bike on a plane

Felix-da-house-mouse · May 2007

Hi,

In Spetember i am doing a charity cycle from London(Greenwich) to Gay Paris, now i live in the south west of scotland and plan to fly from Glasgow to London City airport as dont know London at all and would feel nervous with a œ2k big with me. What i need to know is:-

The best/Safest way of packeging the box up, i.e wheels off seat off etc?

What can i buy/use to transport it in?

whats the rules b.a have for it?

Gracias Amigos

ooooh ya cheeky munkee

thedoctor · May 2007

No offence, but who do you think might be the best people to ask what rules BA have?
So, first off, ask BA or look on the website, then go from there. If it's a œ2k bike I'd box it if possible - wheels off, pedals off, seatpost down, bars off and taped to top tube and everything pipelagged to within an inch of its life.
You've then got the fun and games of getting it boxed to come back though.
This link at a nearby site has a 'How-to' guide for bagging bikes.

OK - I'll just have one more baby elephant...

McBain_v1 · May 2007

Airplanes and bikes - they just don't mix.
Prepare for bent rear derailleur hangars as the baggage handlers have a competition to see who can lob your parcel the furthest [:(!]

What do I ride? Now that's an Enigma

ciuffolotto · May 2007

Hi Felix. First of all, well done for getting out and doing such a great charity ride, hope it goes well. On the transportation, I think the comments here are unnecessarily negative. I've taken bikes on 40-50 flights (lost count), last one at the weekend, and never had more than the slightest scuff. However, for the sake of Glasgow to London it's not worth the hassle and you'd be better off on the sleeper train. No reassembling when you get to London, no bike bag or box to stash, nice kip etc.

Jackus · May 2007

I've been thinking of getting a decent bag for my bike, I travel quite a lot and would have loved to have had my bike with me when I was in New Zealand for a month. How easy is it for a not very technical person like myself to take apart and reassemble the bike like I would need to to pack it all up? It's a Trek road bike.

Thanks.

-Jack

peejay78 · May 2007

"someone get these motherfu**ing bikes off this motherf**king plane"

winter: http://tinyurl.com/2xkbbs
summer: http://tinyurl.com/2hsagv

Naz · May 2007

For bagging a bike, the bare minimum is removing the wheels. You might have to put the saddle down too if you are tall. Otherwise just put some bubble wrap around the bike then stuff into bike bag. Very easy. I've flown with BA about a dozen times, no problems whatsoever, no XS charges, not even any attitude at check-in.

Naz

www.kingstonwheelers.co.uk

Jackus · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Naz

For bagging a bike, the bare minimum is removing the wheels. You might have to put the saddle down too if you are tall. Otherwise just put some bubble wrap around the bike then stuff into bike bag. Very easy. I've flown with BA about a dozen times, no problems whatsoever, no XS charges, not even any attitude at check-in.

Naz

www.kingstonwheelers.co.uk
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Thanks, thats very useful. Seems like definitely worth getting..

Blonde · May 2007

Took my bike to Geneva from Manchester via Gatwick at the weekend. Went with BA. There was no charge - it was checked in as normal luggage. They are really arsey about hand luggage though - so err on the side of caution. My smallest suitcase on wheels went through OK as hand baggage, but my partners slightly larger one did not and he had to check that in as hold luggage. The bike was in a Planet X bike bag and survived both flights (Mancs to London and London to Geneva) fine much to my amazement after hearing so many tales of woe. I took the wheels off and skewers out of the hubs. The wheels go inside the bike bag in sepeate wheel bags. I loosened the top bolt in the stem and turned the handlebars round so they were at right angles to their normal position. I also took the pedals off, but that turned out to be uneccessary and I wont bother in future as they stick out further than the frame and chain set, so will provide some protection to them should anything fall onto the bag. My 21 inch frame fitted in the bag with no problems, complete with seat post and saddle in place. I just wrapped the whole bike including mechs in bubble wrrap before placing it in the bike bag. I put the chain in the little ring so the front mech is less vulnerable - not sticking out so far. Put something (bubble wrap or pipe lagging foam) around the bottom teeth of the chain set as it can tear through the bag if you don't. One more thing - you don't need to deflate tyres, or only a very little if they are pumped up to the max pressure.

steve palmer · May 2007

I hired a hard case from my LBS which was well worth it. What are the dates of the cycle you are doing?

dave2k1 · May 2007

Hi,

I don't know whether this helps but some bike shops hire hard boxes to transport bikes.

eg http://www.primera-bournemouth.co.uk/Te ... rodID=1407

I know this is a long way from home but they might be able to recommend somewhere closer.

Dave

cougie · May 2007

If you are planning on flying some more - there is a good bike bag fromn Chainreaction cycles for œ70 or so ? Its worked for me for four flights so far.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=15325

Felix-da-house-mouse · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by steve palmer

I hired a hard case from my LBS which was well worth it. What are the dates of the cycle you are doing?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Hi the date we leave is the 12th sept, you joining us? lol [}:)]

ooooh ya cheeky munkee

steve palmer · June 2007

Yes. Did it last year and was good fun. If you haven't done it before give me a shout with any questions etc. I am getting a group of about 8 together for this one, many of whom are discovering cycling for the first time.

Keith Oates · June 2007

I used a hard case to bring my roadie to Vietnam from China. The flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong was no problem and no extra charge. The flight from Hong Kong to Hanoi was hassle from the off and a US$ 300 surcharge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ride Daily, Keep Healthy

xio · June 2007

Edinburgh do a hard case for œ95. Not much more than a soft bag. More protection/less convenience, take your pick.

Felix-da-house-mouse · June 2007

hi steve, send me your email address and i'll chat further

ooooh ya cheeky munkee

bike on a plane

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