staehpj1

I did that once and the charge was crazy expensive. Another time I took a friend's Bob trailer to them for boxing and shipping and again crazy expensive I'll never take anything directly to UPS for packing and shipping again. I have done much better when using a bike shop. They charged me less for the packing and less for the ups shipping than ups did.

indyfabz

Peace. Out.

djb

not personal experience, but reliable people on this forum have told of how fedex or whatever shipping within the states has a big big jump of price once a box is past a certain dimension.

you'll want to inform yourself of these details if thats a route you may go down.

kevmcd

I would just buy the box at FedEx or UPS and then take the bike on the plane with me. Maybe I could get them to build a box of 114.5 linear inches. If Amtrak didn't have a box and they charged me $30 or a little more for a box that would be OK.

Checked luggage is usually much cheaper than shipping.

indyfabz

For the edification of others…You’re correct. I played around on Bikeflights’ website. Bikeflights uses UPS. I got quotes using a certain box size at weights between 40 lbs. and 70 lbs. Price was always the same. Then I got quotes for a larger box size. Can’t remember the dimensions, but the price went up. Up to a certain point, size in the primary price driving factor.

In any event, the OP has figured it all out so I am definitely out now.

staehpj1

FWIW, "building a box" at UPS meant cobbling together two boxes in the few cases where I have seen them pack bikes or other items that didn't fit a standard box. It wasn't something that was easy to fold up and haul around town to get to the airport when you are on a bike. Also not sure they would have done it for someone not shipping with them or not. None of that is likely to be a problem at home, but in a strange town when needing to make a flight it can be tough.

If you go that route allow plenty of time and have other options. Knowing where the local bike shops are and having their numbers would allow a fall back plan. That way you could call around and find one at the last minute that would would pack and ship for you if things didn't work out. It has usually run about $100 for packing and shipping combined to send my bike home. The most expensive was $125. That was a few years ago so prices may have gone up a little, but are probably still in the ball park. Those were all shipped UPS by a bike shop. The shop charged $40-60 for packing and $40-60 for shipping and it almost always came out to abot $100 unless going to Florida in which case it seemed to run a little more (the $125 was my daughter's bike going to Tallahasse at the same time mine went to Baltimore for $100, despite the fact that Tallahassee was closer). FWIW, UPS charged me a lot more than that when a UPS store boxed shipped it for an even shorter hop.

BobG

Heh! Reminds me of a trip I took back in the '80s. I bicycled from my home in NH to White River Jct VT to catch the Amtrak to Montreal. I bought the official large bike box at the station in White River. At Montreal I was catching a flight on to Calgary, but the bus depot to Dorval airport was ten+ blocks from the train station. Too poor back then to take a taxi and the box wouldn't fit anyway, so I dragged my bike the entire way through the downtown (still in the big Amtrak box) with four panniers strapped around my shoulders to preserve the box! As I recall that box made it all the way to Calgary.

A looong lug to the terminal! ...

staehpj1

On my comment on UPS pricing... I don't know for absolutely, but from my experience it seems to be one of those things where going directly to them at their store guarantees a higher price or other issues. That has been my experience in the limited cases where I have used them due to being stuck in a situation where it was the most convenient and there was a time crunch.

Other similar examples include one way car rentals where walking up to a rental counter and asking for a one way car rental seems to WAY more often result in either a "No, sorry we don't have any cars that we can let go out one way" or a if they do there will be a very large one way fee, while going online and renting a car one way before walking up to the same counter results in a smile and a "here are your keys" with a small or even no fee. Going airport to airport seems to minimize the issue, but transacting online first even if in the terminal is a good move IMO. Similarly when packing smaller non bike related stuff and taking a box to the post office and buying postage is quite a bit more expensive than going to the post offices website and buying the exact same postage. Buying through some third party that gets a special rate may be even cheaper. Similar rate issues apply with other carriers.

indyfabz

I believe that is because a business gets better "commercial" rates than the "retail" rates the average consumer pays.

kevmcd

I measured my bike and figured out the ideal box size that is <115 linear inches and would allow me to pack it leaving both wheels on. 68" x 38" x 8.5". It does require that I remove my handlebars and stem because my stem has a rise to it instead of being right angle. Whoever designed the Amtrak box had my bicycle in mind.

Then I went down to the neighborhood FedEx office to see if they could build it. They couldn't. Two of the larger FedEx offices in town have panels that go up to 60" on one side and the retail cost per panel for their box construction is $30 per large panel. They could build the box by cobbling panels together to get to 68". Not sure what the final cost would be and I don't need to know because it is unreasonable. They also have pre-built bike boxes for sale for >$50 similar in size to what I got at my LBS for $10.

The LBS pack and ship will have to be the back-up plan. But that will be a lot more expensive than the $30 oversize checked luggage charge at Alaska Airlines.

staehpj1

Yeah, but it is nice to just drop the bike off and not have to pack or drag boxes or bike around a strange town.

BTW, I really don't get what the big deal is about removing the front wheel. Heck removing both wheels to use a soft case isn't a big deal IME. That would be especially true for the trip home.

Tourist in MSN

Agree.

It takes less time to pull and replace a front wheel than to fix a flat. This is the touring forum, you should plan on doing a bit of work.

I have no idea how many times I pulled a front wheel off of a bike to fit it in the back of my truck, sometimes one of my bikes and sometimes a friend's bike. It takes about as much time as pumping up a tire.

But some of my bikes with wider tires and narrow rims, front tire needs to be deflated to drop the wheel out because of the rim brakes. So, you add a bit of time with a pump, not a big deal.

The only thing that takes less time than replacing a front wheel is lubing a chain.

kevmcd

Packing in an Amtrak style box in my mind is a superior solution but there are other solutions that will work. Getting a box to fit a 60cm vintage bike at your LBS is not a given. The LBS I visited in Portland is without a doubt one of the 10 premier shops in the country and the biggest box they had on hand was marginal. To make my bike fit will require spinning the front forks 180 degrees(pulling the front caliper and fender) and I still haven't verified that seat tube won't be too tall (I have to pull the front fender to verify). I could plan on pulling the back wheel as well but then I would need to pull my duopar derailleur which means removing the chain and hoping I don't lose any of the irreplaceable bits.

I used to be a decent enough amateur mechanic. In 1975 I converted my crankset to a triple and built my own wheels. On a Friday afternoon in October of 1980 in Krakow I pulled my pedals, wheels, and handlebars in less than 5 minutes and had my bicycle passed to me through a train window by a couple of drunk college graduate students. This was after drinking Slivovitz all afternoon. I didn't have a plan to ride over the Tatras and I thought better of it and bought a ticket on the train. But just as I was getting on the train I tried to check my bike as luggage they told me I didn't have the necessary customs forms and the customs office was closed for the weekend and I would need to leave the bike in their warehouse and they would take care of it for me and send it on to Budapest on Monday. But I needed to get on the train because my visa was expiring in 2 days. I am slower now but still capable of disassembling and reassembling a bicycle.

I think I am back to the Amtrak box and if I get stopped I check-in I will figure it out.

Tourist in MSN

If you change your plans so that you can fly in and out of the same airport and if you are trying to make a huge box with custom dimensions for your bike to fit in a 115 inch box, presumably with a box that size you clearly must have access to a vehicle that will hold something that big. Home Depot sells Coroplast in 4 X 8 foot sheets. You could make a custom size box with two sheets. Would be more costly than a Amtrak box but should be able to take a lot more trips.

I use a pizza cutter to score Coroplast (or cardboard) before I try to put a crease into it to fold it, that makes it easier to get my fold exactly where I want it.

staehpj1

Good luck with your tour. Have a great time. I think that your packing will work fine, but suspect you are applying solutions in search of an actual problem to solve.
I think you make too much of all of this. The hardest part is typically getting the pedals off (either have a "real" pedal wrench or be sure they are not super tight) and you need to do that regardless of the type of box or case. People routinely remove the rear wheel for packing in soft cases most do not remove the rear derailleur. Most of those who do leave the chain in place and just fold up the slack to place the RD in a safer spot where it is off of the hanger. Personally I usually just shift it to the inner most position and protect it with a big sheet of cardboard that protects the whole side of the bike in the soft case without removing it. Depending of how it sits in the box added padding or removal may or may not be needed.

I think everyone removes the front fender for shipping. At least that has been my observation. It is a very minor thing to remove the caliper and two lower attachments. I quit using fenders years ago, but when I did stil use them it wasn't a big deal to deal with them for packing and unpacking even when quickly unpacking and riding out of the airport.

djb

One doesn't have to turn the forks 180 at all. A good friend of mine has flown with a larger frame than this and didn't have to.
Removing front fender yes for sure, but the whole process isn't as hard as this fellow is perceiving it, but I realize that for some people it can be very stressful and seem too much work. That's why bike store packing services are a good option. An easy stress free option for those less mechanically inclined.

Tourist in MSN

I recall several years ago seeing a photo of part of a rear derailleur sticking out of the hole in a cardboard box.

The shifter and brake lever in the photos below is mine, but neither was damaged.





Needless to say, they did not handle with care.

Good luck.

indyfabz

I have both packed and re-assembled road and touring bikes and still usually use LBS for that work. Nice to have someone else do that work, especially after I have been up well before the crack of dawn to catch a 6:00 am flight.

Frankly, this plan has all sorts of potential logistical problems/SNAFUs built into it (noted by others) that I am having a hard time believing it's real.

staehpj1

It occurred to me that our collective legs could possibly be being pulled, but I don't think that is the case. I think it is just a case of too much worry over details that are not really worth the concern. I do think he is trying to solve problems that are just not a major concern and ignore what is well established comon practice that has worked for probably thousands of tourists. Sometimes details can just get blown out of proportion if you worry about them too much.

The bottom line is that while he is putting himself through a lot more trouble than necessary, it will all work out fine. It is his bike and his trip so he can do as he pleases and nothing he is proposing sounds like it will doom his trip.

staehpj1

I make lots of smaller boxes for a non bike related business and find the pizza cutter works well, but it helps if it is very dull so it crushes and doesn't cut. I dulled mine to a blunt edge on a fine bench grinder and find it works better for me. Of course it ruins it as a pizza cutter.

kevmcd

Alaska Airlines has done a great thing for cyclists by changing their baggage policy to ship bikes for $30

Amtrak has done great things with their bike policies including creating a nice big box for $15


These 2 great things appeal to a couple of my dominant personality characteristics which are being cheap and lazy. Not really cheap and lazy but I take pleasure in frugality and making tasks as clean and simple as possible.


I started this strand asking for data points on whether these 2 great things from Alaska and Amtrak could be put together. There aren't as many actual data points as I thought there would be but I a appreciate the couple of data points that do exist.


It seems that the borg is highly offended that I do not want to be like it and pack my bicycle in its preferred manner. There are practical reasons and maybe quirky reasons I don't like to pack my bike the way it prefers. But at this point I think it is my civic duty to not conform and see if the world can be a simpler more beautiful place and maybe Amtrak boxes are acceptable on Alaska Airlines.

Tourist in MSN

Perhaps my pizza cutter was either too cheap to have been sharp in the first place, or perhaps I ate too much pizza and dulled it with too much usage.

saddlesores

It cuts the box down to 115 inches. It does this whenever it flies.
Please mister, let me fly! i'm too cheap and lazy to prepare my bike for transport!
It removes the front wheel or else it gets the TSA inspection again.
Okay, okay.
Now, it places the quick release in the basket.
Please! I want to keep the wheel on! Please...
[yelling] Put the ***ing quick release in the basket!

indyfabz

I took a side trip to Buffalo Bill’s house in 2020 during a tour.

saddlesores

cool beans! gives me idears for a couple new touring threads.

1. what be the most interesting/significant/offbeat pop culture sights you've visited while on tour?
2. what's on your touring bucket list?

not sure which ones i'd pick for the first topic, but in case i ever get back to the usa, the second would have to be....

A WORLD OF ACCORDIONS MUSEUM in superior, wisconsin.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to A World of Accordions Museum. Located in magnificent upper midwest of the USA, you will find the Museum nestled in the beautiful location of Superior, WI, just minutes away from Duluth, MN. Whether you are in the nearby Minneapolis area, maybe enjoying a shopping expedition at the Mall of America, or heading north of Minneapolis towards the great vistas of upper Minnesota and Wisconsin or neighboring Canada, be sure to include a visit to the Museum as a side trip or a stopover as part of your journey. You wont be disappointed!

A World of Accordions Museum, Superior, Wisconsin USA

they say the basement lavatories offer only the finest in micturational amenities!