Has anyone taken a bike on a RYANAIR flight?

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Zoom

Über Member
gavintc said:
My wife and I are booked Ryanair to Girona in Mar. We flew last Easter to Italy with Easyjet and then later to Majorca on a charter - no problems. It will be our first experience on a Ryanair flight with the bikes. My only comment on this subject is that the airline sub-contract the handling to an agent, usually the airport handling agent. The only time that the bikes will see a Ryanair employee will be at check in. I therefore think that poor handling is more of an 'airport' thing than an 'airline' thing.

agree; Have had no problems flying with a bike (on Ryanair or Easyjet) 7 times from Stansted or Luton; the one time I brought my bike into Gatwick (where Tony works) they got one of their trainee baby (or maybe adult) elephants to sit on it. When I took it to the LBS to get a quote for claiming for a new frame they said "Gatwick was it?" And of course it was Easyjet who had to pay not the Cretans who bent it.

I'm using Stansted and Luton again this year; annoying as I live a stone's throw from Gatwick but I'd rather a long journey than a bent bike.
 

Abitrary

New Member
Zoom said:
agree; Have had no problems flying with a bike (on Ryanair or Easyjet) 7 times from Stansted or Luton; the one time I brought my bike into Gatwick (where Tony works) they got one of their trainee baby (or maybe adult) elephants to sit on it. When I took it to the LBS to get a quote for claiming for a new frame they said "Gatwick was it?" And of course it was Easyjet who had to pay not the Cretans who bent it.

I'm using Stansted and Luton again this year; annoying as I live a stone's throw from Gatwick but I'd rather a long journey than a bent bike.

Just out of interest, was the bike that bent made of steel or aluminium?
 

Zoom

Über Member
Abitrary said:
Just out of interest, was the bike that bent made of steel or aluminium?

aluminium; I neglected to put a spacer* between the rear stays when I
took the wheel out and that was where it took the brunt; It was kinked on both rear and seat stays so no way it would have pulled back out with a jig; in the end it only cost £130 to fix as I was able to fit all the old components and forks.

* a bit of 15mm copper pipe instead of the axle squeezed by the skewer might have saved it
 

Tony

New Member
Location
Surrey
I smiled nicely at my LBS and have a set of spacers as supplied with new bike from factory. Slip into drop outs and fork ends. Worth asking as they only get thrown away.
 

Zoom

Über Member
Tony said:
I smiled nicely at my LBS and have a set of spacers as supplied with new bike from factory. Slip into drop outs and fork ends. Worth asking as they only get thrown away.

I had some of them

I threw them away :thumbsup:
 

bonj2

Guest
andy_wrx said:
I read somewhere once that if travelling in the Third World, you should leave a bike as obviously a bike, either simply stick a label on it or put it in one of CTC's big polythene bags
- a baggage handler in Delhi or Kathmandu quite possibly went to work on a bike himself, one he saved-up for, he knows the value of a bike and will treat it more carefully than if it's packaged-up anonymously in a bikebag or box.
that's one way of looking at it... another way of looking at it, is 'he knows the value of a bike, and he can't afford one - so may well go to some length to try and nick one'
 

lesley.c

New Member
Bikes on Ryanair

I was planning to take a bike on Ryanair until I read these threads. I think the best way now would be to take a foldup lightweight bike on board as hand luggage (provided it fitted their allowable dimensions) and put my other bag in the hold. That way I'd only pay £35 for the bag and the bike would be safe.

Simple? All I need is to find a bike that weighs less than ten kilos. Possible? Perhaps someone can tell me?
 

bonj2

Guest
i'm taking my best bike on ryanair in may, i'm planning on just putting it in a CTC bike bag.
I've got the option of £60 to insure it for the trip but i'm not sure whether i'm going to bother, i'll just effectively 'insure myself' and sue them if it gets broken. THat's what the court's there for.
At the end of the day it's only a bike, it's replaceable. i've decided that it's the riding that counts - a bike isn't your baby for gawd's sake.
 

andym

Über Member
lesley.c said:
I was planning to take a bike on Ryanair until I read these threads. I think the best way now would be to take a foldup lightweight bike on board as hand luggage (provided it fitted their allowable dimensions) and put my other bag in the hold. That way I'd only pay £35 for the bag and the bike would be safe.

Simple? All I need is to find a bike that weighs less than ten kilos. Possible? Perhaps someone can tell me?

Erm not so simple, I'm afraid. You also need to take account the size. According to Brompton their bikes fold down to 585mm high x 545mm long x 270mm wide (22.2" x 21.5" x 10.6"). This site gives details of maximum sizes for carry-on luggage. It doesn't include Ryanair, but BA's size limits are: 22" x 16" x 8".

OK, there might be a bike that folds smaller than a Brompton.
 

ASC1951

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
I've taken a bike a couple of times with Ryanair. I use a fairly tough fabric bag, a bit of pipe-lagging and always plastic spacers in the dropouts. Never had any issues at all, but then nor have I with any other airline.
 

bonj2

Guest
ASC1951 said:
I've taken a bike a couple of times with Ryanair. I use a fairly tough fabric bag, a bit of pipe-lagging and always plastic spacers in the dropouts. Never had any issues at all, but then nor have I with any other airline.

you take the wheels off then? i was planning on leaving them on
 

MajorMantra

Well-Known Member
Location
Edinburgh
*Necro thread warning* (just to alert the others :angry:)

I took a steel Bianchi from Edinburgh to Frankfurt-Hahn last week on Ryanair without mishap using a CTC bag. I took the bike whole (wheels attached etc.) and didn't take any special precautions except:

1. removing the rear mech, wrapping it in bubble wrap and taping it to the bike.

2. rotating the bars 90° as instructed.

3. putting more bubble wrap around the TT to protect from the bars and around the chainset to keep things from rotating or poking me as I carried it.

I could see the bike on the luggage train when I was boarding and disembarking and it looked like it was being looked after reasonably well though I imagine this is more dependent on the ground staff at a particular airport than anything else. I'm not sure I'd want to transport a carbon or ultra thin-walled metal frame this way but for a steel bike it's absolutely fine.

Matthew

EDIT: Forgot to add, the bike didn't have pedals.
 

ASC1951

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
bonj2 said:
you take the wheels off then? i was planning on leaving them on
Yes, it's that sort of bike bag - wheels go in a separate pocket. The skewers come out, too. Then it's pedals off and handlebars twisted and tucked under the top tube. I also take the rear derailleur off because otherwise it sticks out. I did worry that this would affect adjustments, but in fact it just screws back on without any problem. Then I check the dropout spacers. Then I check them again.

To be fair, I have never had a bike damaged in 30 years, right from the days when you could ride up and not even have to put it in a plastic bag.
 
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