Transporting bikes by plane

[MichaelW2]

If you remove the wheels you have to crush-proof the dropouts with some form of axle replacement. Plastic tubes, rolled up corrugated card or something can be used. You can also use this inside cardboard boxes to reinforce against crush damage at the corners of the box and inside the frame angles and between spokes.
With plastic bags, use plumbing pipe insulation foam split tubes to protect every part of the bike. The problem is to source the material for the return journey. If you can stash your materials at a local hotel that is best. You can buy or get the stuff at DIY stores. Heavy duty polythene sheet can be found as waste packing material and used with ducktape.
Beware that drinks bottles may need manual inspection.
Think about how and where you carry your packing tools and materials eg tape, knife. Make sure you check in the bike before you check in the packing kit.
Some airports require x ray of the packed bike and some machines are smaller than others. I had a bike that passed through Heathrow fully assembled inside a bag but on the return journey I had to remove the front wheel to squeeze through the scanner at a small local airport. Small airports are usually much better and less stressful for bike travel.

 

[classic33]

If you remove the wheels you have to crush-proof the dropouts with some form of axle replacement. Plastic tubes, rolled up corrugated card or something can be used. You can also use this inside cardboard boxes to reinforce against crush damage at the corners of the box and inside the frame angles and between spokes.
With plastic bags, use plumbing pipe insulation foam split tubes to protect every part of the bike. The problem is to source the material for the return journey. If you can stash your materials at a local hotel that is best. You can buy or get the stuff at DIY stores. Heavy duty polythene sheet can be found as waste packing material and used with ducktape.
Beware that drinks bottles may need manual inspection.
Think about how and where you carry your packing tools and materials eg tape, knife. Make sure you check in the bike before you check in the packing kit.
Some airports require x ray of the packed bike and some machines are smaller than others. I had a bike that passed through Heathrow fully assembled inside a bag but on the return journey I had to remove the front wheel to squeeze through the scanner at a small local airport. Small airports are usually much better and less stressful for bike travel.

I used 22mm copper pipe, with old axles holding them in place.

 

[8mph]

Flying into Delhi with the mountain bike on Monday, I have to admit I'm feeling quite anxious. The bike is boxed up, I'll take a roll of tape with me to Heathrow and just hope for the best.

 

[Bored Man]

Flying into Delhi with the mountain bike on Monday, I have to admit I'm feeling quite anxious. The bike is boxed up, I'll take a roll of tape with me to Heathrow and just hope for the best.

Fabulous city in a fabulous country. Have you got a route plan to share?

 

[8mph]

Fabulous city in a fabulous country. Have you got a route plan to share?

Well, I've been keeping a lid on it actually, in case it all turns into a farce! I wanted to take a tent and tour from Haridwar into Himachal Pradesh but I started researching tiger and leopard attacks which has rather put me off the idea of attempting that at this time of year. I'll probably travel on buses and do a bit of daytime mountain biking. Planned destinations are Rishikesh - Rewalsar - Bir. (The last two places are Tibetan colonies in Himachal Pradesh)
Once out there I'm usually seduced by the beauty and do venture into the jungle and mountains but the places I want to visit have high incident rates of human/animal conflict during winter when the days are short and the animals hungry

 

[dimrub]

Reviving this old, but very useful thread. I'd like to sum up the options presented so far:
- A dedicated hard case. Pros: max security. Cons: bulky, needs to be kept somewhere during the trip, only suitable for circular routes, or for single-destination trips (i.e., races), probably can't be conveniently transferred to/from the airport using public transportation (so needs a taxi, adding to the costs), expensive to buy.
- A dedicated soft bag. Pros: takes almost no space/weight, so can be taken with you on the trip, no issues with getting to/from the airport, not very expensive. Cons: not sure how reliable.
- A transparent plastic bag. Pros on top of the previous option: the handlers can see this is a bicycle (I'm not sure how much of a benefit of it, given that you can tell it's a bicycle in a soft bag too), perhaps provides a marginally better protection than a bag made of thin fabric. Cons: apparently, only sold in the UK. Heavier and bulkier to lag around on a bike than a fabric bag.
- A cardboard box. Pros: cheap, easy to get a hold of at the destination, nothing to lag around or store during the trip. Cons: may not be as secure as the other options, since may be handled with less care. Can't be taken on public transport, so a taxi to/from airport is required (so not that cheap after all), logistics involved in getting a hold of it at the destination for the return flight.

Seems obvious different circumstances dictate different optimal solution. For my usage scenario (a point to point multi-day touring trip), I'm zeroing down on a dedicated soft bag. Which one though? One can be had for 113 euros here, or for as little as $44 here. One difference immediately visible is the weight of the bag - 660g for the expensive one vs. 2.4kg for the cheap one. Are there other considerations I might be missing? I mean, it's just a bag, right? It's whole purpose is to keep the bicycle in, and the safety of the bicycle relies on the packing methodology anyway. Right?

 

[IaninSheffield]

On 'soft' bags I'll chuck Ground Effect bags into the mix. Worth reading the comments. With shipping from NZ, they're around the £100 mark.
Safety of the bike does depend on the packing (a controllable variable), but also on the attitude of the baggage handlers (very much out of one's control). Then there's the loading system - larger capacity planes are more likely to use container loading (I think) and may be slightly safer. Lower capacity aircraft are more likely to use bulk loading, arguably more risky for the bike.

 

[dimrub]

On 'soft' bags I'll chuck Ground Effect bags into the mix.

Love the name of the bag. Do they imply it's larger on the inside than is on the outside?

 

[T4tomo]

Unless your are doing a really long tour, surely hiring bike at destination is best way? relatively cheap for a couple of days /week, and saves the drama, expense and hassle of how do I get bike and luggage to and from airport (unless its a dedicated bike tour trip and then clearly all luggage fits on bike, hence initial caveat).

 

[dimrub]

Unless your are doing a really long tour, surely hiring bike at destination is best way? relatively cheap for a couple of days /week, and saves the drama, expense and hassle of how do I get bike and luggage to and from airport (unless its a dedicated bike tour trip and then clearly all luggage fits on bike, hence initial caveat).

Indeed, where practical, hiring a bike seems like a good idea - I've done that indeed. However, renting has a few limitations:
- Beyond a few days, it starts getting more expensive than bringing your own, to a point of being prohibitively so.
- Rentals are usually heavier, sturdier bikes optimized for longevity rather than convenience/lightness
- One needs to start and finish the tour at the same location, or at locations close enough for the rental company to collect the bike from a remote point (for which they charge quite a sum, usually). And if you rent at the destination, you then need a convenient way of getting to the start with the bike - not always available (a case in point is an EV6 section I'm planning for some time in the future, from Vienna to Belgrade: it is much easier to fly home from Belgrade with my bike, than to rent in either of these places).

 

[Drago]

Flying into Delhi with the mountain bike on Monday, I have to admit I'm feeling quite anxious. The bike is boxed up, I'll take a roll of tape with me to Heathrow and just hope for the best.

I'd be nervous too. Many moons ago a friend of mine arrived at Delhi, and was astonished to find one of his suitcases had cricket stumps painted on the side and evidence of a ball impacting it in several places.

 

[Blue Hills]

On 'soft' bags I'll chuck Ground Effect bags into the mix. Worth reading the comments. With shipping from NZ, they're around the £100 mark.
Safety of the bike does depend on the packing (a controllable variable), but also on the attitude of the baggage handlers (very much out of one's control). Then there's the loading system - larger capacity planes are more likely to use container loading (I think) and may be slightly safer. Lower capacity aircraft are more likely to use bulk loading, arguably more risky for the bike.

I have one and can recommend the Tardis. Makes carrying the bike over your shoulder a doddle. The bike is a tight fit though - you need plenty of time to get the bike in. Also need to check if it will take certain bigger bikes. The bag is very compact for as you say you use various acquired stuff for padding. On a tour you could pretty easily carry it on your rack. Have also heard of folk burying it/hiding it for later retrieval.

 

[Eziemnaik]

If regularly doing touring abroad might be worthwhile to consider S&S couplers.
I have flown a couple of times with decoupled bike and the biggest pain (apart from initial investment) is storage of the dedicated suitcase - not a problem at all if you start and finish at the same place.

 

[dimrub]

Have also heard of folk burying it/hiding it for later retrieval.

Wow, like a pirate' treasure! What a treat to future archaeologists!

 

[T4tomo]

I'd be nervous too. Many moons ago a friend of mine arrived at Delhi, and was astonished to find one of his suitcases had cricket stumps painted on the side and evidence of a ball impacting it in several places.

must have been England's top order batting first then....