P.s. the 50lb rule is more of a guide. I have never once had my bike weigh less then 50 and I've never been charged for oversize bag.
If you are nice to people and care about them.... not yourself.... they will help you out