hurla

Edited due to complaints.

Tourist in MSN

There are a bunch of you tube videos that show how different people have packed bikes for air travel in a large cardboard box that they obtained from a bike shop. I would suggest you watch at least three because everybody does it a bit different, so if you watch several and try to pick an average, you can't go too far off. Teh main differences are how much padding was used and how many zip ties were used to strap everything together.

Some foreign countries will charge you a customs duty if you bring something into the country for over 90 days. So, you might want to research that first to see if the country you are going to will charge you a fee to bring the bike into the country.

Some bike shops for a fee would pack it for you into a box.

Steve B.

The Bicycle Touring Pro has this to say

DanBell

I'm not usually this guy, but all of this information is readily available online already, including countless threads with people relating their personal experiences. The only unique point in your question is that you are moving to the country you're traveling to, so hat tip to Tourist in MSN for addressing that. Call me a curmudgeon if you will, but I much prefer helping people with advice and suggestions when they show they've done at least the bare minimum of effort to find the information themselves first. Ok, sorry everyone. Rant over, soapbox going back into storage now.

Steve B.

Some other things I’ve learned,

- Large bike shops often sell bikes on a weekend and will be assembling. Ask when’s a good time to get a box.

- Get 2 boxes, cut the side walls off of one to use as liners for that box with the bike. Helps in the event the airline punches holes in the box.

- Use packing tape to reinforce the handle holes so they don’t rip open.

- Ask the LBS for the plastic wheel axle protecters. They sit on the axle ends of the front wheel from which you removed the QR, or TA. Tie wrap the protectors on

- Remove the R derailer and tie wrap it to the chainstay. This way it doesn’t take a hit and bend the hanger.

- Get some foam tubing to wrap around the frame in all the exposed places, Sometimes the LBS has these off of new frames.

- The LBS should also have the fork protector which is a piece of plastic that sits in the fork dropouts, helps prevent the fork blades from getting crushed together.

- Get a small box to place, pedals, QR, etc... that box can live in the bike box.

- I’ve used a plumbing hose clamp to put on the steerer tube to hold the fork in place after I had removed the stem and h-bar.

geoffs

Feel exactly the same way Dan.

gerryl

Some people make their own boxes out of wood, and do a damn fine job. Some people go to their local bicycle shop and have them pack it. Some people make their own cardboard boxes. Some people pretty much take apart their bikes and wrap everything up in bubble wrap. Some people put their bikes in a big plastic bag and let the airline take care of it. Some people use variations/combinations on all of the above.

staehpj1

Some of what people do varies depending on where they are. I see lots of pictures and comments online of europeans just wrapping their bikes in plastic or bubble wrap. Here in the US most of the bikes I see flying are in cardboard boxes from bike shops (the boxes bikes ship in when new), but some buy dedicated cases (hard or soft ones are available). Asking at a bike shop will usually get you a free box.

People routinely fly with their bikes for touring, but they also ship their bikes via ups fedex or whatever. There are services that help cut the cost a bit if they serve where you are (shipbikes.com or bikeflights.com).

I have sometimes paid a bike shop to pack and ship my bike for me. I personally only do that when returning home from a tour when I don't want to bother with the bike. Bike shops seem to get a lot better shipping rate than I do so it helps make up for the cost of them packing the bike. Mostly I do it to avoid dealing with getting a box and schlepping stuff around in a strange town when I am done touring ready to just go home though.

How much disassembly? Enough to get it in the box. That will vary with the size of the frame and the size of the box. Looking at the online how to articles is a good idea, but you don't need to go crazy. Some people get a little carried away.

Airline regulations may vary depending on both airline and where you are. You might be able to use a box like the ones we use on Amtrak trains here where you can pretty much turn the bars put it in the box and tape it shut. Adding a little padding is still a good idea, but no real disassembly is really required.

ironwood

Has anyone else looked at the OP's other posts?

indyfabz

+1. For example, as to the OP's question of cost, one can ask a LBS how much they charge to pack a bike. Cue: "The nearest LBS is 100 miles from me."

indyfabz

The list grows longer by the day.

DanBell

hurla, I saw a reply from you that I guess has been deleted saying you had done a search and couldn't find the information you were looking for. I am still certain that this information is widely available on the internet at large, but here are two tips to help you search here more effectively. Apologies in advance if you already know these points, I'm just trying to be helpful.

First, instead of just using the search bar at the top of every page, click the dropdown menu beside it and click 'advanced.' This will allow you to search specific subforums, search for your results only in post titles, and make other refinements to help you find what you're looking for without a bunch of extra noise.

Second, no bulletin board software is going to have search algorithms as clever as Google's. If you use Google to search for your desired topic you can direct its eyeballs to a specific site by adding site:bikeforums.net (for example) to your search. This will look for results matching your query only in the domain you have specified. I use Duck Duck Go instead of Google, but you can see the same result here.

Hope that helps!