Has anyone ever flown with their bike packed in a cardboard box? I came across a video demonstrating how to pack it and I thought it seemed like a good idea, especially because my mountain bike is a bit too long for most typical bike boxes and I still have the cardboard box/packaging the bike came in.
However, when getting it through security, wouldn’t they want to rip off all the tape and such? (I would be flying from US and Canadian airports this year). If anyone has done this, would love to hear your thoughts.
As a former baggage handler, I would never ship my bike in a cardboard box. Sure, it might make it to the destination in one piece once, or twice, or maybe someone’s been lucky and used this method repeatedly without damage. No way would I do it though. If I’m stuck with a cardboard box, I’d be MUCH more likely to send it via UPS or FedEx (their loads are containerized for a large portion of transit, which is not the case on an airline unless you’re flying on a wide-body).
Depending on when the bike goes up the belt into the belly of the aircraft will dictate how safe it will be in transit. if the guy at the bottom of the belt loader sends it up first, the box will most likely get tipped flat and be used as a base for all of the other bags to sit on top of. If it gets sent us last, it’ll probably fair a little better. Usually the biggest items go up the belt first though. And directional arrows/fragile stickers don’t mean much (if anything at all).
After loading bags for 6+ years, my motto is that if I wouldn’t feel comfortable
a) dropping my bag 20 feet,
b) throwing my bag up against a brick wall, and
c) standing on top of it
then I need to either repack the bag or strongly reconsider if I need to take it. (all of the above represent the real-life circumstances that your bag will be exposed to).
As a former baggage handler …I built a plywood box that meets the luggage size limit, but without any handles or ‘grabbing points’. It shows a lot of signs of ‘abuse’.
Do you think boxes get thrown and dragged more if they are hard to lift and handle?
How much does a plywood box that size weigh?
And yes, add handles of some sort (cutouts in the plywood or maybe rope handles of some sort). Without handles, it will get manhandled way more than you’d ever want it to be.
I did many years ago, for a trip to San Francisco. (It was also the first time I’d disassembled my bike - giant PITA.)
I got extra padding and fork blocks etc from the bike shop that gave me the box. i even used some scrap wood to attach casters to the bottom. I rigged up a system with zip ties (and extra ties inside) to hold the final flap in place. Aside from the (cheap-ass) look of carting a large cardboard box through the airport & in/out of cabs, it worked out well.
Since then, I’ve discovered that some bike shops will rent real bike transport boxes. It’s worth the extra cost to rent, rather than using a cardboard box, due to the reduced risk of your bike being damaged. Seriously. Rent a box.
After loading bags for 6+ years, my motto is that if I wouldn’t feel comfortable
a) dropping my bag 20 feet,
b) throwing my bag up against a brick wall, and
c) standing on top of it
then I need to either repack the bag or strongly reconsider if I need to take it. (all of the above represent the real-life circumstances that your bag will be exposed to).
It weighs ~9kg so there is plenty margin to the US 50lbs limit but tight to the european 20kg limit.
I’m surprised it’s that light. I would have expected it to be a lot more than 20lbs. I don’t think I ever saw a wooden box as passenger baggage. Lots of cargo is shipped that way, but you may want to check with whatever airline you’re flying with to make sure that they’ll take it as baggage and not as cargo.
Done it quite a few times with many different bikes, but all were aluminium frames. An alternate theory to the one posted above is that a cardboard box will be handled more gently than a hard-sided case because it looks more fragile. That won’t help if it falls off the conveyor belt, however.
The key is to line the inside of the box with corrugated plastic. You can either buy it at a business supply store or wait for the day following the next election and pilfer all the lawn signs in your neighbourhood. Reinforce the bottom corners heavily because it will likely get dragged. Baggage handlers won’t pick anything up because of injury risk.
I’ve generally used a cardboard box for one-way trips or to limit $ losses bike touring when we weren’t 100% sure our boxes would be there upon return. I’ve also used to go get to CX races where I wanted an extra set of wheels, which fit in the box along with the bike.
The key is to only lightly tape the box when you leave home and bring a roll of packing tape with you. Just like any bike case, it will be inspected at the airport. Once the agent is done, you need to ask nicely whether you can tape it up again. This may be more of a challenge at US airports because not all of them inspect the box in front of you. All the Canadian airports I’ve flow through look through the box while you stand there, nervously, not touching anything and promising them you don’t have CO2 cartridges hidden somewhere.
I’ve since picked up one of these: http://biknd.com/en/products/bike-travel-case/jetpack Storage space for a large bike bag/box is an issue for us - both at home and in rental vehicles. This one rolls down to the size of a golf bag, which is a huge positive. It rolls terribly but after having the airline rip a wheel off a borrowed Shimano Pro case, the recessed wheels are still better.
Thanks for your thoughts. The bike I’d be travelling with would be carbon so perhaps it’s best to go with an actual box.
The one you posted looks nice but unfortunately, I can’t justify spending ~500 at the moment. The good thing is, is I know plenty of people in my area that I could borrow a box off of without it being a problem.
Before the days of EVOC bags when i used to race DH i had to do the cardboard box method as it was the only feasible way to do things.
Mind you this was before the days of TSA hypervigilance and all that as well…
Find a bike DH bike box, they’re the biggest ones usually available and will clear the measurement limits. You’re already paying oversize might as well get your money’s worth. They were also generally thicker cardboard to handle the heavier weight and had lots of grab holes. Cut extra grab holes and reinforce with LOTS of tape around existing and new ones. Stop tearing.
You will have to take the bike out of the box for inspection under the new rules, so dont fully tape it closed. Bring roll of packing tape to use and take on as carry-on after done
Because bike is coming out invest in some pre-bought or homemade velcro straps with a loop. This will allow you to strap the bars to the frame so that everything comes out of the box as one piece. Zap straps work as well. Any decent craft store has the stuff
Find a bunch of old towels and wrap all parts that may rub together with towels. Ikea sells cheap white hand towels which I would buy in packs of 50. Makes for handy cleaning rags as well.
Tools into a dry-sac bag or equivalent. They are really just small heavy duty bags where you can put all your tools into. Saves loose stuff flying around and getting lost.
And this should have been #1, but applies even today, SHOW UP EARLY! It’s an annoying process, just know that they are doing their job and it goes as quickly or as slowly as they make it for you (TSA/CBSA agent). I always just start with a “hey sorry to make this difficult for you, what do you need me to do…” and go from there.
+1
In a previous life I worked handling baggage for the airlines. You really don’t want to know what goes on in the belly of the planes. Many on ST will swear by cardboard boxes but you’re playing Russian roulette with their bikes. Why spend thousands of $$$ on a bike only to put it in a cardboard box as checked baggage?