Anyone with recent experience shipping a bike box between Toronto and Victoria? I’m trying to determine whether sending by Purolator / UPS, or taking it on the plane, is the better option.
Take it on the plane. Its with you.
Fly with it.
I’ve never used the service, but if you aren’t in any sort of a hurry I hear Greyhound is a pretty good option.
Flying with it works too, but can depending on how much other gear you’re carrying might prove to be a PITA.
greyhound is cheap, but you’d need insurance, as both times i’ve shipped with them they’ve wrecked/lost my box.
fedex is probably your next best bet (esp. if you have other insurance, and don’t need theirs)
greyhound is cheap, but you’d need insurance, as both times i’ve shipped with them they’ve wrecked/lost my box.
fedex is probably your next best bet (esp. if you have other insurance, and don’t need theirs)
That’s good to know. I know a few people who have shipped stuff via Greyhound (usually books and the like - never a bike) and they had good experiences. What I really like about shipping (via any courier) rather than flying with it is that you can insure it. Your checked baggage is insured for something in the neighbourhood of $2/lb, with a very low maximum ($200?) - and often times for oversized articles they make you sign a waiver absolving them of any responsibility - meaning that not only is it uninsured, but they’ve just gotten a “trash it and he can’t do jack” card from you. While I do fly with my bike, I hate doing so.
I have no idea if having a homeowner’s or rental insurance policy that covers your bikes would be of any benefit when traveling with it.
I’m also curious about credit card insurance - most gold cards offer some coverage for lost/stolen items purchased as well as lost luggage. While I know for a fact that the cc lost luggage coverage won’t get you a new bike, it might possibly come in handy if you bought the bike with that card and it was within the ~2yr window of coverage.
In my experience, if you fly westjet they don’t charge you extra for a bike, its just considered a second peice of luggage.
I have had good experience with Greyhound. I’ve never shipped my bike across the country but I have shipped it from Ottawa to Quebec City. I think it cost something like $40 and insurance was pretty cheap as well.
I have no idea if having a homeowner’s or rental insurance policy that covers your bikes would be of any benefit when traveling with it.
home contents insurance does cover it, but level of coverage is dependent on each policy, some have fairly large deductibles. we insure with BCAA and have a bike rider which is a no fault coverage, no deductible and also covers the bikes while traveling. Its a bit more expensive than other insurers but worth it.
I’ve shipped my bikes numerous times via greyhound and had no issues at all, the only issue I’ve ever had travelling with my bike was with Sky service, they don’t charge for the bike and overall it was great, but in the toronto airport unloading my bike (In a padded bag) they must have been pretty rough, because after that I needed to replace my rear derailleur…
If you pack it and pad it well I’d go with greyhound, pretty quick, inexpensive too. I shipped my brother’s bike from Ottawa to Whistler, and he had it in 6 days, in perfect condition.