I plan on flying to Salt Lake City next month for wedding, and I really hope to take my bike. I am trying to avoid the $100-$175 fee each way. I am thinking taking it apart about finding a big suitcase, or boxing it.
Anyone fly with a bike? Any airlines better than others?
Your bet bet is to ship it. Even if you take it fully apart the frame is physically too large to fit in an airline legal 26x26x12 maximum size case.
Shipping it also ensures that it is insured, and should only run about $60 each way.
If you plan to fly often you can go for a bike with couplers in it like S+S or Ritchey Breakaway, but they get pricey.
man o man. First timer?
Flying with a bike = making greyhound look good.
Here are a few options to keep it cheap.
- Most airlines give you 62 linear inches. 2x this. Which
means no other carry ons or you are going pay extra.
You CAN get a road bike into 2 boxes that are 62
inches each. If it is a nice bike, I would never do this as everything rubs and pushes and it is a ton of dis assembly.
http://picasaweb.google.com/xsteevox/BikePackJob#5316753324732223810
(one box is wheels, other is frame and stuff... corner to corner is headtube to dropouts.. did not get charged)
-USACYCLING membership. you get bike vouchers again in 2009. they canceled the program in 2007 and 2008, but this year, again with membership (allegedly, i havent gotten mine yet) you get a few "vouchers" good for free bike shipping. membership = 60 bucks and you used to get 2 (300 dollar value at this point on some airlines).. but you are restricted in choosing tickets then to the airline the vouchers give.
-fed ex ground. Ship that thing ahead. 35 - 45 each way. still expensive.
-ritchey break away = 1200 bucks... looking reasonable for that frame right now eh?
Last week I rode a moots with SandS couplers on it. it was an amazing bike and the couplers made it worth 2 million dollars.
oh and if I just had to bite the bullet and do it, I would go southwest.
http://stevetilford.com/2009/02/08/is-it-possible-to-fly-with-a-bike-anymore/
that is steve tilford. he was pro before i was born and is still faster than me. he says southwest is 50 bucks each way. he talks about the frustration and other airlines.
I have an S+S coupled bike and it makes travel fairly easy for sure. It requires more disassembley than most would like you to believe, but I'm able to put my bike together in about 30minutes or so all-told out of the case. Assembled you cannot tell there are couplers at all, amazing system.
Flew to London in January with it and had no fee's either way, though international travel tends to be more lenient on bags than domestic.
this is what i pictured this thread to be about
That looks like a great way to ensure a visit to the dentist.
Why not save yourself the aggravation and just rent a bike while you are there? Spin Cycle has road bikes for $150/week. Mountain bikes, from low end to high end, are available from numerous snow/bike shops in the area. Spin Cycle also rents Saris bike carriers for a rental car, if needed.
Well, I have a feeling I am going to ship it. My firm has a FedEx commercial account, and we get a decent discount. Plus I have been going over all the fine print and it seems a lot of airlines will not cover damage to bicycles and other oversized items.
Also, my KiloTT will fit in a box fine, but the wheels will have to go in a separate box. If I fedex it though, Ill just do one box.
i heard shipping through amtrak is cheap. don't know how long it takes.
It is going to be a little over $20 each way to ship it insured through FedEx, so that is the way I'm going. Airlines seem to be very anti-bike.
hey stevo, where did you see/hear that usac were doing vouchers again? i cant find it, but could really use em. i wonder if i get more for having a uci licence?
zak that was a rumor floating around in jan. I havent gotten my paper license yet, but i wouldnt doubt if it were not true.
here's an interesting article about some guy that has brought a case to canadian transport agency about bringing a folding bike aboard air canada
http://www.bikingtoronto.com/2009/03/update-air-canada-and-folding-bikes.html
