The Biergarten

Horror Stories vs Reality

Most of you have heard a horror story about bikes being destroyed in transit. And we’ve heard them all, for the airlines, UPS, FedEx, trucking companies, etc. The problem is you only hear about the one that got destroyed, not the thousands that went through unscathed. In 25 years of organizing travel worldwide, we are happy to say that no bikes have been destroyed while flying to one of the trips we have been leading (for ourselves and other companies). Sure we have had some broken brake levers, bent rims, etc, but nothing that couldn’t be easily fixed by our crew or a local bike shop.

Hard Cases vs Cardboard Boxes

Cardboard vs hard case is always a hotly debated issue, with no clear winner. Since your bike got shipped from the factory to your local dealer … maybe half way around the world in a cardboard box, they do provide protection. Plus they are usually available for free or at low cost. You don’t need to haul them around with you, as you can get another from a bike shop or the airline. On the downside, they don’t like sitting in the rain waiting to be loaded on your plane and they are subject to tearing open.

Hard sided cases are the sturdiest protection. They are pretty much impervious to punctures, tearing and weather problems. You have to be sure to pack your bike properly though, as mis-packing can result in items being crushed or bent. On the downside, hard cases are very heavy, expensive and take up lots of the limited space in a sagwagon or luggage trailer.

Padded soft sided cases (like Bike Pro) occupy a different niche. They provide much of the protection of the hard sided cases along with the roomy interior space of a cardboard box allowing you to pack bulky clothes and equipment as well for thfe flights. They are unfortunately also heavy and bulky.

Packing Your Bike the Airline Boxes

To prepare your bike for the flight, first shift your front and rear derailleurs to their inner most position (smallest gear in front, largest cog in back). This brings the derailleurs inside the protection of the frame. Next loosen both your stem and handlebars, so that you can turn them to the right and then rotate the handlebars down, so that they end up curling inside your frame. Then retighten the bolts. This will protect your brake levers during shipping. Finally, loosen and remove your pedals. We suggest putting them in a plastic bag and packing them in your luggage. In this form your bike will fit inside the boxes provided by the airlines or will fly as is (we fly our bikes without boxes this way all the time).

If you use a box from your local bike shop, try to get a big box (as big of one as they have). Disassemble the bike as little as possible, hopefully you can get away with only removing the front wheel and seat/seatpost. Be sure to put any small parts in a plastic bag and attached to the bike.

Dont Forget

Remove the quick release skewers from any wheels that are not still attached to the frame and either tape them to a spoke or put them in a plastic bag and pack it in your suitcase.

Don’t put anything loose in any bike box or case. All small parts, skewers, pedals, etc should be put in a ziplock bag and either attached to the frame or packed in your luggage. This is especially true with the heightened security these days.

Make sure you bring ALL the parts !

If your bike case needs to be packed in a very specific manner (like a Bike Friday or hard sided case), then it helps to make some notes and attach them to various parts, informing the security inspectors about how to re-pack the bike. Be polite and clear with your instructions.