Bike Shipping Info.

[awbikes]

I Will be Fed Xing two bicycles to San Francisco Fishermans Warf area. Can anyone recommend a bike shop That will receive and hold my bikes for a few days (for a fee) of course. The closer to the Fort Mason Hostel the better.

[misterflask]

I see no takers on a specific shop.  My generalized approach:
Google-map the airport
Search for bicycle shops
Pick some near public transportation
Streetview the shops to find one you like the looks of
Give them a call and see if they are interested

worked so far.

[staehpj1]

I have no specific recommendation, but I have found that every bike shop I have contacted was willing to handle my bike.  I was always having them box and ship it though (I typically fly with my bike to get to my tour, but often have it shipped home).

Oh and another option might be to ship it to a warmshowers host (www.warmshowers.org I think) or to a hotel if you are staying in one the first night.

[awbikes]

Unfortunately I picked a bad airline (United) who has too expensive baggage rates for bicycles. BTW I did recently locate a warmshowers host who will take FedEx delivery of our bikes. In any event thanks to all for the info.

[staehpj1]

FWIW, I try to use bike friendly airlines even when I am not flying with my bike.  I recommend that others do the same.  Why reward airlines that are hostile toward bikes with your business?

[Marc P. SoCal]

I am a huge fan of Yelp to find user based recommendations on everything from restaurants to plumbers, and bike shops are no exception.   If you click the below link it will give user ratings and reviews for all the bike shops in the Fisherman's Wharf area:

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=&find_loc=Fisherman%27s+Wharf%2C+San+Francisco%2C+CA&ns=1&ls=9f78e2dc6e511e7d#find_desc=bike+shop&show_filters=1

[Wuwei]

BTW, what are the bike friendly airlines? They all seem to be about the same nowadays.

[John Nelson]

BTW, what are the bike friendly airlines? They all seem to be about the same nowadays.

Frontier and Southwest.

[staehpj1]

BTW, what are the bike friendly airlines? They all seem to be about the same nowadays.

Frontier and Southwest.

Since Southwest has acquired AirTran you may be able to add them to the list.  I am not sure if the culture has changed there yet, but their web page does now say:

"Are bicycles allowed as checked baggage?
Bicycles are accepted as checked baggage for a fee of $50 each way. To be accepted, bicycles must be packed in a box with no part of the vehicle exposed. AirTran Airways does not provide boxes for bicycles. Bicycles not properly packaged will not be accepted. Tires should be deflated to aid with packing."

[John Nelson]

Tires should be deflated to aid with packing.

That's a very odd sentence.

[staehpj1]

Tires should be deflated to aid with packing.

That's a very odd sentence.

Yes it is.  I don't get the "to aid with packing" part.  That said I think most if not all airlines require that you deflate your tires.

[John Nelson]

That said I think most if not all airlines require that you deflate your tires.

Yes, but it's not a good idea to do so. The tires provide quite a bit of cushioning and protect the wheels from damage. I know the airline is worrying about transporting compressed gasses because of the explosion risk, but really--that's not a hazard with a bicycle tire. It isn't going to explode even if the pressure doubles, and it would cause no problem even if it did.

What do you guys do? Deflate or not deflate? Or maybe reduce the pressure a bit?

[staehpj1]

I am usually a bit torn.  There is no real reason to deflate other than to comply with regulations, but I did read where one guy claimed they (TSA?) ripped out his valve stems when he failed to deflate.

I've been deflating them to the point that if someone squeezed a tire it would be obvious that I let most of the air out, but not quite completely flat.  I let out the air to the point that my gatorskins feel about like an completely flat marathon plus or other heavy duty tire.  I figure that I sort of comply and still maintain a bit of protection for the rim.

[Wuwei]

I'll add Air Canada to the bike friendly list. I only paid 50 bucks for the bike to travel with me. Most airlines seem to charge 150 dollars each way now.