traveling with bikes

[dgjessee]

So Marin is taking her first flight this May.  She's a little nervous, but not nearly as much as me.  I'm weighing my options on how to buy her ticket.  Oh and she's a bike... I've heard lots of rumors.  Because I work at an outfitter with a great UPS account, I can get a pretty superb shipping deal through them.  However, I have also heard of lots of people checking their bikes (In hard plastic travel cases of course) on their flight and telling the airline it's camera equipment or art supplies.  Since for some weird ass reason the airlines HATE bikes (maybe they consider it competition, especially with the likes of us long-distance riders) they don't charge a special fee for these sorts of objects, but charge inordinate amounts for bicycles, like $200 each way for Delta.  

I want to know A) if the odds of this little fib working are really high; and B) what any of your thoughts are on the convenience of shipping vs. taking the bike with you on the plane.

Sound off!

[Done]

I don't have any experience with this, but I would worry about what might happen if the airline loses your "art supplies." Might be hard to get a bike as a replacement?

[THE LONG RANGER]

Delta? Try $300 to Europe. Each way. Cripes.

For travel expenses, it does pay to do your homework, as different airlines will charge different prices.

There's also going to be the problem of getting home. Basically, if you're flying with your bike, you'll need to box it back up to take it back on the plane. This can be as easy as finding a very friendly bike shop to lend you another bike. If you're unsure of what type of resources could be available to you, you may want to try this: Get a bike box from your LBS, as well as a foldable, soft bike bag and pack the soft bike bag in the box, with the bike. Then, uh, hide the bike bag - works in a few places, not so well in others.

If you have that UPS hookup, that could be an interesting option to just send it to another distribution center - double check that they allow that, though.

I don't know if the, "Art Supplies" idea is going to work. I think the airlines are more concerned about the dimensions and the weight of what you're trying to fly with - it would be interesting to see how this effects the plane's efficiency in flying and if this has something to do with charging an arm and a leg.

Another idea is to just break your bike into multiple boxes. Most likely, you'll have to pay for extra baggage still (airlines are charging for everything these days), but it won't be as exorbitant as if you had a huge bike box with you.

Another dirt-bag technique is this: if you can't NOT fly with a huge bike box, make sure to stuff as much as possible in it, so it's just the box and a carry on.   I've run into problems with destroying ProLite sleeping pads this way, so be careful, but sometimes the rest of your gear can make good cushioning as well.

[dgjessee]

All good suggestions. Per the art vs. bike value, I think I could probably claim as much value for the art as my bike is worth. However should the box pop open on the tarmac and a bike pops out under the wheel of a 737, I dont see the airline offering to refund my claimed amount.  Now if they just lost it you might even get a pretty nice settlement!  SLR equipment and Monets aint cheap.

I will probably do the shipping thing - I was really just more interested in finding anyone else who'd tried the art thing (I have a friend who's done it twice saying both camera and art and had a customer tell me they use the camera story for going to Europe).  My route is a big circle so I can pretty easily ship it in a Thule box, pick it up, do my adventure, and then ship it home from the same spot when I'm done.

[AZTtripper]

From the back of this months ACA http://shipbikes.com/ no idea if this is a good deal or not but it seems to be worth looking at.

[6thElement]

I started using FedEx when possible when Delta started wanting to charge over $100 per domestic flight, it stopped me always having a bike with me when I travelled a lot with work

[dgjessee]

From the back of this months ACA http://shipbikes.com/ no idea if this is a good deal or not but it seems to be worth looking at.

Wow! Now I have to admit this seems like a FANTASTIC idea!  Kudos to the genius that came up with this one.

[AZTtripper]

Wow! Now I have to admit this seems like a FANTASTIC idea!  Kudos to the genius that came up with this one.

Glad to hear this might help you out. I have never considered ACA to be of much interest myself and never would have spent money to join. Just happened to take the free offer here and just happened to get my first monthly issue yesterday. Having seen this post but having nothing to add earlier in the day I saw the add and immediately thought that's just what you were looking for.

[Camel]

Howdy-been lurking here for a while. Nice site/great folks & very helpfull info...

Anyways...I shipped 3 bikes from Portland OR area to Boston area 2ish years ago UPS.

2 cardboard boxed, 1 hardcase.

That "shipbikes" site is at or less than what I paid at the time, so seems pretty convenient. Also I'd imagine if you will be traveling a lot, that the "best" deal using those folks would be to buy one of the aircaddys (same shipping cost). Less to adjust on your bike, and second to a hardcase seems safest against damage.

[seanstokley]

I've traveled multiple times with Southwest Airlines & a hardcase bike box with no problems. $50 bucks each way is not bad in my opinion. I stand over security as they open & go through the box (which is not much to speak of) and make sure they pack correctly as they found it. Never priced UPS or FedEx but I imagine its pricey. Good luck

sean

[gosurfariver]

Airlines are most concerned about the size (it does matter).  The dimension limits are something like 62 linear inches.  Which means the sum of the 3 dimensions can't be over 62 inches.  So you need to pack your bike down smaller than that.  If you have a full suspension and are technically inclined you are in luck because you can take the rear swing arm off and fit the frame into a very large suitcase.  Even if the suitcase is slightly over the size limit if it looks like a normal suitcase most airlines don't measure the dimensions.  I have flown several times between Honduras and the U.S. with several layovers that require you to re-check your bags and have always had good luck.  I fit the main frame, swing arm and rear wheel with tire removed in the suitcase.  then use the tire, some clothes etc to pad the components so they don't jingle jangle throughout the trip.  Every suitcase and bike is different but if you are creative you can figure it out.  As for the front wheel I take off the tire and rotor (security usually gets bent out of shape about the rotor)  and put the rim in a wheel bag.  The other stuff is also placed in the suitcase.  Worst case scenario for me has been that security stops me at the metal detector and tells me to go back and check my wheel.  When I have gone back they take my wheel with no questions or extra fee for another bag.  The only time I haven't been let on with a wheel is in Honduras.  The security guys there never see someone travel with a wheel and freak out about it.  In the U.S. as long as it is in a wheel bag I haven't had issues.

It is a bit of a pain but within about 30 minutes at the airport I normally get the bike put together and can be riding out.

[ScottyJ]

In my line of work we travel with bikes quite frequently and prefer to ship them ahead of time if possible. We use fedex and cardboard bike boxes or if available plastic cases.
Generally shipped ahead of time to a hotel or bike shop or whatever there is where we're going. The cost varies between $50-100 each way but this is much easier and more dependable than checking with an airline. The most risky part is placing your trust in the recipient on the other end, we usually just let them know we have some packages arriving ahead of time and the bikes are there when we arrive.

[DenisVTT]

Frontier just eliminated the bike fee. You still have to pay a $20 regular baggage fee, but no extra for the bike:

http://media.frontierairlines.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5264

[dgjessee]

I saw that - freaking awesome and about time someone tried to woo us adventurous types :-)

But I am stuck on Delta... boo.  I priced out UPS and because of the discount my company gets for shipping, it's costing me $35 each way, insured to $2000.

[Aslan]

I remember when there wasn't even a fee for bikes on planes.  Such a bummer.  Anyway, I have done a lot of both domestic and international touring and the 'to ship or not to ship' question is not always straight forward.  For international touring, I need my bike at the destination airport so I can ride from there.  Since international locations vary greatly in their shipping reliability and the time, hassle, language barrier of procuring or tracking down a lost shipment could take a lot of time and that plane ticket was mighty expensive, I NEED my bike to be there.  Checked bikes usually get there.  Once there I can find a bike shop (usually) that will ship my insured bike back home where the hassle of not having it is much less.

For domestic I almost always ship to and from a hotel or bike shop that is near where I need to start riding from.  This often means I can take public transportation and travel light from the airport to where I need to start from.  Any town that is big enough to have an airport usually has a bike shop so you can procure a box for shipping home.

Anyway, if I am touring, those are the basic methods.  If I am just in town for business for a few days it is just as cost effective to bring my seat, shoes and pedals and rent a decent demo bike from a LBS.  I get to try out a lot of different designs that way too.