I'm trying to work out the cheapest way to ship my bike to the US and back.
I've used a cardboard box/bike bag in the past but the size of the container increases the baggage costs a lot. Looking at £150 each way.
Would buying a hard bike case be a worthwhile investment? They claim to be within excess allowance dimentions, so can travel as normal baggage.
Another option is mailing the bike in a box directly.
I'm keen to hear your experiences.
Air NZ has been great in the past (big bike case, just under 32 kg limit for no extra)
American wanted about a hundred quid each way IIRC - led to me buying a new bike that I could fit into a "normal" case & was a bit lighter than the one I had (had to get under 24kg for the case)
Going NZ this summer too - hoping for the usual
Have a look on your airline's website
I've seen a couple of hard cases on fleabay and in the classifieds for around £100. I'd rather spend a bit on a robust case that I can at least reuse rather than flinging three times that away on every flight.
I'll check again with the airline.
I used a cardboard box with BA to Denver last year and there was no additional cost.
I'd be wary of cardboard again as the neg air valve on the bottom of my pikes got bashed and needed replacing. As they were pishing oil they needed some TFT love and the air lowers were £32.
So if you plan on taking your bike on holiday a lot its probably worth it. For a one off? Probably not. Plus don't they weigh a ton as well (like 6kg or something?)
I think it really depends on who you fly with. Some airlines will hit you up for weight, others rely on the total dimensions. Dont know about hard bike boxes - all I do is that if you go on a point to point trip & yr gear has to be ferried - hard boxes are a real pain. Perhaps, like you say its best to ship, I sent my bikes via Virgin when I shipped them to the US & I think it cost about £300 for 2 bikes, a large bag full of ski gear & 2 sets of skis.
ps Virgin will let you take your bike for nothing - just checked!
weight'll be your major factor - my case weighs getting on for 10kg
"oversize" is guaranteed and, yeah, some carriers use limits even for that definition
The case is great though - lots of trips, lots of external scars but never any problem with the bike inside
(US security always open mine up because it won't fit in their x-ray machine. trouble is it's a bit of a bugger to re-close & I always worry about it busrting open - they never let me go back & re-do it myself)
I flew with BA to the States last year and Air Canada the year before. BA didnt charge on the way out but did on the return, I was pushing it, I had two bikes, a BOB trailer and a dose of camping gear. I think Air Canada only charged us one way.
I didn't realize you need to put the bikes in boxes to fly over to different countries? Usually there is a separate fee for sports goods including bikes (around £60-100).
Then you are optimistic then! That aint all gonna fit in a hard case neither...
Oh something else to consider a hardcase takes up room so if you are traveling its a PITA (cardboard folds down flat and protects the hire car from the oil pishing out of your pikes... 😳 ) and can be easily replaced by speaking nicely to a bike shop at the end of your trip.
This time I'm just taking my road bike, so weights will be low. I'll hire a mountainbike when I get over there.
Road bike? I'd definitely go for a hard case then.