I need a little help here from those “in the know”. I am traveling to a camp and shipping my bike a week ahead to it’s destination. I have a DA SRM crank that I want to keep with me until I have to fly out. I was going to put it in my carry on. I just want to be sure that I’m not detained or my crank isn’t taken from me. That would suck.
I went to the TSA website and there is no mention of bicycle crank as a prohibited item, however, a hammer is. I suppose I could go crazy and do some damage to someone with it if I had to.
To be safe, I’d wait until you leave, and then overnight it to your destination. It would suck to get to the airport and they don’t let you carry it on.
Or, to be even safer, you could just call the airline or airport and ask.
I need a little help here from those “in the know”. I am traveling to a camp and shipping my bike a week ahead to it’s destination. I have a DA SRM crank that I want to keep with me until I have to fly out. I was going to put it in my carry on. I just want to be sure that I’m not detained or my crank isn’t taken from me. That would suck.
I went to the TSA website and there is no mention of bicycle crank as a prohibited item, however, a hammer is. I suppose I could go crazy and do some damage to someone with it if I had to.
Anyone have a clue about this issue?
I would not risk it. I really doubt they will let you carry it.
One of my kids has the scars on his leg to prove that it could be used as a weapon.
If you end up with a power hungry and / or stupid TSA agent (read: very likely), then if they can conceive it as a weapon, then it’s a weapon, nothing will convince them otherwise. FYI, a massage stick is also a weapon.
You see a $4000 piece of precision engineering and technology, your average TSA agent sees a circular saw blade with a handle. I’d outfit a pelican case with cut to fit foam and check it as baggage, or mail it overnight or 2-day to your hotel, that way you can insure it for its full value (baggage is only insured to ~$1500, I think)
i actually had the same exact question/situation. so if you could let us know what you wind up doing it would be great! i can’t ship mine because i will be needing it up until i leave. i am nervous about packing it in my checked bags because it’s valuable, but like someone else said, most people won’t know it’s valuable. and it’s less valuable than a $5k bike with the SRM on it which also get checked… SO…
Thanks for all the responses. I had a bad feeling about trying to carry it on. I’m leaning to putting it in my suitcase in the checked baggage, well padded of course. I rely on it much more than I should. I couldn’t do without it for very long…Addicted to power:-(
I went to the TSA website and there is no mention of bicycle crank as a prohibited item, however, a hammer is. I suppose I could go crazy and do some damage to someone with it if I had to.
It appears that someone has already be thinking about this…
At an Expo for the New Orleans marathon this weekend, I asked a guy the same thing about “The Stick”
He said that hes taken it everywhere he travels, all over the country- named several places, but whatever…
He did mention that he pulls it out, and puts it in the bin when they put the carryon through the scanner.
He also said that he knows a guy who carries around the instructions- just so that when they ask "wtf is this’ he can pull out the instructions, explain hes a runner, he uses it to stretch/massage etc etc.
if you are going to risk it, i would make it known to the security people, dont try and hide the thing. and maybe they’ll put a special tag on it, and give it to the stewardess or something, to put away, and hand it to you as you get off the plane.
but, thats if you wanna risk it.
I just carried one on last week and had no problem. I didn’t want to ship the bike with a PT wheel, so I pulled the SRM off of my other bike and took it in my carry-on.
I explained what it was and was told ‘no problem’–but I was prepared to have to check the bag if needed. As others have mentioned, it’s totally dependent on the particular TSA agent.
I have a hard time seeing how it could get damaged if it’s tossed in a suitcase with some clothing around it and then checked–they aren’t that fragile. The bigger worry is that it gets lost.
I just read Angela Naeth’s blog and she had posted a video of trouble at the Hong Kong Airport because of “the Stick”. Anymore, if I fly, I don’t bring any carry-ons that might raise suspicion. I think if you fly naked, you should be okay.
I would say that if you try and carry it on you should make sure to bring the manual and or other sales literature so you can show the TSA person what it is. Also having it in a pelican case with the foam makes it look professional and less apt to be taken away. I used this method when flying with torches carry on and though they are used and have had propane in them already it hasn’t been a problem.
