Sorta OT: Moving long distance with bikes.

[AllanVarcoe]

Good day!

So, my wife got a resedency in Veterinary Rehab!!!! Yay! SUUUUUPER competitive field as there was only 1 spot opening in the country this summer!

Only "problem" is we have to leave the sun and fun of SoCal, (I've had a love/hate relationship with LA for a while now) for the Minneapolis area! I'm pretty pumped for all of this really!!! My wife is Venezuelan so she hates the cold but our son and I are from Upstate NY so that's no big deal. Plus he has been missing snow since we moved out to SoCal. (I have not)

Anyways, onto the topic. Moving with bikes. We are going to use ABF U-Pack and I was wondering if anyone does anything to their bikes to prepare for a big move? I was planning on making sure all tires are aired up, pipe insulation wrapped tubes and probably cardboard in between the bikes.

The stable isn't all that deep. CX bike, track bike, gravel bike and 2 BMX bikes are all that's going. I'm not worried about the BMX bikes as those things are bomb proof.

I also considered shipping 3 of the bikes with Bike Flights to the new address.

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[jds108]

I just bought a bunch of heavy duty moving blankets and completely wrapped the bicycles (strap the front wheel to the downtube first so that the whole bike is rigid)

I didn't start taking parts off first as I wouldn't have stopped until I was down to a bare frame.

If you get the blankets firmly secured (i.e. just wrap lots of tape around the blanket), things will be fine. If you don't do this, then the vibrations from the truck going down the highway will cause scratches and the like on the bike.

I didn't use any foam pipe insulation or anything other than the moving blankets with tape over them.

[hollowgram5]

Allan,

First, Congrats to the wife on the residency. I spent 6 years in the Minneapolis and Mankato area, and its one of my favorite places to live so far in my life.

I have had to move 5 times in the past 5 years for work, and have transported bikes in various different ways. The first few I carried them on my car, as they were within driving distance. For longer distance moves, I found the most effective way was to have the bikes boxed up at my LBS, taken them home, and had them loaded on the truck with the rest of my household goods. My company provided a stipend for miscellaneous things like this associated with the move, but I could have done the boxing myself. While there may be expense for disassembly and reassembly, the bikes are packaged just like they are going to be shipped via UPS or FedEx.

My last move like this was from San Diego to Peoria IL, and I had 6 of them boxed up, plus used bike boxes for spare wheels as well. I instructed the moving company not to put the larger boxes on the bottom under heavy items, and that they needed to stay in a vertical orientation and not be loaded on the long flat sides if the were oriented that way. They all arrived without damage, and I re-assembled them and was off and riding quickly.

I am sure you could be strategic about how/where they are placed in the UPack unit, but I personally wouldn't leave it to chance.

[rwsaunders]

I'd go the bike flights route myself.

[JAGI410]

I used the ABF u-pack when I moved to MN from AZ. Bikes were in bike boxes from the LBS, and wrapped in thrift store towels and blankets. Pretty simple way to do it, and they survived the trip just fine.

Minneapolis is a nice area, you'll love the riding opportunities!

[FlashUNC]

When we did the cross country move, I boxed the bikes like I was going to ship them, but put them in the Upack instead as we had plenty of room. Worked great. And didn't have to worry about them showing up before we got there.

[ultraman6970]

Are you moving yourself or using a moving company??

Always you can rent a small u-haul and put the bikes inside, that way you know are w/u all the time.

[Jaybee]

I put the bikes on the rack on the car that was on the trailer of the truck I had to drive there anyway. There was one overnight stop, and it was at a friend's house, so they went in his garage overnight and back on the car the next morning. Caveat: I don't baby my bikes the same way most here probably do, and I don't have anything so special that I would care about minor paint dings, road grime, bugs etc.

[ftf]

When we did the cross country move, I boxed the bikes like I was going to ship them, but put them in the Upack instead as we had plenty of room. Worked great. And didn't have to worry about them showing up before we got there.

This is what I've done as well upack is great.

[hokoman]

I am moving some of my stuff from CA to NY next month, and I'm planning on boxing up the bikes I am taking (as if I were shipping them) and then loading up my UPACK container. I think they will pack much nicer in boxes versus wrapped.

[zmudshark]

Boxing is safest. Carrying them yourself is safer yet.

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[unterhausen]

I didn't pack mine very well, and I regret putting them in the truck loose. Not that much damage, but I had some rubbing that killed a rack.

[zmudshark]

Eliminating any movement/friction is the goal. A cross country trip in a truck will shake the hell out of everything. If it rubs, it will leave a mark. You don't have to pack like it was going Fedex/UPs, because it won't be loaded/unloaded tossed around, but it will still be shaken for days straight. I'd box and wrap with some cheap Harbor Freight moving blankets.

[jumphigher]

My wife and I (and our 3 cats) are about to leave one coast for another. Currently I only have one bike - my road bike, so I found a used 'Team' (sold at Performance) bike container which I'll be packing my bike into. Seems like it should work pretty well keep the bike safe on the mover's truck.

[AllanVarcoe]

Thanks for the feedback.

I really like the idea of boxing them up!!! I'll be swinging by the LBS on Monday anyways to grab some tubes.

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[Tandem Rider]

We just move across the country using U-Pack as well. I got a bunch of bike boxes from the LBS, and packed the bikes in boxes without their front wheels, extra padding on the tubes, fork ends etc. I put front wheels in a separate box. No scratches or dings when we unpacked.

Pack the trailer tight, I can't emphasize that enough. Keep everything organized and stack vertically. I left just enough room on top to place the bike boxes like books, packed pictures and the TV up there as well, cleat to the roof. Use moving blankets to keep everything tight. They price the trailer to you in linear feet but you are actually buying cubic feet.

[brendonk]

Just helped pack my brothers belongings in a U-pack for a California to Maine move. Tied his mountain bike against the inside wall and padded it to his liking. It made it but got bumped around a bit during 3,000+ miles of truck travel.
I just bike flighted my bike out and back with zero issues. If it were my bike(s) I'd either bike flight it or box it and load it. I wouldn't ship it fully assembled and covered with blankets. Just my .02.

[AllanVarcoe]

Update:
Thanks for the advice everyone! We've been in MN for 3 weeks now and are really liking it! (It hasn't gotten cold yet though. Haha!)

Anyway, the bikes were all boxed up and made it on the UPack just fine! I am really thankful for the boxing suggestions as we had a lot of the rubbing and chafing of our other stuff. We had a bookshelf (cheapo from Target) completely collapse on us. Lol!

There is a bunch of bike trails here that are great for family rides! As you can see my son loves hills! Lolol!


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[weisan]

Allan pal, happy relocation, hope you and your family enjoy your new home and everything goes well your wife's residency.

[AllanVarcoe]

Allan pal, happy relocation, hope you and your family enjoy your new home and everything goes well your wife's residency.Thanks!

I'll be building frames in the garage here too! Hoping that the garage doesn't get too cold but it's not insulated soooooo.....
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