Protecting the bike on the homeward flight

[Alexios]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you may know from another topic I started I am going on a 6 day cycling tour in Turkey at the end of September. Following advice found on these pages I have been to my local bicycle shop and now have a large empty cardboard box to put the bike in for the flight out. I've found lots of good videos on the web and am happy that I can wrap the bike up pretty well. The problem is what to do with all the wrapping stuff while I'm out enjoying the country. I obviously can't carry it all with me while I'm cycling. I've never taken my bike on a plane before.

So what do I do? Do I try to stuff the box and bubblewrap etc into a lost luggage locker at the airport? Or leave it all in an out of the way corner and hope no one tidies it away in the intervening week before I return? Or should I accept that I will have to buy new wrapping stuff on the day I fly home? I suspect that there is no single answer, and that with a bit of ingenuity I can make something work, but I'd be very grateful for advice on how other people have done it. So please, what have you done in this situation? Thank you.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you may know from another topic I started I am going on a 6 day cycling tour in Turkey at the end of September. Following advice found on these pages I have been to my local bicycle shop and now have a large empty cardboard box to put the bike in for the flight out. I've found lots of good videos on the web and am happy that I can wrap the bike up pretty well. The problem is what to do with all the wrapping stuff while I'm out enjoying the country. I obviously can't carry it all with me while I'm cycling. I've never taken my bike on a plane before.

So what do I do? Do I try to stuff the box and bubblewrap etc into a lost luggage locker at the airport? Or leave it all in an out of the way corner and hope no one tidies it away in the intervening week before I return? Or should I accept that I will have to buy new wrapping stuff on the day I fly home? I suspect that there is no single answer, and that with a bit of ingenuity I can make something work, but I'd be very grateful for advice on how other people have done it. So please, what have you done in this situation? Thank you.

Most international airports have outlets who will look after your belongings including cycle boxes until you want to return to UK, but of course you have to pay for it, some airlines are happy to allow the bike to just be wrapped in a large poly bag, which is better as they can see that it is a bike and hopefully treat it kindly. but saying that I worked for some years at gatwick airport, and having watched bikes being mishandled, it was most worrisome.

It is only recently that I have had to wrap mine, I always used to just turn the handle bars and remove the pedals and let the tyres down. Afterall on long haul flights the bikes go into a Luggage pod, if its boxed, no one cares it just a box and if it get laid down on the floor of the pod it can get 50 luggage bags stuffed on top of it.
I hope you scrooged a spacer for your front forks and you rear dropouts, sorry to be glummy

 

[soltour]

Hey, dont make the mistake I have recently. For years I have been wrapping my bike in a plastic bag but this time when I got to the airport at Helsinki they wouldnt accept it. I had no time to get a box due to a connecting flight so had no alternative but to leave it behind, although I did bring my panniers and brooks saddle back...I tried to get compensation from the airline but they refused saying they wouldnt accept the plastic..Apart from this the staff were also unhelpful...I will never fly with easy jet again and will make sure I get to an email from the next airline saying they will accept a plastic bag or I will preferably get a box

 

[rich p]

I had this issue in the summer as I was flying back from a different airport. It was Toulouse though so it was reasonably easy to find the local Decathlon and scrounge a cardboard box. I would have bought a cheap bike bag from them if necessary and flogged it when I got back.
My option of last resort would have been to find a large cardboard box from a skip/industrial estate and manufacture a box with parcel tape.
As it was I had to adjust the size to airline dimensions as Decathlon bikes apparently come with the wheels on.

Here's me carrying it back to the campsite!

 

[jay clock]

sorry to be lazy, but here are my notes on the subject from a previous posting. In summary get one of the plastic bags and carry it with you. I have used them lots of times. Anyway here are my notes.....
First tip TURN UP EARLY if only to stop any arguments.



To pack the bike I use the http://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/shop.html bag - have just binned one after about 5 uses. They weigh 550g and will fit in a pannier or on the rack. Remove pedals, swivel handlebars and drop saddle right down. I take tons of cables ties (fix wheel to bike if needed [Flybe], fix pedals to rack etc, and I also unscrew the rear mech (leave all cables on) and cable tie it to the frame to prevent the hanger being bent. On Flybe I use a spacer for the front forks. To tape up the bag I use heavy duty clear tape from B&Q - has a checkered pattern, and tears easily, does not unstick in use, but can be peeled off afterwards.



As a precaution for anyone saying “that is not a bike bag” I print a screen shot of the Bike Adventures website showing the bag on sale and in use. I also print the airline’s own terms and conditions just in case.



Easyjet and Ryanair take payment in advance which has the benefit of knowing you have a booking. I have used both several times with a bike.



I have used Flybe on several return trips and they have been great. I live 4 miles from Southampton so there is a big attraction to use them. The ONLY issue I have is that officially it is a standby only arrangement, which could really screw up your hols. However it has always worked fine

Because they use smallish planes you have to remove the front wheel as well as the usual pedal/handlebar stuff. If you do not have front pannier frames, you can just turn the handlebars and forks sideways, rather than undo the bolts to twist it. I strap the wheel to the RIGHT hand side of the bike as on the first occasion I ended up with a slightly bent outer chain ring (Stronglight softish alloy) which I bent back with pliers. TOP TIP, as Flybe are at smaller airports they may well not have an excess baggage Xray large enough for bikes, so do not seal the bag till they tell you they are happy, as they may do a manual explosives swab.

I have only been asked to pay once with FlyBe. On other occasions they either didn't ask me, or because I was carrying the panniers as carry on bags, they didn't think it was fair. However with new rules on carry on bags (max 1 and rigidly enforced), I will be checking in the panniers, but plan to put these inside a £shop duffel bag I got to avoid being charged on a per-piece basis!

They will only not carry your bike on the same flight as you if it is very full and very laden. Now that people have to pay for bags this is less likely, as more will reduce luggage and carry it on. But there is the risk in which case they will send it on the next flight

However I have had telephone contact with Flybe (trying calling Ryanair!) and they are friendly and helpful - I am confident that if the bike misses the plane they would do their best to help.

 

[andym]

i'd check in advance to find out whether there is in fact a left luggage at the airport. Smaller airports may not have one.

I think rhe only really reliable option is to find a hotel for the night before your flight and ask them if they will look after your box and packing stuff.

Jayclock - are you on commission fom FlyBye?

 

[Brains]

Where are you spending 1st/last night ?
Is it possible to take bike, still in box, to last night hotel or whatever, build it there and then leave the kit.

Other options:
Include full roll of parcel tape in your kit and scrounge cardboard on last day.

Or as I did for two bikes in Shannon airport (Shannon accept bikes INbound not wrapped, but you cant go OUTbound with a box !!). We got two boxes off a couple who had just arrived in from the USA

Also many airport baggage handling sections have boxes, as this is a common occurrence.

Just turn up early.

 

[soltour]

Well if I had not tried to squeeze the timing too fine I would have found a box from somewhere, but ran out of time. As regards to the plastic one sold at ctc and other outlets, I did use one of them for Baltic airways and they were fine about it....But alas Easyjet were not...Anyway I wanted to get another bike..26 inch wheel, Surly LHT, they are expensive but from what I read on the net, worth every penny.

 

[sparkyman]

Well if I had not tried to squeeze the timing too fine I would have found a box from somewhere, but ran out of time. As regards to the plastic one sold at ctc and other outlets, I did use one of them for Baltic airways and they were fine about it....But alas Easyjet were not...Anyway I wanted to get another bike..26 inch wheel, Surly LHT, they are expensive but from what I read on the net, worth every penny.

I flew with Easy Jet with A CTC bag from Liverpool with no problems, maybe it was Helsinki airport rules that disalowed the bike bag.

 

[Brains]

The rules of boxed bikes (or not) seem to depend on the airport rather than the carrier.

We found whilst we could do
Gatwick/Shannon with no box
Shannon/Gatwick MUST have a box (not bag)

 

[Ticktockmy]

The rules of boxed bikes (or not) seem to depend on the airport rather than the carrier.

We found whilst we could do
Gatwick/Shannon with no box
Shannon/Gatwick MUST have a box (not bag)

Its the ground handling agents which sort out the rules regarding how stuff is loaded into the holds, the only thing the airlines worry about is that the cargo is stowed correctly and is not of a dangerous nature. if you have problems at checkin ask to speak to the agents duty manager, or the ramp mamager because it is him who oversees how stuff is loaded along with the dispatcher.

 

[Globalti]

Whatever you do, don't let your tyres down. The fuselage of an aircraft is pressurised to the equivalent of 10,000 feet and TDF riders' tyres don't burst when they go over Alpine cols, do they? Do they bollocks. You need the tyres at full pressure to protect the wheels.

 

[Alexios]

Gentlemen,

Thank you very much for your advice. My cheque for £10 is en route to Bike Adventures, I'll look into the 'hotel storing stuff' option, I'm going to buy lots of tie wraps and sticky tape, I'll leave the tyres pumped up and I'll turn up for all flights hugely early.

Thank you again.

Alexios.