experiences with taking a bike on a trip with an airplane-U-Haul moving supply store
Question:
does anybody want to tell me his or her experiences with taking a bike on a trip with an airplane, especially KLM. Is it better to wrap it or would you suggest a (expensive) "bike-sack"? I already received one repost, thanks- maybe there are others who want to leave me a line on that.
Answer:
I took a trip around the world in 1994 and I brought my bike with me so
I believe I am qualified to give you advice :)
I bought the Performance HardCase and it did the job quite well so I
highly recommend it. I have no financial interest in Performance,
incidentally. The HardCase is rather expensive, around $300. In my
trip, I was travelling 27000 miles by airplane over 5 different
airlines and many, many other modes of transportation so I needed a
good way to protect my bike. You should be able to get away with a
softcase or even an old bike box for a single roundtrip. However, the
HarCase has wheels and a carry strap. This turned out to work very
well at airports and other situations where you need to be independent
and mobile. Basically, I could move the bike with one hand, drag one
suitcase with another and my backpack on me. Be sure to travel light
as you only get two bags free on international flights. Bikes are
very expensive to transport if you have to declare them. If you don't
have the wheels, moving the bike box or softcase is going to be a real
drag and you will be unhappy.
The one drawback of the HardCase is that the fastening clasps are
completely inadequate. Recognizing this before I embarked, I bought
two nylon straps with metal ratchet style mini-winches. About 8 bucks
each at a local U-Haul moving supply store. This worked perfectly and
absolutely kept the two halves of the HardCase together. In one case,
while in Athens Greece, I was in a taxi and the bike was in the trunk.
The driver was going insanely fast on horrific roads and the trunk
kept opening widely and banging into the case. With the original
clasps, the case would have opened for sure.
Another thing you have to check is your bike frame size. I have a
27.5cm Trek 520 and I did have to perform more disassembly than for
other bikes. The 520 has a long wheelbase so I had to remove the
dereilleur assembly and I had to remove the chainrings to fit
everything. This is above and beyond removing the seat, removing
pedals, removing wheels and turning the handlebars.
Another suggestion is get yourself a spool of 22 gauge insulated wire.
You would not believe how useful this is. With he wire, you can tie
items securely in place so that the handlebars, for instance, don't
bang into the frame. All you need to do is twist tightly and you're
set. The HardCase comes with foam protectors for the downtube, etc.
Essentially, it's pipe insulation with a slit down the side. The wire
comes in real handy to keep the stuff on.
Make sure you declare the bike *before* you pass through the first
stage of customs in some countries and get documents or your passport
stamped as needed. This way, when you get your bike from the cargo
area, you will go through final customs without a problem or at least
minimal problems.
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