Shipping bikes

[Slim]

Hi I want to take a trip with my bike. What have you found for reasonable shipping costs for a BIG bike? I don't care about time. Within the continental US.

[ScottM]

This is a tricky one.  I shipped bikes twice last year for bikepacking trips and both times it was about $50 per bike.  That's what I consider a reasonable price.

That was with DHL, which unfortunately is done with US ground shipping.  If I'd gone without insurance, it would have been even cheaper - $30.

Every time I try at UPS (either online or in person at a UPS store) it's always been $100+. No thanks.  Some people seem to be able to figure out how to ship UPS cheaper, but I haven't.

Fedex varies too.  I once shipped my bike back by dropping off at the Fedex airport terminal and that was the cheapest yet -- $25 IIRC.  But recently I've done online quotes and seen $100+.

Would love to hear others experiences.

 

[jobes]

you don't want to do online quotes,  i've shipped quite a few bikes and you want to go into the main store, not the little kinko's dropoffs.
Fedex ground is usually much cheaper than UPS.  I just shipped a bike from Tucson to Rhode Island for $46, not bad. 

[Moondoggy]

I`ve sold about 4 bikes on ebay and never paid more than $50. One went from Chicago to Portland

[rperks]

which carrier were you using?

[frejwilk]

How BIG your bike is  - is the key. Above 130in (for the box) is where things get expensive. That dimension is the box length + 2xwidth + 2xheight. If you really have a 'big' bike, it will be expensive to ship it no matter what.

UPS is pretty easy. There are UPS locations all over. They are also pretty attached to ebay (for those selling bikes). Whether or not you sell bikes on ebay, you can easily use UPS to ship them. UPS.com or Paypal will walk you right through the transaction. It should be less than $50 to anywhere in the continental US (for a sub 130in box).

The problem is that UPS is very strict with dimensions. Most bike boxes are right at the point where UPS bumps from OS2 - OS3. They will almost always just go ahead and charge you the difference. Likely $60 or so. I've challenged it every time and always got my money back. Still.. it's a pain to deal with.

It's easy to set up a personal online account with Fedex.They're a little more expensive than UPS, but much easier to deal with in my opinion. Normal bike boxes seem to ship fine without having to debate their size later!!

Good luck,

FW

[Moondoggy]

I used both UPS and Fedex. Like was mentioned, a standard bike box is right at the limit.I`ve always had a person at the UPS/ Fedex store be willing to fudge a bit. I attribute that to my likeable personality and winning smile.

[Slim]

I want to ship both my bike and my wife's. Luckily her bike has a Talas fork, which I just remembered. By dropping the fork from 140mm to 100 mm you cut 80mm of the dimensional weight calculator, which just brings it under 130". Fedex came up with $46. That's more like what I was thinking of.

The problem is my bike. It is an XL(21") full suspension 29er, with a 120mm fork. The fork is 32" tall and the bike is about 60" long(with the front wheel off.) I have heard suggestions to take the rear wheel out as well, I might try that. Then it is just at 130".

I looked at Greyhound too, They are very cheap, it seems like  they don't care what size your package is, just how much it weighs. They have a $1000 liability limit though. I shipped my freestyle kayak from Seattle  to MN for a about $100, for a 7'x2.1'x1' package, that's great! Also an advantage for a bikepacking trip is that you don't need an address to ship too, you just pick it up at the station and they are open long hours.

[Moondoggy]

Take the fork off, bubble wrap it and zip tie it to the frame Take the rear wheel off as well and do the same. When bikes are shipped to shops they look like that. There`s a multitude of websites that can show you how, much better than I can describe it.

[frejwilk]

I've found that most damage to bikes during shipping happens from stuff being loose inside the box. As mentioned, make sure to secure (zip tie) anything and everything.

Try to find a Cannondale bike box if you can for the big bike. Cannondale designs their boxes to hold bikes with both wheels removed. The fork stays in the frame and both are secured to a cardboard panel. Wheels are separated from the frame by more cardboard. These boxes are shorter and wider than typical bike boxes. I've had really good luck packing large bikes into them. Plus they have a note stating not UPS oversized right next to the dimensions.

I once brought my bike on a greyhound bus. You probably wouldn't have to be so concerned with size there. They might be more likely to just lay the box on it's side with stuff on top though.

Good luck,

FW

[WillyK]

Frejwilk is on the right track with the Cannondale type boxes.  The Trek 'Madone' models also come in that type of box but beware, some of the madone boxes are over 130",  some are right at 130" which is okay.  Some are 43"L, 33"H, and 11"W.... others are 45 1/2" or 46"L, 31"H, and 11"W.

Something to watch out for is the fact that they used to measure with a tape measure or a string. Now they (at least UPS) measure with lasers, and the laser will detect a bulge and count that as the thickest part. Not so much of an issue with the boxes described above, but a typical bike box is usually 8 inches wide and it's difficult to get the front wheel positioned next to the frame and not have a bulge there, so the box gets measured at 9 inches or so and it ends up over the limit.  This depends of course on the other measurements, which typically vary from 51'' to 55"L and 28" to 32"H.

[Mike Brown]

Shipping shop to shop is cheaper.  I always do it that way.
I also find that if I don't mention it's a bike at the airline check-in, I only get charged exactly 50% (5/10 attempts) so far. 
Don't ask don't tell....

[8bit]

I'll second the suggestions to go to the branded store of whomever you're using. FedEx is much cheaper if you set up an account with them, and their ground rates are reasonable. Don't skimp on the zip ties!

[Slim]

Shipping shop to shop is cheaper.  I always do it that way.
I also find that if I don't mention it's a bike at the airline check-in, I only get charged exactly 50% (5/10 attempts) so far. 
Don't ask don't tell....

I don't see how the don't tell would work. If it is not a bike it's considered oversized luggage and you pay much more than for it being a bike, so I would sooner do it the other way around, call it a bike if it's not :-).

The wider boxes like C'dale etc. might not help with shipping because you are already at the 130 inch limit with a 'standard' bike box. But perhaps with a slightly shorter frame and box.
I ended up using Fedex, shipping a 'regular' (29.5x55x8) bike box for $50 from MN to CO with a declared value of $2500, to a business address. I took the fork off because my fork is 30.5" tall (120mm travel with long steerer) but it would have fit if it were a little bit shorter. Took the wheels of and placed the front in the box.
 I took the rear with me on the plane. I took it through to the gate and gate-checked it, that saved me the $15/$25 checked bag fee most airlines now charge! I wrapped it in packing tape and pallet wrapping film.

[Mike Brown]

I just don't say a word and don't get charged anything.  Not oversized, not bike...nothing. 
Human incompetence and/or laziness are sometimes valubable in their commoness...
I should also say on reflection that my 10 attempts are accrued over about 10 years, so some occured when airlines were a little bit less tight.

[longman]

ship the bike in two boxes, one for the frame and parts, the other for the wheels. It's easier/safer to carry and actually way cheaper than one big box because it's the same weight but neither box is oversized, the frames doesn't get scratched by the wheels when the carrier inevitably drops/throws the bike and the wheels don't get damaged by the parts. or the weight of the frame laying on them(with another 30 parcels piled on top!)

I shipped a bike last week, UPS, just enterring the weight gave a price of $26, I put the dimensions of a bike box in and the rate went up to $96(with company discount!). I used 2 smaller boxes and it was only $38 for both.