With the demise of TBT, it appears that there may be another alternative to flying your bike to Kona for those who are racing in October. I just came across www.thebikesherpa.com, which is being run by Marc Lees of Race Day Wheels, as I understand it. So far, there are about a dozen shops across the U.S. where one can drop off a bike. I sent an email to him asking about locations in the Midwest, where I live, and he said that more stores likely will be added. As a long-time TBT customer, I thought I’d post the information here in case anyone is interested, as I didn’t see this news publicized elsewhere on ST.
Thanks for posting. Do you know if they take the bike apart and put it back together, maybe just the wheels and use a soft case?
I don’t know what TBT used to do for Kona, but for races in the US they would just load the bike as is on a truck, that was a big benefit (not having to rebuild the bike).
thanks
I had asked that same question of Marc Lees, and he said it would be just like TBT. I used TBT to go to dozens of IMs, including overseas to Kona a few times, most recently in 2022, and to Nice in 2023. TBT handled the bikes for those races the same as the others, i.e., we just take the pedals off, and the bike remains fully assembled from the local bike store to transition, and vice versa. No need to remove wheels.
Just booked this for the fall.
Thanks for posting this - I have been dreading getting a bike box and traveling with my bike.