Bike prep for Air Travel
Discussion
Rightiihoooooooo:
30kg max. Get a bike box from a local shop - preferably a more expensive bike - as they come in better and bigger boxes.
If you HAVE a bike bag already, then box the bike in a cardboard box from the shop and put it in the bike bag
Take off your rear mech, pref by the hangar, and tape the mech to the chainstay, wedge a bit of broomstick cut to axle length in your rear stays.
If you can bring yourself to do it, take your bars off, pack them and strap them to the top tube - reversing the forks rearward with a bit of broomstick in between.
Take off your non drive side crank, and replace it in the same *way* as the other crank and tie the crank to the frame with a bit of string to stop it spinning and also potentially bending.
Let your tyres down more to make it easier to get it in the box (you don't really need to but just in case) - don't bother with letting any pressure out of shocks - they'll be fine (my DT swiss, Fox, and Marzocchi's were fine...
Lots of padding - weighh the box, and if not 30kg, whack a shed load of bike clothing in for padding (i.e. body armour etc) and fill up the box.
Use LOTS of tape to tape up the box. Put a spare roll of tape in the box.
Go on holiday
Trust me, it works - I just transported TWO bikes in one cardboard bike box with only a set of wheel bags extra for the wheels and had no problems at all; apart from, annoyingly, the £54 and $300 excess weight penalty
Let me know if you need any more help
30kg max. Get a bike box from a local shop - preferably a more expensive bike - as they come in better and bigger boxes.
If you HAVE a bike bag already, then box the bike in a cardboard box from the shop and put it in the bike bag
Take off your rear mech, pref by the hangar, and tape the mech to the chainstay, wedge a bit of broomstick cut to axle length in your rear stays.
If you can bring yourself to do it, take your bars off, pack them and strap them to the top tube - reversing the forks rearward with a bit of broomstick in between.
Take off your non drive side crank, and replace it in the same *way* as the other crank and tie the crank to the frame with a bit of string to stop it spinning and also potentially bending.
Let your tyres down more to make it easier to get it in the box (you don't really need to but just in case) - don't bother with letting any pressure out of shocks - they'll be fine (my DT swiss, Fox, and Marzocchi's were fine...
Lots of padding - weighh the box, and if not 30kg, whack a shed load of bike clothing in for padding (i.e. body armour etc) and fill up the box.
Use LOTS of tape to tape up the box. Put a spare roll of tape in the box.
Go on holiday
Trust me, it works - I just transported TWO bikes in one cardboard bike box with only a set of wheel bags extra for the wheels and had no problems at all; apart from, annoyingly, the £54 and $300 excess weight penalty
Let me know if you need any more help
I didn't bother with anything in between the pads but its not a bad idea, I certainly removed my rotors though and put them in a jiffy bags. Obviously pedals off and in a jiffy bag.
Check overalll weight allowance with your airline, but I know for a fact that Canada will not allow baggage handlers to lift over 32kg boxes, so make it 30kg as many scales at airports are not reliable (as I found out).
Check overalll weight allowance with your airline, but I know for a fact that Canada will not allow baggage handlers to lift over 32kg boxes, so make it 30kg as many scales at airports are not reliable (as I found out).
Yes... and Easyjet is 12kg max...
Otherwise its 6 quid per kilo over.... as I discovered as my Hardcase bike suitcase weighs 10kgs by itself and chuck an 11kg bike in it, its tanatamount to a bumming at 4 o'clock in the morning as you get slapped with a large bill bleary eyed at check in..
trick is a bike box from bike store and duct tape for best weight -to-protection ratio
Otherwise its 6 quid per kilo over.... as I discovered as my Hardcase bike suitcase weighs 10kgs by itself and chuck an 11kg bike in it, its tanatamount to a bumming at 4 o'clock in the morning as you get slapped with a large bill bleary eyed at check in..
trick is a bike box from bike store and duct tape for best weight -to-protection ratio
I'm off to Morzine in a few weeks. Flying with BA to Geneva. They'll take a MTB (in a proper bike bag - not cardboard box only sadly) upto 32Kgs for free. Plus they don't charge to: Check in online, take luggage, hand luggage and the half dozen other things Sleazyjet charge for. Paid a total of £100 for a return flight.
Sleazyjet and BMI baby quoted £65, but by the time you added all the extra's it was £175ish and the horror stories you hear about arriving at check-in and being rumped over weight penalties!
Im my experience it hardly ever pays to fly budget these days.
Sleazyjet and BMI baby quoted £65, but by the time you added all the extra's it was £175ish and the horror stories you hear about arriving at check-in and being rumped over weight penalties!
Im my experience it hardly ever pays to fly budget these days.
mat205125 said:
LRdriver II said:
.... bumming at 4 o'clock in the morning.....
What are Easyjets rules regarding this? Seems pretty harsh if you're into that kind of jazz, and can only get a flight in the early hours of the morning.How exactly did you come to enquire anyway?
LRdriver II said:
Yes... and Easyjet is 12kg max...
Otherwise its 6 quid per kilo over.... as I discovered as my Hardcase bike suitcase weighs 10kgs by itself and chuck an 11kg bike in it, its tanatamount to a bumming at 4 o'clock in the morning as you get slapped with a large bill bleary eyed at check in..
trick is a bike box from bike store and duct tape for best weight -to-protection ratio
I think you may have been stitched up I have just checked the T&C on their website, and it says the following:-Otherwise its 6 quid per kilo over.... as I discovered as my Hardcase bike suitcase weighs 10kgs by itself and chuck an 11kg bike in it, its tanatamount to a bumming at 4 o'clock in the morning as you get slapped with a large bill bleary eyed at check in..
trick is a bike box from bike store and duct tape for best weight -to-protection ratio
The maximum acceptable weight for each single piece of checked-in hold baggage is 32kg. Baggage which exceeds this weight will not be accepted for carriage.
Where checked-in hold baggage exceeds 20kgs in weight (subject to the above rule), each passenger will pay an excess baggage charge per kg up to a passenger maximum of 50kgs.
Carriage of bicycles:
The bicycle must be packaged in a bicycle box or bag
Only one bicycle per bicycle box or bag will be permitted
No other items can be carried in the bicycle box (i.e. clothing)
The handlebars must be flush with the frame
The pedals must be flush against the frame or removed
Passengers travelling with bicycles are recommended to check-in 2 hours prior to departure. Bicycles are subject to the sports equipment fee and exempt from any excess baggage charges relating to the weight of the bicycle.
I read the above as that because you have paid for it as a seperate item, you can take up to 32kgs, (so long as it's not stuffed with clothes
) per bike.HTH
RPM
Interesting , think i'll be printing that page off ready . I had seen the 50kg total but then seen something else in another section.
Edited now ive read it with my glasses on . TOTAL baggage is increased to 32kg so thats 20kg for hold 12kg for bike (think i'll become a roadie again) im just glad it'll not be 4am when they have my pants down
Cheers all .
Edited now ive read it with my glasses on . TOTAL baggage is increased to 32kg so thats 20kg for hold 12kg for bike (think i'll become a roadie again) im just glad it'll not be 4am when they have my pants down
Cheers all .
Edited by cone on Wednesday 25th June 13:38
The horror stories vary from airport to airport with regard to Sleazjet, and almost from person to person on the check in desk.
The best advice I have seen is, if you must go with them, get there as early as possible & be one of the first to check in, be VERY nice to the check in staff.
However, if they decide you're being slapped a charge, then you're paying it, no matter what bit of paper you're waving at them. Every year there are countless "I got stiffed by Easyjet" stories, all for different amounts, all claiming to have tried the total baggage allowance limit line etc etc.
Just be prepared to take one up the ass, just in case. If you get away with it, bonus.
The best advice I have seen is, if you must go with them, get there as early as possible & be one of the first to check in, be VERY nice to the check in staff.
However, if they decide you're being slapped a charge, then you're paying it, no matter what bit of paper you're waving at them. Every year there are countless "I got stiffed by Easyjet" stories, all for different amounts, all claiming to have tried the total baggage allowance limit line etc etc.
Just be prepared to take one up the ass, just in case. If you get away with it, bonus.
I'm getting ever more concerned about "getting bummed" + "taking it up the ass" I just wanna go on holiday .
Yes we got cheap flights and thats what they are and if we have to pay some more it ain't going to spoil my holiday, I have never understood the professional complainers on holiday who are determined not to have a good time. Hopefully I'll return on here with some great photo's (of the views not my riding)
.Yes we got cheap flights and thats what they are and if we have to pay some more it ain't going to spoil my holiday, I have never understood the professional complainers on holiday who are determined not to have a good time. Hopefully I'll return on here with some great photo's (of the views not my riding)
Iv been to morzine/les gets 6 times, every time iv just taken the wheels, bars, pedals off and let the air out the tires of my intense m1 and fired it into a bike bag. No extra padding and its always been fine, my friends used to take hours properly packing things and end up with squashed discs/bent spokes/leaking forks etc etc. If they can see its been filling with buble wrap they will just launch the box's/bags, according to a friend who "handle's" baggage.
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