Traveling with your bike...
6 years ago I started doing triathlons, I never imagined I would take to the road and do races all over. However, once I began to be really invested in triathlons and knew I loved doing them, I began to get interested in travel and destination races. In fact, I don't think I've had a vacation in the last 4 years without some sort of race included. Not all of them have required a bike; running races are far easier to prepare for, but I've taken my bike to several states using various methods. I've seen a lot of discussion about bike shipping and I believe that many of us pay far too much for this service. If you don't want to learn bike maintenance and how to disassemble and reassemble your own bike, you will have to pay a bit more. If you are willing to learn a bit about how to do this, you can save a lot of time and money on this and perhaps become more mobile and experience races in a larger geographic area.
I'm going to try to present a lot of choices from least expensive (and more personal labor involved) to most expensive. At the end will be a table with a summary of these methods and you can skip to this table to get the thumbnail version. I hope you'll read the whole thing though, because some helpful advice is included.
Some general advice:
A. TAKE OUT ALL CO2 CARTRIDGES AND LEAVE THEM AT HOME. (buy more when you get to your race location.)
B. IF YOU DISASSEMBLE YOUR BIKE AND REASSEMBLE IT YOURSELF , HAVE IT CHECKED BY A BIKE SHOP UNLESS YOU ARE COMPLETELY CONFIDENT OF YOUR ABILITY TO TIGHTEN SCREWS AND GET THINGS RE-SET PROPERLY
C. BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU PUT YOUR PEDALS ON, YOU CAN STRIP THESE THREADS VERY EASILY. IF IT WON'T GO ON EASILY, STOP!
D. PUT COLORED TAPE ON THE POSTS TO MARK WHERE YOUR SEAT AND HANDLE BARS ARE SET SO YOU WON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR A NEW BIKE FITTING!
1. E Bike Shipper https://www.shipbikes.com/ebike.html (reusable)
This is a cardboard box that is sized for airline cargo. It will cost you about $40 for the box and if you want the wheels, which I strongly recommend, this will be and additional $49. The box allows you to pack your bike by removing the seat and handlebars and pedals and wheels. The instructions are very clear and the box is roomy enough for helmets and other stuff as long as you secure them. The airline costs begin at $75 for oneway due to oversize baggage. When the bike arrives, you'll have to go to the oversize baggage carrousel to pick up your bike. The box fits into the back of SUV and hatchback cars without a problem. This box is reusable. The packing can be newspaper so you need to collect newspapers to stuff the box once everything is in there. There are plenty of holes for securing everything and they give you extra straps for this. They also offer a pedal wrench which you will need to remove your pedals. Other tools you may need: allen wrenches are required. If you have an "any tool" in your bike pouch, this works well. Pliers would be useful but are not required. Closing the box is easy with the system they provide. The only caveat is that the box is heavy and awkward to move. If you have other bags it can be tough to move everything around, but it's doable. The box can collapse down for storage. They have a good video demonstrating how to pack your bike here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzS8mo79EjM
2. Ship Bikes.com http://www.shipbikes.com/
I have not used this system but for completeness I'm including it. This company is the same company that owns E Bike shipper so they will actually ship for you if you prefer to have concierge services. You must buy a box. You can buy the E Bike shipper or the Air Caddy from them and use their shipping, but again that box is reusable. ( It will collapse down flat for storage). They offer international and Canada shipping so just about anywhere you want to go, you can use this service. You still have to pack your own bike but they will handle the shipping for you. You then have to unpack and reassemble the bike as well.
As far as costs go this is fairly affordable. The only variable is the location which can add significant costs to the shipping.
3. Using airline or railway supplied boxes. US TRAIN: http://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard Airline http://www.bicycling.com/culture/travel/find-best-airline-bikes
Europe: just take your bike on the train with you in the passenger compartment.
If you want to use the transportation supplied bike box, you'll have to make a trip to their location to pick it up. Most of these boxes are flat and tall. This means you must remove the handle bars and pedals,but the seat can often remain in place. The box is a bit awkward to put into a car and you may need a special cab with large back end like an SUV to move it. The boxes tend to be cheap, like $15 to $25, but they don't have wheels and getting the bike from the station to anywhere else can be a chore. The cost to ship the bike varies depending on the airline. Overweight charges in the US are often negligible, but in Europe they can be 200 euros. Be careful about putting anything else in the box because the airlines do not allow for helmets and other items.
If you want to go to a more permanent hard-sided bike carry case, you'll also pay a bit more. Anywhere from $300 to $600 for the case alone. Some cases are large and awkward to move. These tend to be the cheaper versions. They are also heavy. You can choose your shipper using the hard cases. You can put a lot of stuff in around your bike as well, as long as you secure it. You don't want your helmet damaging spokes on route. You will need your own tools because you will need to at least turn the handle bars and remove the pedals. Depending on the carrry case, you may have to completely remove the seat, wheels and the handlebars as well. You have a choice of shipping with these cases. The smaller ones, require more disassembly, and some can go as checked baggage. I'd strongly recommend you find one with roller wheels if you go with hard sided cases.
Soft sided cases can run from $40 to $500. Soft sided are easier to lift and move around and are often made to be put into checked baggage not cargo. They require that you insert some protective packing material but can be checked as baggage without oversize charges. These cases often require a bit more disassembly and you'll have to commit to some tools and some lessons in bike assembly to make sure you don't damage your bike. In addition to removing the pedals, seat, wheels and handlebars, you may have to remove the chain rings, derailleurs and chain. This can be a dirty job and requires that you carefully stow these items to prevent damage. There will not be room for extra items in these bags. They will however ship more easily and you can carry them as well as you carry your bike as the bag is light.
5. Shipping companies http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/how-to-department/routes-maps-logistics/guide-to-shipping-bike-cases/
https://www.bikeflights.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwuqauBRDhnfvnxMvKy6UBEiQAmTLQuyjNrOr6HJz1Ka-u4tbulsSRFb9W_L7tQcqM9YiBjawaAnad8P8HAQ
http://www.luggageforward.com/bike-shipping-service/
I shipped my bike using Fed Ex one time. I had my bike packed in a hard sided box by my bike shop and scheduled the pick up after I had left for a trip to LA. I was going to meet my bike in Hawaii for the Honu race. It was a night mare. The bike shop claimed Fed Ex never picked it up. Fed Ex sent me to 5 different numbers to check on pick up. The whole thing cost $700 for the shipping alone. The bike did eventually arrive in Hawaii in time for my race but the stress of worrying about the delivery nearly ruined my vacation. I'd strongly suggest a shipping company that is designed for bike shipping if you opt for this method. You can have a shop or the bike shipper pack for you. This does reduce the headaches of worrying over delivery. However, you will pay a bit extra. These shippers often offer reassembly at the site so you won't have to worry about bike maintenance once your bike arrives. Shipping prices vary depending on starting and ending location, speed of delivery required, and dimensions and weight of the package. It can be from $15 to $1000. The links above provide some systems where you can get estimates on the shipping costs.
Summary
Bike box
|
Rail
|
Air
|
Shipper
|
Soft Side cardboard
|
$15-30
|
$25-150
|
$n/a
|
Soft side fabric
|
$50-150
|
$50-400
|
$100-500
|
Hard side
|
$200-600
|
$300-800
|
$200-1000
|
Shipper
|
I hope this helps you decide how to get your bike to the race of your dreams!
