Bike shoes as hand luggage

beinbhan
beinbhan Posts: 52
edited April 2012 in Tour & expedition
Will I get stopped at airport security if I try to take my shoes with speedplay pedal cleats as hand luggage :?:

Comments

  • andymiller
    andymiller Posts: 2,856
    Why would they stop you? It's difficult to imagine that anyone would see them as an offensive weapon.
    Italy Cycling Guide
  • crankycrank
    crankycrank Posts: 1,830
    I'd be a little worried myself about getting those through. If you get a clueless security guard they may give you a hard time claiming the cleats look like some kind of sinister device. I would guess that most would let you through. Best to call the security folks ahead of time just to be sure. You don't look like Richard Reid do you?
  • andymiller
    andymiller Posts: 2,856
    I've never had a problem travelling with cycling shoes (although I did once have a problem going through a metal detector as I had forgotten I was wearing them and couldn't work out why the detector was going off). Nor have I ever heard of anyone having a problem. These guys will regularly see cyclists going through. If there is any doubt then they will run a trace test to detect for explosives.
    Italy Cycling Guide
  • Solis
    Solis Posts: 166
    Always take my Speedplay cleated shoes as hand luggage and never had the slightest problem.
  • Tim Farr
    Tim Farr Posts: 665
    Get SPD kit and wear the shoes.
    T Farr
  • mercia_man
    mercia_man Posts: 1,431
    I suffered problems at Nice Airport a few years ago. I was wearing SPD shoes which set off the metal detector and they wouldn't let me take them on the plane. My arguments cut no ice.

    My flight was due to leave so I had to run barefoot back to check-in desk, leapfrogging the queue, and hand over my expensive Sidi shoes in a carrier bag. Dashed back in bare feet to catch the plane and was relieved and surprised to see the carrier bag with shoes intact arrive on the conveyor belt back in the UK!
  • grizedaleforest
    grizedaleforest Posts: 46
    Have taken cleats and shoes through Manchester just recently without any problem. Came back through Munich airport, nor problem there either. Once upon a time I flew to Kenya with a load of climbing gear - crampons, ice screws and the like all in my hand luggage. Those were the days!
  • satanas
    satanas Posts: 1,303
    Thre's absolutely zero point in asking beforehand as what happens will depend on the people there on the day, their moods, etc.

    Having said that, I know of several people (myself included) who've worn climbing or ski boots onto planes to save on weight and bulk in checked baggage. The security guys may look at you a bit funny, and will almost certainly X-ray your footwear but otherwise no problem. (They may also be friendly and interested in where you've been or are going.)

    ^ Back before 9/11, hand luggage didn't get weighed or checked very thoroughly so I tended to fill it up with metal bits like tools, pedals, tent pegs, etc. The only thing they used to care about were knives, even tiny ones. After PBP in 1991 I returned to Oz via Interbike and had about 1 cubic foot of catalogs in my hand luggage - nobody looked at it or (fortunately) weighed it...
  • el_rey
    el_rey Posts: 83
    I have never had a problem. I ride Look. Still, I ask each time before I get in line for reasons noted above. I have had to explain the shoes and pedals once but have never been stopped.

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