pstock

Does anyone know if I can travel with a steel/alloy seatpost in my carryon luggage?
​​​​​​
just the post.

Or would it get flagged as.a weapon by security?.

I am trying to get a seatpost to memin Canada from the UK and my nephew is flying home for the holidays and could "mule" it for me, but might only have a carryon bag.

It's a fairly unusual 28.6 seatpost (for a.Moulton) so I would not want to have it confiscated

And I know different counties have different airport security rules. The UK is tougher than most.

indyfabz

Maybe.

Troul 

email the airports' CSC asking for clarity while providing them detailed pictures (if possible) illustrating the physical description.
Typically, corporate interpretation of policy, size, physical shape regarding jagged edges, & weight are going to determine what a customer is "permitted" for a carry-on item.

My quick thinking when it comes to relying on other's with me traveling using such service is, if I had to stop & think about it, gave it doubt, & could bring-about a lengthy delay to other travelers... then I'll figure out other options (if available) or seek help with a [alternative] solution.

staehpj1 

Most likely not, but maybe. Is there some reason why you would need to?

soyabean

I agree that separating the seat from a locked bike is something many do as a theft deterrent.

If that's what you want by not including the seat+post with the bike in the travel case, maybe keep the seatpost with the bike, and carry the saddle with the carry on. I can't see any saddle from being denied, whereas the seatpost can still be a "weapon".

I'm also assuming you don't have any check-in luggage other than the bike, so everything else is in the carry-on (a lot of people travel like this).

Barry2 

I just tripped to UK from USA. Items in my carry-on that sailed through USA TSA got my bag pulled on the way back.
No biggie, I was only carrying 2 gel’s I’d forgotten in my pack. But UK found them, swabbed/sniffed the entire pack, sniffed and I think xrayed the gels, then gave them back.

Sad to say, UK security is a level above that we receive in the USA!

I can’t see the uk allowing you to travel with a metal pipe!

Barry

krakhaus 

Leave the seat on the seatpost and you probably won't have a problem. Especially if you have one of those fat-*** comfort seats.

_ForceD_

Forgo carry-on and check the bag (with the seatpost in it).

Dan

smd4

If they don't allow it and then confiscate it--is that worth the risk to you?

Polaris OBark

I have done it, but that is of no use to you. The best thing is to have it in a labeled box and allow them to inspect it to whatever extent they wish to. If it is hollow (as are most posts), they should be able to see inside of it. Make it as easy as possible for them.

I brought a whole wheel as a carry-on without a problem, but have had nail clippers confiscated. It is a crapshoot. The safest thing is to have a backup plan (i.e., he should be ready to mail it to the destination or home, if needed. They can't legally steal the thing), and arrive at the airport early enough to allow that to happen.

Also be aware that Heathrow is a total disaster at the moment.

indyfabz

Q: Why aren't vultures allowed to fly on airplanes?

A: Because they have too much carrion.

BillRS22

That pun is so bad, I wish I had thought of it. Bill

Koyote

I recently took a flight, and had mistakenly left a Swiss Army Knife in my carry-on bag. TSA didn't catch it, and I found it when unpacking. It is a very large knife...It has at least a half-dozen tools that could be used to kill someone.

My point: there's some randomness and idiosyncrasy built into the system. Unless you're willing to lose that seatpost when TSA forbids you from carrying it on the plane, then find another plan.

smd4

I had a P-38 confiscated once. And I don't mean a plane...

Koyote

I'm guessing you missed your flight.

Iride01 

I'd have your mule put it in a bag and check the bag. Why take a chance. Even if you can find some reason to believe it's okay or TSA tells you ahead of time that it's okay, if the TSA guy on the day it goes through the scanner flags it and wrongly confiscates it, you aren't going to get it back.

Canada's kind of strict on bicycle parts coming in aren't they. I might worry more about that. 13% duty isn't it?

soyabean

Unless they are Jason Statham, no one is going to use a wheelset as a hijack weapon and beat someone to death.

badger1

Unless things have changed, I believe the 13% import duty applies only to 'complete bicycles' -- new ones.

AFAIK there is no duty on bike parts, with the exception of 'complete wheels' (e.g. wheelsets), nor on used bikes.

smd4

I did not. They just took the P-38 off my key ring.

blacknbluebikes 

I personally had a Park pedal wrench pulled by TSA. They didn't like that at all. Bye bye wrench.

phughes

smd4

I'm not sure how much damage I could have caused with it, but it was apparently threatening enough. Luckily, they're a dime a dozen (almost literally).

phughes

Well, your P-38 is not the same as the implication of what it was. Once I read your follow-up post I tried deleting my response.

Koyote

Ah...I thought you were talking about this P38.

veganbikes

I would check with the local airport knowing that the security is a total theater and provides zero safety to anyone and is as random and arbitrary as can be. If you are worried I would check it with your checked luggage or have your friend or relative take it.

I remember years ago probably 2006 I was pulled aside because of my bag, they said there was incendiary material in it. Me being younger and dumber at the time and having not realized the full theater because I really don't fly much and hadn't done so in a long time told the half-wit who was searching through my bag which had no liquids or anything aside from a book or two and some CDs and CD player and maybe a pen a complete history of the bag because it really never left my sight aside from at home where nobody touched it. The only thing that would have been close to the incendiary object was a BIC lighter I picked up and was in the bag for all of 30 minutes months ago and he was like nope that's not it and I am like well that is all it could be as he kept telling me to sit back down as I was trying to observe him rifling though my personal belongings I didn't give him permission to search through, he eventually let me go and I kept asking him what the incendiary object was and he couldn't tell me. Obviously it was just a bunch of B.S. and he just need to mess with someone and I was there for his one man show on Broadoverreachway.

My last flight (which was also my second flight after the one in '06) surprisingly went OK on the way back I had more than 2oz of liquids in my bottle (in this case the deadly Dihydrogen Monoxide) and they let me right though. It was completely arbitrary. I was probably even more nervous and jittery then that previous time as well and I lost my ticket and ID as I had put them somewhere so they were easy access and in the time it took to finally reach the person checking the second time I had forgotten where I put them.