BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Also: will be doing long rides on sundays in apr, may, june if anyone wants to hook up

How long, how early, and are Saturdays an occasional option?

I do not have a travel case, sorry.

I've never actually ridden with anyone, I would love to go on long rides with others. I'm doing another one day ride (without 30lbs on the back this time) to Cleveland this summer, along with the MS150.

At some point, start a thread about riding to Cleveland, I'd like to hear about that.

@reddan apr. 50-60 mi, may 60-80, jun 90+ (2 of those hopefully). saturdays are bad because wife works & I'm usually hanging out with my toddler though I'm hoping to enlist my mom for occasional babysitting. sunday times... somewhere between 8a & noon, depending on family scheduling needs.

quizbot, sounds good, let us know when please.

edmonds, I'll post it up. I made such a big deal about it last time. Overloaded my bicycle (hammock, food, clothes, raincoat, - thought I was going to sleep in a bush) but didn't need any of it... just the camelback, food inside it and the usual saddlebag stuff.

just curious, have you asked the airlines or shippers how much it will cost to get it there and back?

Curious to know how much it is.

Also, nashbar used to have a hardshell case for about 150. I dont see it on their site now, but hey do have one for about 250. not sure what you budget is.

Not exactly what you are looking for, but did a search of craigslist. A soft sided case is available from CL in Atlanta for cheap. I think it was posted this past weekend, so probably still available.

Blue heavy-duty soft padded bicycle case/travel bag on steel base w/4 wheels. Measures roughly 4' wide, 3' tall, 12" across? Four sets of handles, carrying strap, heavy-duty zipper, inside pockets/straps. Could not find brand name on bag. Appears that bike(s) might mount on steel frame inside. Large pockets for wheels. (Case left behind by roommate, and I am not a bike person to describe this very well.) Saw similar cases for $300-400 on internet. Easy to walk along rolling the case. Very well made with piped seams, very durable material. Steel frame has a "ding" in it on one edge and inside has scuff marks from tire storage, but it is a very substantial, sturdy bag. A BIG bag, that can prob. hold 2 bikes... call Joyce (cell seven seven zero-three zero nine-3810 - am on the phone more than the computer...) Thanks for looking!

@netviln US Airways currently charges $100 per direction for a bicycle.

4 years ago I spent a summer in California and bike commuted. One direction I brought the bike on the plane ($80 at the time) and shipped from California via UPS on the way back. It was around $100 to ship via UPS at the time, with insurance. I don't know what it would cost now. It probably would cost considerably more for quizbot to send the bike to France via a shipping service and perhaps a bit of a headache - customs could present a barrier too.

@quizbot, From what I recall, the airlines don't provide great insurance on the bicycle (my memory could be wrong). It was either non-existent or capped at a ridiculously low value. If you're paying $200 to travel with your bike, it probably isn't a cheap bike. However, your renter's or home owner's insurance should cover it, and also cover it while in France. I'd check with your insurer about that before traveling - you may also wish to lower your deductible if it is high.

FWIW, friends bike-toured in France last year-ish, and used soft cases for their bikes and trailers, and didn't have any problems.

They also flew out of Canada, as the luggage fees were considerably less expensive. I suspect this isn't terribly helpful, as you already have travel plans made.

I'm flying on Continental to London & there's a $100 charge each way. Delta was $200 each way... varies from airline to airline.

thanks for the tips everyone... will definitely check homeowners policy.

There are a lot of folks out there that have gotten through without airline fees by packing their bikes in giant hockey bags. Maybe not the most protective method, but it does work for people some of the time.

The only time I've flown with a bike was Pgh -> London and I took an S+S coupled frame in the just barely legal box. A teller at some point tried to nail me on the baggage fee and I explained that it was an airline legal box (26x26x12) and that what was inside was not a complete bicycle but a collection of parts, with a wink. They picked up what I was putting down and I didn't have to pay their surcharge.

@Brad; if you would have kept ONE essential item out of the box, it wouldn't really have been a bicycle, right? Just a collection of bike parts that ALMOST make a bicycle. So what item would that be? Pedals would be my first choice, but I am not certain you could carry those in your carry on bag, so we might have to think of an alternate part that you could get through security, and would be disassembling anyway when packing the bike.

take the brake pads in your carry on..

A bike without brakes? Wouldn't that just make it a hipster bike?

But seriously, I doubt most airline staff knows enough about bikes to know you are missing a tiny, key component.

My sister-in-law regularly travels with (at least) 2 suitcases, one easily large enough to carry a wheel-less frame, and another large enough to carry a pair of wheels.

Plus a carry-on that pushes the size limit.

And a Giant Eagle bag or 2.

Nashbar just put two of these on sale for around $250 and there is a returned one for $170.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes//CatalogSearchResultView?storeId=10053&catalogId=10052&langId=-1&pageSize=30&beginIndex=0&searchType=resultSet&sortBy=savings%2F%2F0&cn1=&searchTerm=case

I just got a Nashbar catalog that has some coupons. $20 off, or something. I could offer that up.

The last community I lived in, members of the local bike group could rent hard case shells. It was a nice perk-- I think the bike group owned 2-4 hard case shells and rented them for $10/trip or maybe $10/week (I can find out if anyone is interested). Any chance Bike Pittsburgh might consider doing that?