Shipping my bike across country--Advice Please!

[Rapid Tourist]

Need some advice or perspective here--

I'm taking a bike trip out west this summer. I live on the east coast.

I want to ship my bike out via bike flights and have my LBS pack the bike. For a bunch of reasons I'm not interested in buying a hardshell case (mostly I have no place to store such) so I"ll probably have the shop pack in a used cardboard bike box. I don't have a "travel" bike per se. I would ship a full size bike.

I have a very nice ti Serotta, my main ride, which I would prefer to ship. I could also ship a steel touring bike, not as nice a bike, heavier, will not be as fun to ride on the tour.

How worried would you be about shipping your nice bike and having the LBS pack in a used bike box? Is this a real worry, or is it pretty unlikely to be damaged? I'm struggling with whether to send my nice bike, which I will enjoy much more, or send my "backup" bike instead, on the theory that if its damaged or lost I wouldn't care.

Any perspective here would help! Not sure if I'm worrying about shipping my bike too much, or not enough!!

[simplemind]

Check with Bikeflights (https://www.bikeflights.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlv_XBRDrARIsAH-iRJRm3ypiG47QD20Hur19HG_NXEvbUwjt6HrYz1K3oAd9KZOVb Gwt4fkaAjHcEALw_wcB). They have their own boxes, which you can buy, and they are nice. Shipping one way is somewhere around $75, but they may have a "deal" for return shipping.

[duff_duffy]

Man up and ride that Serotta cross country.....or use Bikeflights. If packed well it should be fine.

[fkelly]

I shipped a bike back East (Albany, NY) from La Jolla, CA. in March. First experience with BikeFlights. Had a local shop pack it and arrange with BikeFlights. It was about $45 to pack the bike. The shops should have plenty of boxes. They did it right in bubble wrap and disassembling what needed it, but I (a poor mechanic) was able to reassemble on my end. Total cost was about $140. A more expensive bike shop in La Jolla wanted $85 to pack it.

If your LBS has a good condition box that they've recently received a new bike in, I don't see where purchasing your own box adds anything.

[avalonracing]

Two weeks ago I borrowed a very nice Evoc travel case, packed it carefully and took it on Southwest for a cross-country flight. It was $75 each way. I watched everyone gently handle and saw it go into the jet a couple of the airports. It arrived in CA and worked great but when I came home and went to pick it up from the Oversized luggage claim at BWI I could hear case after case being slammed around behind pick up area. It would have been comical if I didn't have a bike back there. Anyway, they "modified" the rear derailleur and the hanger. It was nothing I couldn't fix but it left me with three takeaways: 1) I'm glad I didn't bring my favorite bike which doesn't have a replaceable derailleur hanger. 2) Next time I'm going to take off the RD and swing it around, out of the way. 3) I might try BikeFlights next time.

[R3awak3n]

I have shipped my bike from NY to Portland and back via bikeflights. Cardboard box is great. Just make sure you trust the bike shop and all will go well. You don't need a hard box, most bikes are transported in cardboard boxes.

Make sure you insurance it, thats the most important thing but I would send the bike I like to ride, ride it, enjoy it and if it does get lost or broken thats what insurance is for (it will probably be fine though)


You could also pack it yourself. Sure its a lot more work but you then know for sure its packed well... just buy pipe insulation tubes and packed it very well. I have done it multiple times and bikes have always arrived pristine.

[cribbit]

Any chance you're heading into the LA area with this?

Your two options are bikeflights or checked baggage. If you fly on Alaska you can check the bike for just $25, they waive oversize fee for bikes. Worked great for me in the past. Still get it packed however you would pack it to ship via bikeflights.

[Hilltopperny]

I’ve shipped close to 100 bikes through bikeflights in old bike boxes from my lbs. I have only had 1 frameset get damaged and it was just a bent seat lug, so no structural damage.

You will more than likely have no problem whatsoever, but pay the extra few bucks to insure whichever bike you choose to bring along.


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[C40_guy]

When traveling with a bike, keep in mind that if your bike is lost or damaged on a flight, you will get virtually nothing from the airline. Also, the TSA reserves the right to open any box, unpack everything, examine it, and then repack. They may not repack it the way it was originally packed.

When you ship a bike via Fedex or bikeflights, you can insure the bike for its full value. I used an Iron Case to ship a bike a couple of dozen times...mostly back when shipping was cheaper and the Iron Case didn't get flagged for being oversize.

Never had an issue...except once when the fedex tag came off in transit. Fortunately, I had written my contact information on the box itself. Fedex called me, asked for the original tracking number, and stuck a new label on the box. After that, I stuck a label on the box and a separate one in one of their heavy plastic label holders that attach via loop.

Oh, and last time I shipped a bike, I thought I could do it cheaper myself. I picked up a box from a LBS and sent it via fedex. Turns out that many bike boxes are considered oversize and Fedex charged me $180 for a one way from FL to CA. While I was able to talk them down, next time I'll have the LBS pack and ship via bikeflights.

[zap]

Rapid, as an alternative, Potomac Pedalers (if you are a member) has an Iron Case you can rent.

[Mzilliox]

why pay the bike shop for something so remedial as packing a box? you just wrap the bike frame up in bubble tape or foam, be sure to pay special attention to pressure points and sharp things, fill the box with as much light stuff as you can to keep things from banging around, and ship it via bike flights. its really very easy and there is little risk associated.

how do you think we all satisfy our bike lust here? these bikes dont all magically show up and we aren't all driving cross country, we are putting them in boxes and using bike flights!

:hello::banana::bike:

[Avispa]

I want to ship my bike out via bike flights and have my LBS pack the bike. For a bunch of reasons I'm not interested in buying a hardshell case...

Don't need to buy a case. Most bike shops will rent you a hard case for not too much and it's the best protection you can get. One of our shops rents a Serfas case for $50 for 3 weeks.

I have shipped my bikes on a case to a FedEx/UPS Store near where I will be staying and I pick it up from there. Obviously, shipping a bike means down riding time if you only have one bike.

On the return, I do the same. If there are flight delays or whatever, you bike will be safe at a FedEx place.

[Ken Robb]

I shipped a bike back East (Albany, NY) from La Jolla, CA. in March. First experience with BikeFlights. Had a local shop pack it and arrange with BikeFlights. It was about $45 to pack the bike. The shops should have plenty of boxes. They did it right in bubble wrap and disassembling what needed it, but I (a poor mechanic) was able to reassemble on my end. Total cost was about $140. A more expensive bike shop in La Jolla wanted $85 to pack it.

If your LBS has a good condition box that they've recently received a new bike in, I don't see where purchasing your own box adds anything.

What shop did the packing? People frequently ask me about packing/shipping from La Jolla/San Diego so I'd like to know where to send them.

[C40_guy]

why pay the bike shop for something so remedial as packing a box? you just wrap the bike frame up in bubble tape or foam

When I did that, the big orange bill for tape, bubble wrap, etc, came to almost $30.

Oh, and when I asked for pipe insulation, I got a funny look. They didn't stock it at this location (south Florida)! So I bought more bubble wrap...

[zmudshark]

Oh, and when I asked for pipe insulation, I got a funny look. They didn't stock it at this location (south Florida)! So I bought more bubble wrap...OT, but I once received a frame wrapped in multiple layers of USPS free padded envelopes. I cursed the seller (not on this forum) for not only stealing from me, a taxpayer, but making the frame very hard to unwrap. Yes, he used the self seal feature. There must have been at least 50 envelopes used. Try removing them without damaging the paint when wrapped tightly around a frame.

[rccardr]

Use Bike Flights and learn how to pack it yourself.

Even better, I live in Burke and have a Bike Flights box, tube insulation, zip ties, etc. I could come over and show you how to do it.

PMme if interested.

[Rapid Tourist]

Thanks very much everyone. This is all very helpful! Looks like I'm shipping the Serotta....:banana:

[foo_fighter]

How about an AirCaddy bike box?

[Spaghetti Legs]

Thanks very much everyone. This is all very helpful! Looks like I'm shipping the Serotta....:banana:

Get rccardr to help you out - you won’t regret it. If you do it yourself, you’ll take more time and pay more attention than even an expert bike shop packer (and really you’re rolling the dice and might get the temp, pot smoking summer help)

It cost me about $120 round trip this spring to ship my Tommasini, Virginia to Eroica California, via Bikeflights.

[11.4]

I'd encourage you to use a cardboard box and use Bikeflights. And take your Serotta.

I ship bikes all over the country. A typical trackie takes at least one track frame plus at least one road bike plus at least a couple pairs of racing wheels. That's a lot of boxes. Last major trip I took two track frames, three pairs of track wheels, one pair of road wheels, a road bike, and a box with track pump, extra helmets, tire gluing equipment, both road and track shoes, and on and on. There are a few tricks that can make your trip happier.

First, start searching right away for a good box. A shop will use whatever box is handy, but you want a slightly larger than normal one and one in good condition that hasn't been cut open. Comotion make the best boxes out there, followed by Santa Cruz and perhaps BMC. Trek boxes are ubiquitous but the ones for cheaper bikes are crap while those for the high end Trek bikes are at least better. If you find a really good box -- thicker than the usual, extra quality cardboard, and so on -- you can use it a number of times. I take some large USPS priority boxes and use double-stick tape or 3M Spraymount glue to stick them to all the spots in the box where something might poke through. It stiffens the box, prolongs its life, and protects your bike better. I tape the edges down so nothing catches on the box edge when I'm rushing to get the bikes in the box quickly.

Second, pack some spare parts in case anything gets twisted or kinked. I precut accurate lengths of cable housings and cable, an extra set of cleats, a spare chain cut to length, some and chain quick links, for example, and pack them in a big ziplock bag. I carry a small pair of pliers in the box, allen keys, a chain tool, and so on, so I can do almost any repair I need to.

Third, for packing, you obviously take the wheels off along with the seat post, but I also recommend removing the crankset, rear derailleur, and chain. The crankset (assuming you have a modern external bottom bracket style crankset) is a snap to remove and it lets the frame rest on the bottom bracket shell rather than on chainring teeth. Removing the rear derailleur (don't remove the cable, just unbolt the derailleur from the frame and tape it between the chain stays) protects it from damage. And everything is easier without a chain swinging around and potentially getting damaged. Remove the bars from the stem rather than removing the stem itself; that way the fork stays together nicely.

Fourth, wrap the frame in pipe insulation from Home Depot for the quickest, easiest packing and unpacking. For the wheels, get some of the small flat-rate Priority boxes, assemble them, tape them together securely, then punch a hole in one side that you can shove onto the ends of the axles (remove the quick releases and pack them in a ziplock bag taped to the inside of the box). This does a great job of protecting both frame and wheels. Wrap up and pack a foot pump in the bottom of the box or on one end -- having a true foot pump makes getting ready for a ride each day so much more genteel. If I can avoid breaking down the box wherever I am, I'll cut a piece of rigid foam insulation to fit the bottom of the box and lay it in the bottom. With that you can pretty much just lay the frame in and not worry about wrapping the bejesus out of the bottom bracket and the like. For my favorite frame I have a box that I actually created a shaped bottom for with multiple layers, so it holds the stay ends, the fork tips, and the bottom bracket all at the right level.

Fifth, the best protection you can have for frame and wheels is a big, super-heavy, polyethylene bag. Everything slides over it and it takes an actual dent-worthy hit to get through it (and at that point nothing will really protect you). Bike shops often get them with their better frames, and many frames come with nothing more than the plastic bags and they do great.

Sixth, just consider packing your wheels in a separate box. It gives your frame elbowroom and makes it easier to fit in the bars. And it eliminates the biggest source of scraped paint. That second box with the wheels does not cost a lot. Get a proper wheel box and you'll be so happy. You can also use a small bike box for a kids' frame, for an MTB bike, or the like.

[simplemind]

As a followup, I have followed this method (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6NMPUWlsvE&t=7s) and so far have not had any issues with the results. This is in spite of several damaged boxes, so I think it's a pretty sound methodology.