Well, by now we’ve got a wee bit of experience packing bike boxes for flight, and after our adventure I have some tips to help you get your baby there and back safe and sound.
1) Box selection
There are a few different choices here: hard case, or cardboard. Having flown my bike in both options, I have 100 times more peace-of-mind when flying my in a bike hard case.
I’ve flown a couple bikes in the same cardboard box that a bike is shipped new to the store in and even when I double boxed a bike, by the time it got to my destination something had always been pressured enough with weight that it was sticking out of the box. This is especially concerning when it’s your derailer!!
I won’t say that a hard case is bomb-proof, but pretty close to it if you dial everything down snug enough. With a Trico bike box (which we used) three layers of 2.5″ thick t pack between the important parts of the bike (the main component and the wheels). And the other bonus is that these boxes have wheels, making life MUCH easier when going from car, to hotel, to airport, etc. You can usually rent these at a local bike shop, and it’s only about $40 – 50 per week, call it “insurance” for your bike.
If you ARE considering using cardboard, I’m going to recommend that next time you are at arrivals in the airport, go to the special baggage section and watch how gently they treat large equipment! [*insert large amounts of sarcasm]. Long story short, on one of our legs we were standing there and watched them hurl, and yes, I mean HURL out, a set of golf clubs, baby car seats, a surf board (nose first, I wonder if it’s still in tact), and a few other pieces. It was SO brutal that a the owner of the car seats actually pushed back the curtains and yelled at the workers in the loading bacy, “Hey guys, why don’t you throw the stuff a little {insert explicative} harder! I don’t think you are breaking things into quite as many pieces as you want?!!!”
2) Dissasembly
As you are taking the bike apart pay close attention to how it was assembled to begin with. I know this may sound obvious, but when taking key things off, ie. a derailer, it pays off when you have to put your bike back together and there is no bike shop within 100s of miles of where you are to help you fix it!
When you take a bolt, screw, out, even though the part it holds may need to be unattached for shipping, make sure you put these parts back in their place. If you can’t do that, then masking tape them to the part which they attach to. (note: masking tape works better for this b/c then things don’t get all gummy).
3) Packing up the Parts:
Start with the big pieces first and work to the smallest. The frame will only fit one way, then work down from there, the smaller parts can be tucked neatly around it. If ANYTHING looks like it could rub another part, then wrap it with newsprint. The other option is to wrap it with bike clothing you are taking with you, and that will open up room in your other luggage, and give the bike more padding.
4) Don’t Pack Your Bike When You Are Tired:
It just makes sense that if you rush this process or are too tired to pay attention you are going to forget how things go back together, or worse, forget a part. Again, when you are 100s of miles away from a bike shop when you arrive at your destination, this spells disaster.
5) Pack Extra Parts
Always travel with spare parts!! (bolts, screws, chain pieces, etc)
When I was assembling my bike in Cuba, I had a really close call. Our room was on the 2nd floor and we were out on the balcony assembling our bikes. A screw slipped from my hand skipped along the tile floor and bounced down into the garden below!! I was luck enough to find it, after about 5 mintues of gently pushing leaf by leaf aside, but had I have lots it I wouldn’t have been riding anywhere!
6) Bag Any Fluids
If you are putting any fluids in your bike box, put them in a ziplock bag, or something that is waterproof from the inside out, so you don’t end up with spillage all over everything by the time you get there!
7) Deflate Your Tires
If you don’t the air pressure in the plane will likely pop your tube.
Don’t Forget Your Tools
Do I really have to explain this one? Just make sure that anything you used to take the bike apart with you take it with you to put it back together with.
I think that should just about cover it, safe travels!
