Transporting a bicycle

[Lee Legrand]

Hello everyone

I have not tour before but would like to next year.  I would like to tour some far from where I live in a possible group tour with Adventure cycling.  My question is, if I take my bicycle like, a across the country, what is the best way to get it there using a tour by Adventure Cycling?  If a box it, I am thinking, there is no place to store the bicycle box when I get back.  This also seems to be the case if I purchase a bicycle case.  What do you guys do when you are transporting your bicycle for a group tour?  How do you get it there and back?

THanks

Lee

[JayH]

If you do not know if you are going travelling with your bike a lot, it might be worth it just to pay a good bike shop to pack and ship your bike for you. Rather than buy a $150ish+ bike case that you might only use once...   

I've shipping my bike with a Trico bike case to Alaska, france, Utah, etc. and so far so good, no problems so far.  Use plenty of pipe insulation and extra clothes as padding...   Or you could use a cardboard box from a bike shop, not as protective but not as expensive either. 

Jay

[awbikes]

You can ship via FEDEX from the east coast to west for 100-150 dollars depending on weight and size of the box. Same bike in a large bike box vs a small one is a difference in 50 dollars. Most bike shops will give away boxes for free, be sure and get the smallest possible. Info on packing is available via google this website or the bike shop. If you can't do the disassembling yourself most bike shops will do it and pack it for around 50 dollars. You can then ship to a shop to have it reassembled. Bikes can be shipped as baggage on your flight but this can be expensive depending on the airline and can be difficult and/or expensive as some airlines are not bike friendly. Do your research!!!

This is a small overview and much more information can be found by doing a word search on this site.

[Lee Legrand]

Thanks for the info

I was planning on doing a beginners unsupported tour that is offered by Adventure Cycling.  They offer them at different spots across the US but I wanted to do one in Oregon which is across the country from me.  I was thinking about how to get a bicycle there if I did it be a flight.  I can learn to take a bicycle apart but if I do it by boxing, then where can I store that box to use to pack it up and send it back home.  If I have to throw it away, well, I am not exactly familiar with the bicycle shops in Oregon so there will be the hassle of getting another bicycle box, taking it apart and finding a postal service to send my bicycle home.  The season tourist as yourselves know the situations better than I so, can you help in this info? 

Thanks

[staehpj1]

Southwest and Frontier Airlines are pretty bike friendly.  I try to fly with them and take my bike as a checked bag.  Southwest is usually my choice since my local airport is a Southwest hub.  Southwest charges $50 and it counts as one of your two checked bags the second is free unless over size or over weight.

I often to not want to mess with the bike at the end of a tour and pay a bike shop to pack and ship it.  It has always been about $100 for that ($40-60 for the shop and $40-60 for UPS).

I have also used a soft case (Performance Transit Soft Case regular price $59.99).  I pad things out generously with cardboard.  If you plan to get a room most motels will hold your case for you especially if you will be staying with them at both ends of the trip.  Similarly most warmshowers.org hosts would be happy to store your soft case for you.

[pmac]

I recently completed an ACA tour.  I shipped my bike via fedex to a local bike shop which held the box for me for very nominal charge.  The ACA people tend to be pretty helpful and a call or email regarding a local bike shop at the starting point of your tour will get you some answers.  If your starting and ending points are different you may have to pick up a bikebox from a shop in the town at the end of your tour.  As mentioned above, most shops are happy to box your bike up for about $50.

[Mark Manley]

Beware of some bought bike cases as they are too big for oversized luggage on some airlines, as has been suggested a cardboard box from a shop is the best bet, if the shop you bought the bike from is local it could be a good place to start.

[misterflask]

Have had my LBS box my bike up several times for shipment to bike shop at start of tour.  No complaints about the process.  The LBS doesn't charge a lot and do a great job at minimizing box size which saves a few shipping bucks.  It's an inexpensive luxury to get off a bus in a faraway town and roll out a few minutes later with your assembled bike.

[indyfabz]

Have had my LBS box my bike up several times for shipment to bike shop at start of tour.  No complaints about the process.  The LBS doesn't charge a lot and do a great job at minimizing box size which saves a few shipping bucks.  It's an inexpensive luxury to get off a bus in a faraway town and roll out a few minutes later with your assembled bike.

+1. For out last two tours far from home, which were loops out of cities in MT, we used local shops at both ends to pack and re-assemble. For the second one, we even shipped a B.O.B., a stove and my racks in a third box. Each time, the total shipping cost was less than what the airlines wanted for two bikes. We used the savings to offset the cost of packing and assembly. In the end, the total cost was more, but not exhorbanantly so. And it was nice to have the bikes ready to go when we arrived and to be able to drop them off at the end and not have to deal with things like packing and airport transportation. Plus, the shops held our boxes free of charge.