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Transporting your bike
barrus:
Many of you already know that I have a new bike this year. This is great, however I am contemplating a cycling vacation. The problem I have is that I am a bit squeemish to put my bike on the plane, and I can't go with an automobile. Do any of you have any experience with transporting your bike on a plain, what are the logistics and what are the odds of your bike getting damaged?
(I posted this here, because I have no idea where to put it otherwise :P)
L'arriviste:
--- Quote from: barrus on August 07, 2012, 19:59 ---Many of you already know that I have a new bike this year. This is great, however I am contemplating a cycling vacation. The problem I have is that I am a bit squeemish to put my bike on the plane, and I can't go with an automobile. Do any of you have any experience with transporting your bike on a plain, what are the logistics and what are the odds of your bike getting damaged?
(I posted this here, because I have no idea where to put it otherwise :P)
--- End quote ---
Not done it myself but my brother uses a padded bike box a couple of times a year. You take out the bars and drop the saddle. The outer case is rigid and the inner is tight and snug. The bike does not move and suffers no shocks.
Luggage cost and/or insurance may increase depending on the airline but it's the best way to go, plus you can usually hire one rather than having to buy.
L'arriviste:
I realise now that I am no longer merry on two glasses of a good Saumur that my previous post wasn't that helpful. :-[ :fp
Generally speaking, hard cases are the way to go but some of them foolishly attempt to save weight and complexity by not providing enough hard packing foam on the inside.
Biknd Helium
The alternative to this is to hire (buy only if you intend to make the investment worthwhile) one of these Biknd Helium cases, a picture of which I posted above. The general purpose is to isolate the freestanding frame from the wheels, add in a couple of well-placed hard case parts and then wrap a third layer over the whole thing. Absolutely bombproof. They even have enough room for spare wheels.
Only thing different to other cases is that you must also take off the rear mech on this one. Not particularly painful though. Here's the process:
http://biknd.com/packing/index.html
SciCon AeroTech - the industry reference
The SciCon AeroTech has always been the reference for bike boxes and it's a hard case. Quite a chunk of change but the easiest to find for hire.
Pretty sure this is the one used regularly by my brother. I hear that the bike could wriggle a tiny bit but only if they hire Incredible Hulk as a baggage handler. Being a hard case, it weighs a lot.
With the SciCon is that you only have to take your pedals and saddle/stem off.
Weights and costs
A common limit seems to be around 25kg bike+box, with fees being around €50-80 each way within Europe.
Martin318is:
I hate myself for saying this but look up durianrider's youtube feed. He has at least one vid on packing a bike
just some guy:
--- Quote from: Martin318is on August 08, 2012, 10:43 ---I hate myself for saying this but look up durianrider's youtube feed. He has at least one vid on packing a bike
--- End quote ---
I suggest a few minutes in front of the mirror to take a good hard look at yourself ;)
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