Before 9/11, I don’t think this would be an issue, but since then, I’m asking for advice to see what others have gone through. I’m going to St. A’s this weekend. My bike is on a truck and I have my pedals, shoes, and cleats in my bag. I also have my pedal wrench. I’m bringing my pedal wrench because on my TNT team, I’m one of the people with the best bike mechanic skills and I will be the person putting pedals on 15 bikes.
Now, has anyone flown with a pedal wrench in their carry on before? Did you have any problems going through security? Would it be best to just put it in my checked baggage and not have to deal with it? What do you guys (and girls) think?
Before 9/11, I don’t think this would be an issue, but since then, I’m asking for advice to see what others have gone through. I’m going to St. A’s this weekend. My bike is on a truck and I have my pedals, shoes, and cleats in my bag. I also have my pedal wrench. I’m bringing my pedal wrench because on my TNT team, I’m one of the people with the best bike mechanic skills and I will be the person putting pedals on 15 bikes.
Now, has anyone flown with a pedal wrench in their carry on before? Did you have any problems going through security? Would it be best to just put it in my checked baggage and not have to deal with it? What do you guys (and girls) think?
Thanks.
Check it in. I had walk back to the check in counter and check in a set of allen keys (held together like a jackknife) going through security a Toronto.
Good question. They won’t allow it on the aircraft as carry on based on my experience here in Detroit with the TSA. They will allow a Pedros allen-style pedal wrench with the padded handle. You use this to mount the pedals from the rear of the crank arm. Beware of the rare arms that have no hole going all the way through the arm.
Check it. My Park Multi-tool was confiscated by airport security last year. They said “no tools.” As if I was gonna dismantle the plane with a bike tool.
I know somebody who accidently left a small pocket knife in a back pack he then used as a carry on bag.
Fine: $500.00. (Localities with airports in their jurisdictions are very aggressive about charging people with any type of weapon, no matter how innocuous. The ticket revenue helps pay for their extra security costs.)
Check the pedal wrench and make sure you give your carry on luggage a once over before you pack
The good folks working for TSA in the SFO International terminal are the current owners of my Pedal Wrench. I had it in the bottom of my back pack that I was using as a carry on and didn’t remember it was there. So on my trip to Cabo a few months ago I was surprised to be pulled out of the security line for a “Bag Check”. The gentleman asked what it was and why it was in my carry on bag. He then offered me the opportunity to return it to my car or check it in back at the 100 person line that had just taken me an hour to pass through. With less then an hour before my departure I gave him the wrench and consider it a “stupid tax” for not checking my back pack before I left home.
So you can check the wrench just don’t plan on carrying it on the plane. I would love to see what all the TSA people have taken from passengers.
Put it in checked luggage. I lost a pedal wrench and my folding allen wrench set to the DFW TSA a couple months back. Just broke off an allen wrench trying to get my pedals off last night (darn cheap Target tool) so I could fit it back in my bike box.
Sorry to hijack a bit, but I wanted to wish you good luck. St. A’s was my first Olympic tri (and third overall tri), and I did it with TnT. It’s a lot of fun. Enjoy the day, and meet some TnTers from other locales. I ended up doing most o the run with a guy from the NYC team (I was from the North Texas team). We really supported each other a lot on that hot, hot, hot run!
Yea buddy, On my last trip to visit my folks my one check bag weighed 50.5 lbs. They told me to unpack something or pay $40 more for “over weight” luggage. So I take ou a pair of running shoes, forgetting I had a 5mm allen wrench tucked in a sock inside. What the hell they thought I was going to do a lone allen wrench is beyond me. Now I have a set less a #5mm. Oh well. Pack the Wrench if you want to keep it.
Not that I’ve tried (or need to) but, are you more likely to get thru Security with a baggie full of weed or a multi-tool??? Suppose you have both, whichare they going to call you on???
This just happened to me a week ago flying down to FL. I didn’t have any checked bags and brought the pedal wrench on as carry-on and they made me give it up (or go back to the ticket counter, box it, check it, etc… which I didn’t have time to do).
Here’s the ‘capper’ though, I also brought my Alien tool on w/ my carry-on and later realized there’s a little pocket knife in there (just an FYI for those w/ the Alien tool). Funny thing is, they didn’t say a thing - no pedal wrenches, but knives are A-OK?!?
TSA would not let me carry on a Park 4-5-6mm Y Allen out of LA…but I flew out of ORD wiht it…that is what happens when you put people with GED’s in charge of our lives…
