Packing a DH bike for aeroplane travel/postage

[tu plang]

bike boxes are really good stuff. i havent travelled with my bike before but i've packed a few bikes up for shipping and using a cardboard box is effective but time consuming. i know of atleast one bike shop that rents out bike boxes (probably not feasible for a long OS trip) but yeah... very sturdy, wheels are great and its a lot easier to pack a bike into.

 

[udi]

Another thumbs up for virgin. I flew to melb in jan with my dh bike and on top of being absolutely free, they didn't weight check it, or worry that i'd extended the box slightly etc. Bike arrived in perfect condition, on time, there and back.

Just to add to the main post, you can also use your armour as padding as long as its within the allowed bike weight (up to 32kg with virgin I believe), and it saves you carrying it elsewhere. I had everything I could in my bikebox - armour, shoes, gloves, some spares etc.

 

[frank-oi]

I was working in Mount gambier in a summer forestry postion. when i flew home i had accumulated many things including a BMX that i got just to ride to and from work. and to stuff around on.

but to the storey, i flew REX from Mount Gambier and then Virgin from melboure to the gold coast . i had 28kgs over, with all my shit. the REX limit was 15kgs , so i had a bout 43kgs in total, being very nice to the lady at the first counter you come to goes along way...as the REX flight was fairly full as well and i thought i was gunna get stung from the 28kgs extra. but she checked it in. then said that it was checked again all the way through to the GC. then smiled and said that you won't have to deal with the bike again until the GC.

but i think that it alos depeneds on who you get at the counter when you firest check it in.be nice to them. By the way i chucked out so much shit just to get it down to 43kgs. i was only living there for 4 months as well.

 

[sich nich]

This abit of a gravedig, but its the right thread to post in think. Great thread RCOH!

Im going to Europe next year with my V10, and doing all the research now. So:

• On a form for the bikebox I need to tick the box that says sporting equipment?
• Because ill be un/repacking it all the time, can I keep scissors/penknife (for cutting tape/zipties) in the box with my tools, or will that stuff get confiscated? Spose it all shows up on the Xray? Will a shockpump look like a firearm?
• I run a fair bit of talcum powder in my tyres for pinch resistance. Will they want to check out the mysterous white powder, or wont they know? Should i just leave it all clean for travel?
• Do I need to let all the air out of my tyres and shock, for reasons to do with changes in atmosheric pressure etc..?

Cheers.
Nich

 

[joemax]

I've travelled to NZ with a bike box similar to this. You can't carry any opening tools (scissors, knifes, etc) in your hand luggage but your friendly customs guy will always have what he needs to open your box. Tools in the box are OK.

The hardest part is getting back into Oz. Go through the quarantine channel, mark the box as sporting equipment and say that you've been off road Clean everything but still expect them to take the wheels away and spray the tyres. If the bike looks even slightly dirty they'll take that away and spray it as well.

I let down the tyres but didn't do anything with the shocks. They didn't take the tyres off so never found the white powder

 

[RaID]

This abit of a gravedig, but its the right thread to post in think. Great thread RCOH!

Im going to Europe next year with my V10, and doing all the research now. So:

• On a form for the bikebox I need to tick the box that says sporting equipment?
• Because ill be un/repacking it all the time, can I keep scissors/penknife (for cutting tape/zipties) in the box with my tools, or will that stuff get confiscated? Spose it all shows up on the Xray? Will a shockpump look like a firearm?
• I run a fair bit of talcum powder in my tyres for pinch resistance. Will they want to check out the mysterous white powder, or wont they know? Should i just leave it all clean for travel?
• Do I need to let all the air out of my tyres and shock, for reasons to do with changes in atmosheric pressure etc..?

Cheers.
Nich

if youre going to be regulary packing and un packing your bike box, invest in bike bag, CRC has killer bag thats simple does the job and is cheap $150 or so. Plus it wont fall apart as quickly as regular box will You really cant go wrong and you wont have to worry about knives tapes etc

You can keep sharp objects in your checked luggage so i wouldnt worry about that. A shock pump will be fine as well.

 

[sich nich]

if youre going to be regulary packing and un packing your bike box, invest in bike bag, CRC has killer bag thats simple does the job and is cheap $150 or so. Plus it wont fall apart as quickly as regular box will You really cant go wrong and you wont have to worry about knives tapes etc.

I did think of that unpack/repack ease of a bag, but wasnt sure about them, as per this:

the arsehole (while I was sitting on the plane still) offloading the plane in Sydney throwing my bike box at least 2 metres into the metal trolley

Will my bike get trashed in a CRC bag getting tossed around by some tosser? And its all cool to like, attach the separate wheelbags to the main bag, and its still all 'one' bike box/bag/donga?

 

[bikesarefun]

Getting it in the box is fine - you take a few hours, you're all stoked on the trip, sweet.

What sucks is getting it back out. Rocking up in a cold-ass carpark, fresh out of about 18 hours on a plane and a 2 hour drive on the wrong side of the road, frothing to get on the hill, and, from a combination of jetlag and rush, managing to cross thread this, snap that, realize you left some tools at home...

 

[sich nich]

Getting it in the box is fine - you take a few hours, you're all stoked on the trip, sweet.

What sucks is getting it back out. Rocking up in a cold-ass carpark, fresh out of about 18 hours on a plane and a 2 hour drive on the wrong side of the road, frothing to get on the hill, and, from a combination of jetlag and rush, managing to cross thread this, snap that, realize you left some tools at home...

Geez dude, thats a pretty bleak outlook on riding overseas...

Perhaps you could make a positive contribution, like make a suggestion on how to make it quicker/easier to get on the hill?

So i spend a few hours planning how to pack bike so its quicker to unload?

Thanks everyone, some good pointers!

 

[bikesarefun]

Geez dude, thats a pretty bleak outlook on riding overseas...

Perhaps you could make a positive contribution, like make a suggestion on how to make it quicker/easier to get on the hill?

So i spend a few hours planning how to pack bike so its quicker to unload?

Thanks everyone, some good pointers!

Not so much bleak as pissed off with my own stupidity! A quick visit to the shop to borrow some tools and re-tap a thread, and I was on the hill for one my the best days ever.

As for advice... take your time. If you get bored on the flight, make a list of the order youin which you'll put things back together. If you don't have a pump with you, then finding some way to inflate the tires is a good place to start. If you can try to get the job done within walking distance of a shop, that's always smart.

 

[mikietwohill]

Big Thanks

Thanks heaps for that mate. It answers a lot of unanswered questions for me.

 

[cameron_15]

thats exactly how they come when they arrive at work (the local bike shop). except they don't use the masses of padding that you have, but they aren't being transported in passenger planes either.

great post

 

[sich nich]

Not so much bleak as pissed off with my own stupidity! A quick visit to the shop to borrow some tools and re-tap a thread, and I was on the hill for one my the best days ever.

As for advice... take your time. If you get bored on the flight, make a list of the order youin which you'll put things back together. If you don't have a pump with you, then finding some way to inflate the tires is a good place to start. If you can try to get the job done within walking distance of a shop, that's always smart.

Thats better man. Yeah im abit of an organisation freak when it comes to bike stuff, and im not going anywhere until may 09, so thats alot of time to think!

Thinking I might leave my upper armour suit at home and buy lighter stuff when I get there. Mine is tank!

 

[b_S]

Wonder if RCOH's seen this thread yet, and if so, has he shed a tear over seeing pictures of his old ride again

 

[jazza_wil]

heres my efforts, got the chain reaction bag. $150.seperate wheel bags, heaps of internal pockets but not sure bout the 4 outer side zips for traveling tho, they go straight into the bag and bike, easy access if you know what i mean. . and its got wheels!
had to drop the forks a bit and take off the derailer and pedals, but thats about it.
i tryed the 20mm conduit in the rear axel and 25mm in the front, good idea who ever said that one. just have to wrap the bike up in bubble wrap and she ready to go. ill be able to tell you how it goes in a few days when i head to whistler.

 

[bikesarefun]

By far the best approach IMO!!!

Ok... I just finished packing up two bikes into boxes for Whistler, and I'm pretty proud of my effort.

I've done this a few times before, but this time took a different approach. I'm well stoked with how it turned out.


Step 1: Remove front brake from fork, wrap around bars.

Step 2: Remove stem (with bars, etc attached).

Step 3: Slide out forks, put tape around headset to geep it together.

Step 4: Bubble wrap around frame and bars, so bars are attached to frame.

Step 5: Off with the front wheel.

Step 6: Remove pedals.

Step 7: Apply as much bubble wrap as you like. I don't use so much these days.

Step 8: Bike goes into box upside down, resting on headset and seat. Fork and front wheel will fit in as well.


... better deflate the tires a bit as well ...


Using this approach, a Demo 9 with 888s will fit into a standard box from the bin at your LBS (way smaller than the box you get from Qantas).

It takes about 20 minutes to do, and I reckon a similar amount of time to put it back together. Not much you can mess up.

I'm seriously stoked on this. Since the rear wheel stays on, you don't have to remove the rear mech or chain, and less worries about the messing up the hanger (which is kind of exposed with no wheel or mech).

 

[SMIIISH]

I purchased a bike from taz. DH rig. The bike was poorly packed and was heavily damaged by the time it made it to my end. Similar packing arrangement as stated but the bars which were also loose got smashed during shipping resulting in broken brakes and shifter.
With side loading, I would also advise to put some sort of hub substitute in to stop from mashing your froks.
Also the rear derailleur protrudes from the side of the bike. I would strongly suggest to just detatch it from the hanger or to pack it heavily, again from side loading. When I recieved mine there was a rip in the box where the hanger is and it was destroyed.
Poor packing on one end ment that I had broken: brakes (both levers), shifter, Derailleur, Derailleur hanger. Cost a few hundred to get me going again. A big price on top of a bike. Pack the bike so its prepared to be dropped from 1.5m at any angle.

 

[Sean]

I'm grave digging this thread to say cheers to RCOH for creating it. I'm currently packing my hardtail into a bike box to go to Coffs Harbour for a week and the information has been very helpful indeed.

Cheers to everyone else who has contributed too, let's hope my bike gets there (and back) in one piece!

 

[Sean]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention something as well.

After contacting Virgin Blue/reading their website, I have established that the old system that some people have mentioned of being allowed to take a bike on the plane for free/discounted rate has been removed.
The system now is that when you book a flight, you need to pay $8 online before travelling (or$20 at the checkin) to be allowed any baggage (except carry on) at all. This $8 allows you to take 23kg of checked baggage on the plane.

If what you are carrying is classified as sporting equipment (eg, a bike, cricket bag etc.) you get an additional 5kg free baggage that is allowed to be checked. So basically you get 28kg of baggage.

Let's hope that my bike box and other baggage doesn't go over the 28kg or it looks like the girlfriend's going to have to leave some of her stuff in place of mine...

 

[Ride.Dirt.Wake.]

I'm looking at sending a bike interstate, does anyone have the dimensions for a bike box?

Thanks