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Rent vs. a a Bike to Europe

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Rent vs. a a Bike to Europe

Old 02-18-21, 04:36 PM
  #26  
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It has been mentioned already, but you can just buy a bike when you get there. Craigslist or the local equivalent using the local language translation for "bicycle" or "bike" or whatever. Maybe a bit of pre-arrangement & excellent communication with the prospective seller explaining your intentions beforehand. The big advantage is theft resistance. Low value & low cost & native product...& you can regard such a thing as nearly disposable.

That's what Mrs. Base2 & myself did prior to a trip to The Netherlands. The seller, it turned out was a New Yorker there on contract & was off-loading his posessions before returning to the United States. I think we paid $100USD each for both bikes for 10 days & gave them to the hotel bar-tender the night we left. I figure we got at least our hundred bucks back in free drinks.

Trains & trams are not the same thing. If your intent is to travel by bus, tram, etc...You might be better off with a folding bike, as bikes are not allowed on trams & buses.Trains, OTOH may be different & bikes may be allowed depending.

We've also travelled with S&S coupled bikes as well. The biggest disadvantage is hotel policy. We had a hotel in Canada that it took some effort & a (very real) threat to cancel our week stay before they agreed to allow them in a ground floor maintenance room. We were not pleased & added a theft/responsibility note to our account.

Our hotel in Arkansas didn't care a wit what went on where. Though I did have plans to inconspicuously hand carry wheels to our room in on trip & the frame just as incognito in another. In Arkansas, you don't argue with authority.

In retrospect, an S&S coupled folding bike with 20 inch wheels in an airline case might be the best solution to all possible scenarios. The disadvantage, obviously, being the cost of such a thing & any personal attachment you might have with it. It'd be a very attention-grabbing thing on any café stop bike rack.

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Old 02-18-21, 05:29 PM
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This discussion of renting has reminded me that a friend of mine, his wife and I think two or three other couples went to Europe for a week or two (I do not remember how long) and rented bikes. The rear axle broke on one of the bikes. They were fortunate that there was a bike shop nearby that knew how to fix it. Otherwise, if it would have been a costly repair the rental company might not have shown much interest in getting things fixed in a timely manner since middle of the trip, they were not physically close to the rental company.
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Old 02-18-21, 05:51 PM
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I love this topic because somebody asks a question and gets every conceivable response in reply.
Rent , don't rent, take your bike with you, buy a bike and sell it when you leave, ship by bikeflights etc. etc.
My reply is that it is much more expensive to take your bike with you than it used to be, research your options very carefully if you go this route.
Don't use bike flights for international shipping, customs clearance for un accompanied shipments can be difficult and expensive. Or it can be simple, but you don't know in advance.
Other than that, have a great trip whatever you do, let us know how it works out.
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Old 02-19-21, 10:14 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by imi
The biggest hassle can be finding a cardboard box before flying home.
We use padded travel bags precisely for that reason. We always ride out/in airports. Depending on the circumstances, (i.e. closed loop vs open jaw) we'll leave our bags at our first stop (hotel, etc.), or carry the bag (roughly the size of a typical sleeping bag) on our rear rack for the duration of the trip.

I am not even sure that padding is useful for a touring bike. If a bike is bomb proof, it should be air-travel proof... A rinko bag (folds to the size of a water bottle ) is a reasonable option, perhaps with the addition of a foam boot to protect the fork, and either removing the rear derailleur or using some kind of protection.

Also worth noting that it is often necessary to put your bike in a travel bag in order to take the train/subway.
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Old 02-19-21, 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted by gauvins
...
I am not even sure that padding is useful for a touring bike. If a bike is bomb proof, it should be air-travel proof... .
In a former life I traveled a lot, had to haul along a lot of electronic and other equipment in my luggage for work.

A friend of mine had a roommate that loaded food onto airliners (back in the days when they gave you food) and occasionally filled in for baggage handler. One time I saw him and said I had just bought a new suitcase, named the brand and model, asked him is thoughts.

He replied - that is a hard case, never get a hard case. I asked why - he said just yesterday he had driven the food truck over a piece of soft case luggage and other than a bit of scuff marks, no damage to the bag. But when they drive a truck over a hard case suit case, it is destroyed.

Yes, that is what he said. That was back in the days of free checked luggage. From the way he said it and from his experience handling luggage, I suspect that he only checked baggage that would withstand being driven over by the food truck.

I made a wooden center support to use in my S&S Backpack case. Had to replace some of the wood after it was broken on one of my trips.
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Old 02-19-21, 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
[... snip ...] He replied - that is a hard case, never get a hard case. I asked why - he said just yesterday he had driven the food truck over a piece of soft case luggage and other than a bit of scuff marks, no damage to the bag. But when they drive a truck over a hard case suit case, it is destroyed.
Interesting anecdote...

My inclination is to say, this is about karma. Several airlines suggest to simply "remove pedals, turn handlebars, deflate tires and put the bike in a transparent plastic bag." Meaning that "usually" bikes do not need extra protection. Think about travelling with skis, surfboards, golf clubs, fishing rods, etc.). But yes, stuff happens. And we tend to focus on unusual stuff.

IDK -- we've flown more than 10 times, several bikes, international. Worst case has been a dinged rim on a return flight. Difficult to assess the probability that a bike will be significantly damaged in transit (probably a small figure). And there's the fact that you'll need a bag anyway, in many jurisdictions, if you plan on taking public transit. My estimate is that travelling with hard shell means a day spent on logistics, in and out. With a bag, it is easy to unwrap and ride out of the terminal.

(must be quite a feeling to see your bike dropped from a container and the tractor reducing is to pulp )
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Old 02-19-21, 06:29 PM
  #32  
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I felt bad enough when they dropped my bike off the baggage cart at the train station.

Last edited by Doug64; 02-19-21 at 09:58 PM.
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Old 02-19-21, 08:51 PM
  #33  
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Apart from the derailleur, it’s a good idea to really protect the frame from the rear wheel cassette. The cassette teeth will chew into a frame if baggage handlers do, well, what they’re best at.

p.s they’re not good at geography either! 🥴🤣
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Old 02-20-21, 04:23 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by imi
Apart from the derailleur, it’s a good idea to really protect the frame from the rear wheel cassette. The cassette teeth will chew into a frame if baggage handlers do, well, what they’re best at.

p.s they’re not good at geography either! 🥴🤣
I personally have never had to remove a rear wheel from the bike when packing it, so the cassette stays where it is.
I've always used the smallest bike box possible for my medium sized frames. Easier for putting into a car and moving in an airport either sliding on floor or on an airport trolly cart.
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Old 02-20-21, 04:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Doug64
I felt bad enough when they dropped my bike off the baggage cart at the train station.
My boxed bike that rode by Amtrak, I had no idea how far they had dropped it but I could not think of any other possibility to knock the chain off the chainrings and wrap it around the bottom bracket shell. The red plastic lens was knocked off of my taillight, one of two batteries were loose in the bottom of the box, the other presumably was lost out of one of the box holes.
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Old 02-20-21, 06:43 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by downtube42
Not so much my mind is made up - I'm sure other people have had other experiences - just that's my experience. Air France lost my bike on the return trip; it did show up a week later. TSA broke my dyno headlight. Another year, Delta denied my bike at the gate, despite it being prepaid. It took an hour of wrangling with various agents and managers before they would take it, during which time it seemed my trip was trashed. The airline lost my friend Renee's bike going to France for PBP 2015, so he ended up hanging around in Paris after having prepared, qualified, and trained. At a big event like PBP, you become aware of the non-zero number of people dealing with lost and damaged bikes. Everyone knows someone dealing with these issues.

I've schlepped my bike through airports, bus stations, train stations, and on trains and buses. Not fun.

The best experiences, where transport was smooth, still had me assembling/disassembling my bike in a hotel courtyard or empty hotel conference room, then dealing with bike storage in either a tiny hotel room or a hotel luggage room intended for luggage, not bikes.

I hope to do LEL in 2022 and PBP in 2023, likely others. I do not look forward to the bike transport bit.

I suppose all these things could be solved with money though.
Thats unfortunate that you've had such bad luck. And I acknowledge that for a PBP or similar timely event, the impact of a messup is significant due to the commitment.
My experiences have generally been good, and here are some things I recently wrote on another thread that shows what we can do to minimize the chance for issues--as best we can.
I've found that I just look at boxing my bike looking at the packing with the assumption that there will be impacts, so I try to imagine where and how much padding or positioning that will reduce damage.
I've flown with a bike a bunch of times since the early 90s, and so far (BIG TOUCH WOOD, TOUCH WOOD) havent had bad surprises like the ones that you recount.
I also try to research bike shops in the area I'm going to , in case there is a messup and I need to source something.
Also, I do nearly all the mechanical work on our bikes, so assembling for me isnt a terrible chore, and just part of travelling with ones bike. With bicycle touring, one has to be flexible, improvising and resourceful, just part of the process.

I wish you the best with your future events, they sound exciting even if that type of event is not my thing.
Oh, and yes, I have always kept my schlepping of a bike box to an absolute minimum, ie no buses, trains etc.

Here are some of my thoughts from another thread to reduce the risk as much as we can., while being aware that a certain amount is always going to be out of our control.

---------------

if you do plan to fly overseas, really take the time to read up and watch you tube vids of boxing your own bike. I've flown with my bike quite a number of times and I've picked up better techniques over the years.

the ideal thing is to become friendly with a bike shop mechanic and ask well ahead of time that when they receive and unbox a bike similar to your bike size, that they keep all the foam stuff, all the plastic bits like disc protector for front wheel, fork spacer, rear derailleur cover thingee etc and throw this all in the box as they go.
ideally if you can watch them take out a new bike this is great, take a photo cuz the dropbar and front wheel position will be the best way for you to get close to.
I shift to the largest rear sprocket to move the rd as far inward a possible, some people remove rd, others remove front rotor also but I just use the hard circular protector.
I put some foam under the fork brace also to absorb an impact. Tape it on.
nearly always jam my sleeping bag in near fork area to hold bike in place, too big a bike box length wise isn't good, too much movement. You want bike well held, no big fore aft movement if possible.

I always reinforce the cut out hand openings with tape, they tend to rip from a fast and hard grab, and I reinforce the bottom corners too w tape.

first time boxing will take hours, figuring it out, making mistakes. Normal

I really do think it's worth doing it on your own, this way you'll be familiar with the process for return.

safe and smart packing is the key to reducing chances of damage if Angry Don't Give a Ratsass baggage handler is having a crappy day.....

we all love our bikes, so it's worth the time getting the techniques right.

oh, I use a marker to put UP arrows, can help too keep it right way up.

we do our best , then just hope for the best once it disappears out of sight down the conveyer belt........

PS, always arrive early for check in, and a friendly smile and all that tends to help also (at least at the check-in, Mr DGARatsass is out of our control!)
Also, if possible, no connecting flights just reduces the risk of damage simply from less times being handled.
and of course, various airlines have hugely different rules and fees, so do your research before buying a good deal of a ticket--"oh and yes Ma'am, that will be $200 each way to take your bike" sort of surprise....
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Old 02-20-21, 08:29 AM
  #37  
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One other option... Buy a modestly priced bike there. Price it all out and decide. One friend spent enough in baggage fees to just about break even on buying a low end bike and depending on the length of the tour and how hard it is to return the bike a rental may be similar. That is without being able to sell the bike at the end and you might be able to get something for it or at least donate it somewhere.

I met someone here in the US riding a really cheap Walmart bike down the Pacific Coast Highway. He said it was way cheaper than flying his from his home in Japan. He was also using Walmart level camping gear. I'd want a little nicer stuff, but he seemed to be having a great trip. He planned to give it all away at the end of his ride.

There are some $500 bikes that are pretty functional these days and you could take some key things with you in your luggage (saddle, pedals, pump, racks, etc.).

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Old 02-20-21, 09:33 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
One other option... Buy a modestly priced bike there. ...
My last tour, I was in a campground in Nova Scotia, a cyclist rolled into the campsite next door. He flew from the UK with his panniers and rear rack to Toronto. Bought a used hybrid for a couple hundred CAD, put his rear rack on it and had to buy a front rack locally. Weeks later he is fighting the mostquitos in the campsite next to mine, he was saying that he was on his way to NYC where his daughter lived, he would leave the bike there with her when he flew home. His used hybrid and the cost of the front rack were probably comparable to luggage fees for a bike from the UK and back.
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Old 02-20-21, 10:57 AM
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to me the overall issue with renting or trying to buy used is that you just dont know what you'll get. For buying used this is clearly the case, and all the drama and pain in the keesterness when your used bike starts falling apart partway thru your trip.
re rentals--I suspect there is a very wide range of what you'll get. My wife once rented a bike for a week or two a few years back and I was able to get very reliable info from both their website and actually calling and talking to someone about frame sizes etc---buuuuuut from my experience seeing some rental places in other countries, some seemed very wishy washy and so it seems that it could be pretty hit and miss.

I guess I stick with the "buyer beware" thing, and then on top of it, as I ride a lot, I really dont see the appeal of riding a bike that doesnt fit me as well as my bike, but then I realize that this is personal and some people might not bat an eye at riding whatever they get or dealing with mechanical issues that could arise---and also it can depend on how long you plan to tour for, and what your expectations are for daily distances etc. A mystery hybrid might be fine for one trip, but not great for a longer, more arduous trip in mountains with too high gearing.
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Old 02-20-21, 02:16 PM
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The last times that I've flown with a bike, the cost was $50 with Air Canada, about the same with Air Transat, and about the same with Aeromexico. Flights to and from Mexico, Costa Rica and France/Switzerland.

So fairly reasonable, and the pleasure, practicalness/fit and known reliability of riding my own and our bikes is worth it, but that's me.
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Old 02-20-21, 03:36 PM
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Originally Posted by djb
The last times that I've flown with a bike, the cost was $50 with Air Canada, about the same with Air Transat, and about the same with Aeromexico. Flights to and from Mexico, Costa Rica and France/Switzerland.

So fairly reasonable, and the pleasure, practicalness/fit and known reliability of riding my own and our bikes is worth it, but that's me.
Yeah, Given those costs I'd take my bike. On the other hand with different countries and different trips costs can vary a lot. T charges can be higher and can be per hop. The person mat be flying to mulriple countries in the process of their travels and so on.

A took a bike to Europe. She said she wracked up $650 worth of baggage charges and only used the bike in one country (Spain) where she spent most of her time. I think she could have probably bought a decent bike there for that. She was there for a year. I think I have that all correct it was a long time ago (at least 10 years).
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Old 02-20-21, 04:26 PM
  #42  
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I've flown from Hobart Tasmania to Athens Greece, back from Helsinki to Hobart, no extra cost for bike and luggage. I mailed a bunch of packing stuff from Athens to Helsinki, a bike shop stored it for me. Flew from Hobart to Vancouver back from San Francisco no extra Did have to pay for the flight from SFO to YVR because it was on a separate booking. Multiple flights to Japan, no extra.
I do that because there's no easy/cheap way to rent a proper touring bike for weeks at a time when your start/finish point is different. It just takes some googling to evaluate all the options in terms of flights, luggage size etc
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Old 02-20-21, 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
Yeah, Given those costs I'd take my bike. On the other hand with different countries and different trips costs can vary a lot. T charges can be higher and can be per hop. The person mat be flying to mulriple countries in the process of their travels and so on.

A took a bike to Europe. She said she wracked up $650 worth of baggage charges and only used the bike in one country (Spain) where she spent most of her time. I think she could have probably bought a decent bike there for that. She was there for a year. I think I have that all correct it was a long time ago (at least 10 years).
in the end, one really has to be informed about charges with X or Y airline, and then make your decision. For years I've read of the outrageous prices that American companies charge, and if this were the case for me, it would be a factor. I'd find it hard to pay 200 bucks each way for my bike, although I don't know what the flight costs are, they may be a lot less in the States (although lets face it, all this is out the fricken windown now with so many airlines fighting to stay alive.....)

who the heck knows when we will fly again......
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Old 02-20-21, 06:56 PM
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My Canadian Maritimes trip would not have happened if I had to deal with a full size bike box. But the S&S backpack case made it doable. Fortunately, I had no delays getting from Madison WI to Halifax NS, only took about 32 hours (including a motel overnight stay), but if I had to lug around a full size bike box too, I would have given up trying and would have canceled the trip. It was not so much the cost, but the hassles involved. I really think that it would have been easier to fly to any major city in Europe from Madison WI than it was to fly to Halifax NS.

My Iceland trip, first checked bag was free, second (the S&S case) was $100 USD each way, I do not recall exactly what the extra cost would have been for full size bike box was, but I think it was something like $140 each way on top of the luggage fee. For a month long trip, I could have done another $280, but that would have increased the total trip cost by over 10 percent for the oversize fees alone.

I wish Southwest Air flew to Madison WI, I like their luggage policies. As far as I know they still have oversize fees but two free checked bags is nice for a bike tour.

I am already planning post-vaccine post-Covid trips in 2022.
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Old 02-20-21, 07:44 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by djb
The last times that I've flown with a bike, the cost was $50 with Air Canada, about the same with Air Transat, and about the same with Aeromexico. Flights to and from Mexico, Costa Rica and France/Switzerland.

So fairly reasonable, and the pleasure, practicalness/fit and known reliability of riding my own and our bikes is worth it, but that's me.
Really? I got quotes from West Jet and Air Canada for flying my bike from Calgary to Victoria and it was about $100 on each airline. The actual ticket was about $150. This was four years ago.
I never did go on the trip.

A buddy who flies on Air Canada a lot flew to Italy with his ultralight carbon road bike in a hard case. He was charged $60 on the way over and $200 on the way back.
It does vary a lot between airlines. Recently airlines have realized that they make a lot of extra money on baggage and things like bikes and sports equipment are a very lucrative opportunity.
From what I am hearing post pandemic airfares are going to be very expensive, and I expect baggage is going to be even more expensive.
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Old 02-20-21, 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by skookum
Really? I got quotes from West Jet and Air Canada for flying my bike from Calgary to Victoria and it was about $100 on each airline. The actual ticket was about $150. This was four years ago.
I never did go on the trip.

A buddy who flies on Air Canada a lot flew to Italy with his ultralight carbon road bike in a hard case. He was charged $60 on the way over and $200 on the way back.
It does vary a lot between airlines. Recently airlines have realized that they make a lot of extra money on baggage and things like bikes and sports equipment are a very lucrative opportunity.
From what I am hearing post pandemic airfares are going to be very expensive, and I expect baggage is going to be even more expensive.
yup, I'm pretty certain my memory is good for these. Last one was in 2019 air transat to France, returning from Switzerland. But transat is known for being resonable.

but as you say, who knows how prices will be for struggling airlines due to this pandemic, this has been one hell of a kick in the pants for the industry.
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Old 02-20-21, 08:08 PM
  #47  
skookum
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Originally Posted by djb
yup, I'm pretty certain my memory is good for these. Last one was in 2019 air transat to France, returning from Switzerland. But transat is known for being resonable.

but as you say, who knows how prices will be for struggling airlines due to this pandemic, this has been one hell of a kick in the pants for the industry.
Yes, Transat are good, I flew with them once to Europe in 2004. Who knows if they are even going to be around much longer.
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Old 02-20-21, 08:18 PM
  #48  
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There's talk of them being sold, but tbh I haven't been reading the reports.
I do however drive past their sitting planes at the airport every couple of weeks and wonder how it will work out......
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Old 02-20-21, 08:24 PM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by djb
There's talk of them being sold, but tbh I haven't been reading the reports.
I do however drive past their sitting planes at the airport every couple of weeks and wonder how it will work out......
They had a deal that Air Canada was going to buy them but it expired last week as the European regulators didn't approve it. Now Peladeau says he wants it.
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Old 02-21-21, 06:31 AM
  #50  
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With an S&S case and weight under 20 kg, (50 lbs, on regular US airlines, 40 lbs. on budget lines like Spirit) there should be no question about charges. The standard checked bag fee is published up front by the airline. At counter check-in if asked what's in the case it will be best to say mechanical parts since some airlines have a specific charge category for bicycles. On my last trip to Spain from Florida the added charge was $60 each way on top of a $360 round trip with American Airlines.
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