woolly
02-09-2008, 10:28 AM
A little over a month ago I started a thread asking for advice on a city bike for my buddy that was moving to London. The many responses I received were very helpful - this forum is so great! Well, his departure got delayed a bit, and I convinced him to shop around locally for a bike to take with him. He wound up with a Bianchi Citta in the largest size they make. It comes with fenders & a rear rack, and we added a rack bag, folding grocery panniers, a mini front rack & bag, and a few more accessories. A more versatile, geared version of his single-speed Rollo pub-crawl bike is what he was after, and that's exactly what he got - he loves it.
Although his departure had been delayed, the moving company had already picked up his belongings and they were already over there waiting for him. Since he did not yet have an apartment, and would be living out of hotels until he found one, he really didn't want to take the bike with him on the plane. I agreed to ship the bike to him once he got settled. We tore it down & carefully packed it in one of those sturdy Trek Madone boxes from the LBS, put it out in the garage, and off he went.
So, now that he's settled in, the time has come to ship the bike to him. And that's where my next request for advice comes in. How to ship it? UPS, FedEx, some other carrier that I'm not as familiar with? Anything special about insuring it? What about customs fees, VAT, or other potential expenses, how are they handled? I've shipped tons of bike stuff domestically, but never internationally. Any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
(p.s. He also sent me a copy of the London bike route map - I want to ride every mile of it when we go visit later this spring!)
Although his departure had been delayed, the moving company had already picked up his belongings and they were already over there waiting for him. Since he did not yet have an apartment, and would be living out of hotels until he found one, he really didn't want to take the bike with him on the plane. I agreed to ship the bike to him once he got settled. We tore it down & carefully packed it in one of those sturdy Trek Madone boxes from the LBS, put it out in the garage, and off he went.
So, now that he's settled in, the time has come to ship the bike to him. And that's where my next request for advice comes in. How to ship it? UPS, FedEx, some other carrier that I'm not as familiar with? Anything special about insuring it? What about customs fees, VAT, or other potential expenses, how are they handled? I've shipped tons of bike stuff domestically, but never internationally. Any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
(p.s. He also sent me a copy of the London bike route map - I want to ride every mile of it when we go visit later this spring!)