Travelling with a road bike

[lachlan]

So, I've just very very recently decided I'll most likely go to visit my Dad in England this university midyear break. Apparently tickets are cheap now, falling oil prices I guess, and he's paying, so why not. Weathers crap in Melbourne right now anyway, hey? Anyway, those paying close attention will remember I was tossing up between a Cervelo S1 and a TCR advanced, and am in fact receiving the S1 I decided upon in the next few days, and I want to take it to England, damnit. (Anyone with horror stories etc about travelling with bikes, please hold back, I'm pretty deadset on this idea, I mean, sunny yet green England, with the possible option to duck over into France, WHILE the tour is on?)

So, guys, how should I do it? My mate who works at a bike shop thinks there is no problem bringing a bike overseas packed in a bike box like they arrive in (or in my case probably THE box it arrived in, as I'll just ask them to play nice with it and save it for me to pick up with the bike). I'm a little scared of this option, as I just paid $4k for this thing, but on the other hand it got here from Taiwan or wherever in the box, and it was fine doing that, and it will be covered in fragile stickers and various other signs indicating it is a bike. My other option is shelling out some cash for a ready made bike bag of some sort. My feeling is the soft or even padded ones probably don't offer much if anything over a simple cardboard box with styrofoam, but the hard cases or soft cases with internal frames look pretty hefty. Has anyone had any experience with them? Are they worth spending a few hundred on? Where did people aquire them?

This probably won't be the last time I travel with a bike, so making the investment is likely a wise move, but on the other hand most of my chips are on the table just buying this bike, and I could probably use to save some dollars...

[Madgan]

Just a thought - have you looked at renting a bike carrier for this trip as a trial before you spend big bucks? (seems weird to risk putting a $4k bike in a $2 cardboard box...)

I know there is a guy on ebay who offers rental on his hard case when he is not using it. Could be worth a look. Check in the bikes section on ebay

enjoy the trip

Paul

[JV911]

I know there is a guy on ebay who offers rental on his hard case when he is not using it. Could be worth a look. Check in the bikes section on ebay

+1

but have you thought about buying the bike while you're in the UK and bringing it back?

not only will it be cheaper but you will also get the VAT back

edit: just re-read your post. sounds like you've already put a deposit on the S1

[NathanC]

Something like this?

http://www.this link is broken/p/cycle/7/Pro_S ... 360031637/

[lukas]

If you pack carefully in a good, strong cardboard box, the bike is pretty well protected.

If you've got the coin, a good case is a good investment, otherwise I wouldn't lose too much sleep about my bike being in a sturdy bike box.

[toofat]

having recently been through this exercise there are a few pros and cons

the hard cases while expensive, offer superior protection, but the weight of them and your bike will often put you over the airline weight limit incurring excessive charges and paperwork every time you use it.

the soft bags offer very limited protection to the contents but they are light and it puts it in a neat package with handles and some of them have small wheels

the airline cardboard bike box, pretty sturdy but awkward to handle.put some strapping around it and make a shoulder strap, or fix a suitcase trolley to the box and wheel it



when in UK, National coaches will only take your boxed bike if you get on last and they dont have much other luggage, its hard to get on the tube in rush hour with a suitcase, forget the bike, The trains are much more bike friendly but cost more than coaches
insure the bike whatever method

[bigtoe]

jv911 wrote: . . . " but have you thought about buying the bike while you're in the UK and bringing it back? "

+1

. . . and take your own saddle with you. $4K bike is too risky and too many hassle.

[bunchridefinder]

If you do take your bike, add LOTS of packing around your rear derailer - this is the place that will get knocked around the most - could end up with a broken drop out. It happens all the time.

Cheers
Steve
www.bunchridefinder.com.au

[Beech]

I have Scicon soft side and it works well. Has a good frame inside. And being soft side it can be stuffed in car easily once bike is built up.
I also unbolt the rear derailleur and cable tie it to the frame. Take off your pedals as well. And loosen your brake levers so if they get knocked they move rather than break. Bag has wheels which are handy at airports.
Cheers

[531db]

I took a Surly Pacer to the UK and Europe in 2007 inside a cardboard bike box. The frame and fragile parts were well wrapped in bubblewrap and foam padding, there was no damage.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

I have Scicon soft side and it works well. Has a good frame inside. And being soft side it can be stuffed in car easily once bike is built up.
I also unbolt the rear derailleur and cable tie it to the frame. Take off your pedals as well. And loosen your brake levers so if they get knocked they move rather than break. Bag has wheels which are handy at airports.
Cheers

Yes, I have one of those - very good design - in fact mine has a metal loop thingy that fixes to the bag's frame and goes around the dereilleur to protect it from any knocks.
The bike frames locks into the bag's frame, you loosen the bars to turn them sideways and fold under the top tube. Probably don't even have to lower the saddle. Remove Pedals. Pop wheels down the sides (in wheel bags - remove skewers first). can fit other stuff in there too - helmet etc.

Rolls on wheels, easy to move about.

It is also much much lighter than the hard case units.
I took one of each to Darwin recently and the hard case was way heavier.

In fact if you packed well, that and a hand luggage bag could just about be all that you need, making the bike bag the only check in luggage and avoiding any OTT charges.

[lachlan]

ok, well I've decided to just run with a cardboard box, wrapping the frame in copious amounts of packing foam bubble wrap etc... my reasoning is; it should be fine, and even the best case won't protect it 100%, so I'll just go cardboard and use the money I save to buy travel insurance to cover it anyway... so does anyone know a particularly good cover focussed on possessions not medical stuff? (i'm a british citizen and sneakily on the NHS even though I'm not a resident, so I'm not in dire need of medical costs coverage)

[Starfesh]

Is this of any use to you
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=16561

[lachlan]

Does anyone know of an insurance broker with a system like this:
https://www.worldcare.com.au/select-a-benefit/

but who doesn't have the nasty We Will Not Pay policy of:
c] The loss, theft of or damage is to or of bicycles.

I have no need for medical/cancellations etc cover, but just want baggage cover... Most of the other ones I've seen don't cover sporting goods damaged while in use (except some QBE premium one, but its costly), but that doesn't really both me, IF I crash I'm unlikely to do more than a couple of hundred worth of damage, making the hassle and excess of coverage probably not worth it. What I really want is just TRANSIT cover haha anyone know of such a thing?

[buzz]

Hi Lachlan,

I travel from Australia to USA to Canada to England to Scotland to Germany to Italy to Thailand and finally back to Australia with my road bike! We have also travelled a fair bit within Australia with the bikes in bike bags. I have one of the scicon soft cases (blue purchased in 2005), where the forks are mounted in and it worked great. We used the bike bag to carry a heap of our other possessions, which padded the bike out really well. Most the stuff we had packed in the bike bag were soft items, like our sleeping bags and tent ect, so I think that assisted protect the bike. The case has wheels which makes life so much easier and thankfully I have a boyfriend that lugged it up the stairs when necessary!!

We also decided the heavier the bag was the better; we figured if the bag was heavy it wouldn’t get thrown around so much. Also for our travel the bike flew for free, so we were going to make use of that extra baggage allowance! Also we figured by having the bike in a specialised case it might gain more respect, e.g. handlers would consider a bike in specialised bag to be of more worth than a bike in a cardboard box, hopefully meaning they would treat it better. These were just our thoughts and theories and it seemed to work for us.

My bike bag worked a treat and was well worth a few hundred bucks. We did consider getting hard cases, but we decided it would to be to heavy and big. If you do take your bike, makes sure you get it covered under your travel insurance, will cost a tad more but well worth it!!

Happy riding!
Jenna