[Closed] Flying with my bike. Tyres, and shocks air in or out?

Nah wouldn't worry, never do with mine

Tyres deflated might be useful if the wheels are a tight fit in your bag

Never done any of that. Flown countless times with a bike.

No need to, unless you cant fit it in the bag without deflating bits.

Hold is pressurised to similar levels that you get up mountains. My tyres have never exploded up a mountain.

Yeah - what they said.

But when asked by security if you've let the tyres down, the correct answer is 'yes'.

Never get into a debate on it or try to be clever by asking them if the plane lets its tyres down mid flight... 😉

What wheel size are you using? Some airlines can't fit 29ers in the hold, so it's best to check in advance.

Thanks folks

That's going to save a lot of faffing

Hold is pressurised to similar levels that you get up mountains. My tyres have never exploded up a mountain.

IIRC air pressure at [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_pressure ]sea level is 14.7psi[/url]
So even if you took your bike into space, it still wouldn't explode.

Best not to point out in a smartarse sort of way the compressed air cylinder in every lifejacket under every seat either. Airport security has very little sense of humour!

Any one know about the maximum size box?
Just been on their site, it just says bag or box.

^^See above^^

[i]^^See above^^

Yes but a 29er is the same diameter wheel as a road bike just an extra 100mm in total (50 each end)for the taler rubber.

stoddys - Member
Any one know about the maximum size box?
Just been on their site, it just says bag or box

And mind don't take any co2 canisters. The rule on how many, if any, seems to change from day to day and airline to airline.

Took two bikes out to Whistler last year and did all the deflating as instructed. Forgot to do it on the way back (rode until 5 minutes before leaving!) Nobody said anything, tyres, forks and shock didn't explode.
Going again this year, will probably drop the pressures a bit in my now tubeless tyres, just in case.
What is the collective wisdom on what to do with a dropper post though? Didn't have one last time.
Mark

Don't bother dropping the pressures unless you need to to for the bike in its box. It's pointless.

Yea, deflate your tyres and shock... Cos they do it with the planes tyres! 😉

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If you're taking off on a conveyor belt then the laws of physics do not apply.

This thread pops up a couple of times a year.

Would you believe, last week Cycling Weakly published a letter from a pilot saying something like: "Imagine what would happen if a whole cycling team flew with their bikes and didn't deflate the tyres, which all exploded in the hold!"

It's not good knowing there are pilots out there with such a shaky grasp of physics! Do TDF teams let their tyres down when they go over an Alpine col? No they don't and an aircraft hold is pressurised to roughly the same altitude.

Never get into a debate on it or try to be clever by asking them if the plane lets its tyres down mid flight...

Fwiw, my old neighbour was a technician at heathrow and said they fill plane tyres with nitrogen (iirc) which is not effected by altitude.

i don't even know where to begin with that one.

Nope,they fill Aircraft tyres with nitrogen as it is less likely to aid combustion in the event of a fire, you also get less condensation which is good when trundling along at -40C - I like aircraft tyres with less icicles. Costco spout some crap about them filling up with N2 as well to prevent pressure changes. Presumably they've never heard of the ideal gas equation.

ahwiles - Member
i don't even know where to begin with that one.
POSTED 11 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Definitely a smile and nod situation

I thought Nitrogen was only used as it is less of a fire risk. I definately remember filling some tyres on Concorde with Air not Nitrogen. 😯

EDIT: doh just seen Hot Fiat's response.

What is the collective wisdom on what to do with a dropper post though?

I asked the country distributor/service agent for LEV that one, and he said not to bother dropping the pressure as KS deliver them to him by air and fully pressurised, so it can't be an issue.

Yeah, for shocks / droppers it's worth bearing in mind that the increase in pressure due to altitude is a tiny fraction of the increase in pressure they go through thousands of times as they compress on a ride.

My understanding is that generally (and up to a limit) a seal improves as the pressure differential increases because the o-ring / seal deforms more. So I guess the worst you'll expect is increased stiction from the air-seal in a plane. Counter intuitively, you're more likely to get leaks with less air in your shocks. The same is true for tubeless tyres, they're more likely to burp with less air in.

Ok since my thread has popped up again.
Here is what I did.

NOTHING.
I left the pressure in everything, that was 10 days ago.
Interestingly I've just been out to the bike and the dropper goes down a few mm now. I will check the pressure later.

As for the box.
It was massive, the local shop gave me a box from a road bike widest I've ever seen. 170cm long at least 25cm wide.
It fitted my anthem 29 with the front wheel off no problems.
I asked at the desk, cyprus end what happens if it would not fit on the convayer belt, her reply some one would come and carry it. So as long as it's a "bike box" no problem. But cyprus is quite layer back.

[quote=stoddys ]I asked at the desk, cyprus end what happens if it would not fit on the convayer belt, her reply some one would come and carry it. So as long as it's a "bike box" no problem. But cyprus is quite layer back.

I've flown a 6m kayak, which definitely doesn't fit on a conveyor belt. Oversize luggage is a fairly standard thing - skis normally get hand carried as well.

Man, that is bad taste.

Some airlines demand it, regardless of the lack of physics knowledge behind it. Emirates when we flew to India checked the bags and made us deflate the tyres (they didn't have a clue there was a rear shock at 200psi) and I've a check in desk on a US internal flight check too.

So, physics says no, some airlines say yes and will check tyres.