A friend of mine asked me to gather the collective wisdom of slowtwitch on the best way to get his bike to IM Hawaii. Any tips on shipping vs. accompanying on the flight, etc.?
People seem to think they’re bike is safer if they “have” it with them on the plane, but I tend to disagree.
The airlines are loaded with bikes, esp from LA to Kona that week, and I’d much rather trust a Fedex guy than an airline luggage guy. When you put your bike on a passenger plane, you CAN"T LOCK THE BOX and TSA has free reign to open it up, and they could care less if your carbon frame is up against the cogs on your rear wheel, or if your seatpost is jammed into your spokes.
Fedex is SOOOO easy. Lock the box, duck tape the hell out of it & they’ll pick it up at your house. if you schedule it ahead of time they’ll get it to Hawaii inside of 3 days. They’ll drop it off at the bike shop of your choice or straight to your hotel, easy as pie.
The airline will cost you $160 round trip (unless you get a deal), fedex might cost you $300-$350 round trip, but to me it’s worth it.
Just remember not to pack CO2 cartridges 
FedEx “Ground” - cheapest alternative and had no problems doing this in 2003. UPS doesn’t offer Ground service to Hawaii. When I asked FedEx how they did it by ground, they ship via ground to Memphis (from east coast) and then fly it from their hub to Hawaii.
Allow between a week and a week and a half for it to get there. The downside is you don’t have your tribike to train on for that week before you fly to Hawaii to meet it on the other end.
I had family living on the big island at the time, so I had a place I could ship to. Otherwise, I’m not sure who to ship to now - a local bike shop or your condo/hotel?
Chris
I’ve never had to ship my bike to a race, but I’ve always thought that the FedEx idea seemed better/easier than the air travel idea. I didn’t know if would be $300+, though. What would REALLY by cool, in my mind, would be if Tribiketransport started a service to Kona.
-Colin
What would REALLY by cool, in my mind, would be in Tribiketransport started a service to Kona.
-Colin
I’ve heard they are looking into that…
Fly it with you on the way there, then FedEx ground ship it back.
www.sportsexpress.com let’s you get a rate quote for the specific dates & ship-to locations. They use Fedex ground but are just easier to deal with - they act as a liason with Fedex & are always available on the phone.
I’ve used them to ship my bike across the US twice & they were ultra-reliable.
Move to Kona 12 weeks before the race – go to B & L and buy a brand new bike and race wheels – train on it on the Queen K.
just an observation about shipping, as i’ve done this a few times (but not to Kona). check out DHL (if they go to Kona). i have found them to be much cheaper than FedEx and UPS. those 2, especially UPS, are very particular on the box dimensions. i have found that bike boxes tend to just break a certian size level at UPS and the price doubles. even if you ‘round down’ a little they will remeasure it and charge your credit card the new amount. DHL has never done this.
i’ve shipped bikes for $26-34 using DHL when UPS wanted $105 for the same box!!
good luck
I brought it with me on the plane, shipped it back via InsideOutSports. No complaints either direction.
How best to get a bike to Kona?
Is that anything like “Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?”
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Just going over as a spectator/cheerleader this year. Does anyone know if there is any place that rents bikes in Kona?
Exactly.
www.sportsexpress.com let’s you get a rate quote for the specific dates & ship-to locations. They use Fedex ground but are just easier to deal with - they act as a liason with Fedex & are always available on the phone.
I’ve used them to ship my bike across the US twice & they were ultra-reliable.
I plugged in SF to Kona and it came back as $189 ROUND TRIP!! That’s just a little pricey.
guessing both B&L and HP bikeworks may be able to hook up some retal bikes, I’d get in early though. do a online search for the contact info.
**I plugged in SF to Kona and it came back as $189 ROUND TRIP!! That’s just a little pricey. **
How long ago was that? I used sportsexpress to ship my bike to SF for Alcatraz and it was $120 (for the overnight service). If you call them they are super helpful. They also insure your bike up to a certain amount for free is its in a hard case. But then maybe prices have gone up with fuel costs and such…kj
How best to get a bike to Kona?
Is that anything like “Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?”
Is that any thing like " Can you tell me how to get to Seaseme Street?".
**I plugged in SF to Kona and it came back as $189 ROUND TRIP!! That’s just a little pricey. **
How long ago was that?
This morning. And it wasn’t even for overnight!
I guess I won’t be going anywhere with my bike anytime soon!..kj
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I’d rather pay $189 for shipping than pay $160 round trip to the airline, bring it on the airplane and have the TSA monkeys totally unpacking my baby. Plus you don’t have to lug in through the airport, in a shuttle, into a cab, etc.
No question in my mind.