Flying with bike- advice

[Somebuddy]

I am currently in USA where I have bought a bike and been touring up east coast. I wish to fly the bike back home to UK. When I get the bike shop to put it in a box, can I include the tent, pannier, sleeping bag etc into the bike box to lessen my load? Any advice appreciated. Thanks

 

[barnesy]

I have done in the past, I packed the tent, sleeping bag and panniers around the frame in such a way that it protected the frame.

Im sure you are not allowed to as they may see you as trying to cut down on baggage fees but as long as the bike box is no bigger and you can argue that you are only trying to protect your frame you will be okay.

On a side note, i dont like flying with my bike anymore as flying it to Paris i got broken spokes, flying home from Nice i got broken brake hoods and to Amsterdam i got the gearing damaged.

 

[Brains]

I am currently in USA where I have bought a bike and been touring up east coast. I wish to fly the bike back home to UK. When I get the bike shop to put it in a box, can I include the tent, pannier, sleeping bag etc into the bike box to lessen my load? Any advice appreciated. Thanks

It depends on how the box is getting back to the UK

If you are going to airfreight it back (quick but expensive) then check with the freighters, there is usually a max weight per package of 20kg (which the Americans will no doubt round up/down to pounds) .

If you are going to ship it back (slow but cheap) the again check with the shippers, but there is no maximum weight or size consideration (as long as it fits in a container). Personally that is what I'd do, put bike and all the gear plus any other heavy stuff you don't need into a a box and ship it home, it will take a couple of months to arrive, but its getting cold, wet and dark in the UK, so you can do without the gear for a couple of months.

If you intend on boxing it all up and bringing it home on the same plane as you, then you need the airline details of what you can take and in what size, but the usual maximum is 20 kg in total with a cubic no bigger than 0.5m.

Warnings:
The American airlines have different weight restrictions to the rest of the world, so you may find you can fly OUT of the USA with up to 40kg.
This may be OK if you are flying straight home, however if you are changing planes outside the USA you can be hit for massive and prohibitive sliding baggage charges for every Kilo over 20.

A bike bought in the USA being imported into the UK would have to pay 20% of the European value of the bike in VAT, so therefore you took your bike out with you and are now bringing it home. Ensure it looks the part, no cleaning.

Do not bring any of your bike tools back in hand luggage.

Airline bike boxing instructions are a guide only; It depends on two things, the person at the counter what they are prepared to take and the Baggage Handling Company that run the airport, for example in Shannon airport you can bring a bike IN on British Airways without any boxing or packaging, however to get it OUT on the return flight the bike must be fully broken down, de-pressurised and boxed.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I have just done it last week no problem.

I got a bike shop to give me a box, took the bike apart and then put it in packing my tent, sleep mat, sleep bag, panniers etc all around it..taped it up well and checked it inat the airport like a normal suitcase.
The US security guys did open the box on both the outward and return flights but they re taped it up very well. All went smootly.

 

[albal]

I used a plastic bag, given free from BA at Seatac,Seattle, bit of lagging round the frame, job done, authorities opened it up but no real hassle as taped up ok.

 

[doog]

I have just done it last week no problem.

I got a bike shop to give me a box, took the bike apart and then put it in packing my tent, sleep mat, sleep bag, panniers etc all around it..taped it up well and checked it inat the airport like a normal suitcase.
The US security guys did open the box on both the outward and return flights but they re taped it up very well. All went smootly.

Glad to see you have finished mate. Can you supply details of your bike / tent etc. I know you have a blog but do you intend doing a crazyguy journal?

Any future plans?

 

[BigonaBianchi]

ubs and fedex just wanted silly money...

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Glad to see you have finished mate. Can you supply details of your bike / tent etc. I know you have a blog but do you intend doing a crazyguy journal?

Any future plans?

...not to hi jack this thread...but..
Tent was a simple quecha T2 from decathlon...perfect...2 man tent...around £100...1.8kg
Bike Dawes Galaxy 2007 model, schwalbe marathon plus 28's tyres, brookes B17 saddle, SPD pedals, I also changed the stem to a better one than came with the bike. CGOB...not on my to do list mate...happy with my blog as it is...
Very happy to go into gear list etc in a pm or seperate thread if you like?

Cheers

 

[Brains]

ubs and fedex just wanted silly money...

I would not even consider them if you are shipping the box back, you want a 'consolidator' or a 'Liner Agent'
Look in the yellow pages for people shipping barrels back home for the Caribbean community.
They may not be able to consolidate a box to Europe but will know who can

 

[Somebuddy]

Bigonabianchi. Was your tent and sleeping bag opened out and draped over the bike?
Or were they packed away and just left in the box?

Your pannier was it full of clothes or equipment or squashed flat?
I've never put my bike in a bike box before. Don't know what the airline will allow.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Bigonabianchi. Was your tent and sleeping bag opened out and draped over the bike?
Or were they packed away and just left in the box?

Your pannier was it full of clothes or equipment or squashed flat?
I've never put my bike in a bike box before. Don't know what the airline will allow.

First off i packed the bike in the box on it's own. Then i put in my tent leaving it in its stuff sack. Then i took my sleep bag out of its stuff sack and put that in all around the bike. Then i unrolled my sleep mat and wedged it in somewhere...then i unpacked all my panniers and put the stuff in the box making sure i had nothing illegal in there like flammable stuff etc...in keeping with airline rules etc...then I folded up the pannier bags and stuffed them in as well. I took the bar bag on th eplane with me.

Just be careful with loose items in the box in case it splits on the plane....I actually taped most things to th ebike in little poly bags...especially all th ebike screws, wheel skewers, pedals etc...that could really mess up things if a small bit of kit fell out en route.

tent pegs etc were all good to go in the box so i jus tleft them in th etent bag just as it came off th ebike on th elast day.

I took some extra tape with me in the hand luggage/bar bag in case the box split at airport or something..never needed it but it was a good idea i thought.

Pack all tools etc in the box not in hand luggage.

mark the box with top..this way up...do not get wet etc....

 

[Simon_m]

http://bikeflights.com/ are well expensive, on the way to the US this year I just put the bike in a big pollybag from CTC, lots of bubble wrap and that grey plumbing insulation. It got there just fine. I even watched it being loaded onto the plane and the workers having a good look at it On the way back, it had to be in a cardboard box for some reason! Anyway, just wrapped it up the same. I did have to remove the gearing on the back and the handlebars too! On the way out one just had to take the pedals off, seat down, handlebars twisted, and that was good enough. And yes, I filled up as much as I could in the box with sleeping bags etc to save getting stung on the suitcase weight. BTW on outbound and inbound flights, the bike bag & box were opened and inspected by the Yanks

 

[Somebuddy]

Thanks for the advice. I fly back on Monday to UK. The bike shop wants $65 to box the bike up for me, but I reckon I would be better doing it myself, so that I can place sleeping bag around the bike and stuff in some extra clothing etc to lessen baggage weight. Appreciate all the above help. Thanks again.

 

[rich p]

Thanks for the advice. I fly back on Monday to UK. The bike shop wants $65 to box the bike up for me, but I reckon I would be better doing it myself, so that I can place sleeping bag around the bike and stuff in some extra clothing etc to lessen baggage weight. Appreciate all the above help. Thanks again.

It may not apply to you and your carrier but I had to cut the box down to an acceptable size for Easyjet and use parcel tape liberally.

 

[Nigeyy]

Where are you on the east coast?

Thanks for the advice. I fly back on Monday to UK. The bike shop wants $65 to box the bike up for me, but I reckon I would be better doing it myself, so that I can place sleeping bag around the bike and stuff in some extra clothing etc to lessen baggage weight. Appreciate all the above help. Thanks again.