Looking to take my bike to Brisbane then mid trip up to cairns before flying back home to Scotland. Has anyone flown recently with a bike to ox and managed not to incur massive baggage fees? Emirates /qantas flights specify dimensions that are smaller then the evoc bike bag i was planning buying, but some people have said this doesn’t apply to bikes. Any advice/ experience would be much appreciated.

Emirates/Qantas allow them fine as part of your luggage allowance
https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel-info/baggage/sporting-equipment.html#bicycles
Etihad allow 2x23kg with a normal economy (not the cheapest fare)
http://www.etihad.com/en-au/before-you-fly/baggage-information/allowances/
I’ve taken the Evoc on Etihad from Manchester twice now.
Within Oz it’s easy
With Qantas book an extra bit of luggage
With Virgin Book an extra bit of luggage (Partner with Etihad/Singapore/AirNZ)
Do not fly internally on a Jetstar flight as they have started measuring the bags and charging a fee.
when you planning to be in Cairns? It was hot but bearable for riding in September, wouldn’t be keen when it’s hotter/wetter though.

What sort of riding are you planning doing?

It may be simpler buying something second hand in Oz and flogging it when you go unless you’re full on downhill.

Both Brisbane and Cairns have plenty good riding.

Thanks for your help. Planning riding next month- been in cairns in Dec before and didn’t find it too bad. Only worry would be parts of the bike melting if left in car! Haven’t been biking there before- maybe it would be too hot/ muddy?

Only there for just over 3 weeks so not sure how id go trying to sell a bike at the end- no family of friends over there.

Really appreciate your taking time to help. Flight info v useful thanks.

+1 for jetstar being tight on baggage. They are cheap but they get you with extras if you aren’t careful.

Your bike will need to be very clean to pass quarantine on the way in. Can’t help with costs but IME the better airlines include decent baggage which compensates for the higher fares

Spent 3 years living in oz up to 3 years ago. Used to fly back and forth regularly with an Evoc Bag using Qatar. Used get a 20kg sports equipment allowance and 30kg luggage allowance I seem to recall include in the price whether that is still the case I don’t know. I preferred Qatar to Emirates.

Re: Quarantine, as long as it’s clean and there is no dirt on the tyres it’s not too bad, New Zealand are significantly more stringent.

I’d probably check with some locals as for cairns, this week it’s a consistent 31c max, 21c min and 85% humidity. I’ve been through brisbane and the sunshine coast dec/jan and it’s not been weather I’d consider riding much in personally but each to their own. Stuff doesn’t really melt but always park in the shade. What bike are you planning to bring and what you planning to ride. Hire might be a better option, not much real mtb in brisbane itself and all a decent drive away. Cairns was better with the park at the back of the uni where the world’s were.

The great thing about Cairns is if it’s too hot, just head up the Tablelands. It’s usually much cooler there.

There’s lots of tracks around the place- although most are more suited to a gravel bike than a full on mtb – apart from obviously the purpose built trails..

Cairns foreshore

My Brisbane riding has been limited to Mt Nebo and Bunya Forest because I was just an occasional visitor there.

Jump on this forum. You’ll find Queenslanders are very helpful.

If you can blag a loan of a road bike, a ride up Mt Nebo in Brisbane is very worthwhile, and in Cairns a ride up to Lake Morris with its dam and cafe is great too.

This will give a idea of the views from Mt Nebo – about ? way up.

About ½ way up to Lake Morris near Cairns

My cousin emigrated to Oz last year. Her fella paid for the bikes to be cleaned before then being packed. Customs held onto the bikes and then destroyed them as they were “contaminated”.

alpin – Member
My cousin emigrated to Oz last year. Her fella paid for the bikes to be cleaned before then being packed. Customs held onto the bikes and then destroyed them as they were “contaminated”.

Sounds like some Customs officers got themselves some nice bikes.

If I was bringing in a bike, I’d strip it down, remove the used tyres, and put 2 new tyres in their packaging in the bike box, but not mounted.

Quarantine procedures can be applied more rigidly depending on where you land – Cairns is pretty strict (or was in my day).

Sounds like bollocks and cock up there alpin. Had bikes stopped at shipping stage and I had to do some leg work to get it sorted. You can’t get it cleared before packing as that would be somewhere Aus customs isn’t. The k my place they check is at their designated spots. The only box of my shipping that was opened was the hoover. The tents, boots, outdoor gear went unopened. Flying is completely different as you have to present your stuff for inspection yourself.

Thanks for the advice. Yikes Alpin- that sounds horrific- our bikes being destroyed would be devastating. They are our pride and joy- they are worth more than our car and the entire contents of our house! It would be hard to replace them. Ones a Yeti and ones a Whyte both with 160 travel, both carbon and both with lots of upgraded parts. Surely if we travel with the bikes then we would be there when the customs guys looked at them- they can’t just take them away and destroy them? If they were going to do that would we have an option to go back home with the bikes?

As for our riding level- we were supposed to be going for a pretty full on trip to tasmania- but i fell of my bike a few weeks back and am still struggling with injury. Walking is painful but cycling not so bad, which is one of the reasons I’m keen to have my bike with me. Last time we went to Oz we did a lot of walking to bike hire shops! In NZ the bike hire was too expensive for us. Also we discovered the hire places won’t let you put bikes in a hire car so we were limited to where we could ride. Because I’m injured we plan to do a lot of chilled riding in nice scenery as opposed to downhill or super techy stuff. Prob do a bit on the sunshine coast, coastal cycles in nat park areas, maybe a few days gold coast and hinterland then fly up to cairns with an overnight or two in Townsville. Hoping by the time i get to cairns my legs might be improving! You are prob thinking I’m mad to go if I’m injured but this is my only opportunity and ive worked all year without a day off to go.

We could buy bikes and then try and sell them but ive never done that before and not sure what we might end up with/’if we could sell them. Unfortunately i just put new high roller 2s on my bike and they are now all muddy.

Will have a look at Qatar but i don’t think they fly from Scotland. Agree jet star are mega strict on bags.

We have never ridden road bikes but have driven up the hills you mention epicyclo – that would be hard going on a mntn bike!

Thanks for all your suggestions and help!

moof – Member
…We have never ridden road bikes but have driven up the hills you mention epicyclo – that would be hard going on a mntn bike!..

It’s even harder when you take the mtb route up to Lake Morris on a skinny tyred singlespeed… 🙂

Probably too late to help, but:
I’ve flown a few times to Oz with a bike, always Economy with Emirates, which has 30kg baggage limit. Goes in an over-sized baggage, not a problem.
With steel bike / MTB it meant buying 5kg extra each way = $$$
With lighter road bike I could keep all hold baggage under 30kg (19kg for bike in an Evoc bag, 10kg for holdall of other stuff, plus you get 7kg for cabin bag). So, it saves money to spend a bit more on a lighter bike…
Not flown internally with a bike, prefer to drive.

MTB in Brisvegas in Jan…. You know you’ll melt, right?

Just hire a bike / demo bike. After one sesh in Jan heat you’ll probably not bother again.

Surely if we travel with the bikes then we would be there when the customs guys looked at them- they can’t just take them away and destroy them? If they were going to do that would we have an option to go back home with the bikes?

100% I’ve never seen or heard of anything like that at the airport and I took mine for inspection when stuff arrived by sea

As for our riding level- we were supposed to be going for a pretty full on trip to tasmania- but i fell of my bike a few weeks back and am still struggling with injury. Walking is painful but cycling not so bad, which is one of the reasons I’m keen to have my bike with me.

Tassie will be perfect then with heaps of amazing things to do without being full on, decent priced bike rental at Derby and probably Maydena by then

It’s will be about 25-30 here and not fin humid then!!

and as for bikes in hire cars just don’t ask

Oh and if you want I could knock up a kick arse Tassie itinerary of culture, food, booze and outdoors for Dec/Jan in some sensible temps!!

Thanks mikesmith,

The flights had unfortunaely jumped up in price for tassie so it worked better for us to go to oz but hopefully tassie next time as kinda gutted, We are going on monday to oz and will make the best of it- our flight in is to brisbane, then we will prob go down to gold coast byron for a few days then up to sunshine then fly to cairns for some hot sticky sweaty rides- at lease we wont need to take a lot of clothes!

going with emirates/qantas. One question is when we fly from brisbane to cairns will the bikes need to be mint clean again, or if internal in australia is it not so strict?

thanks again for everyones help

moof – Member
…One question is when we fly from brisbane to cairns will the bikes need to be mint clean again…

No, you’re ok.