D1andonlyDman

I offered to facilitate for a poster on the east coast who's very interested in a nice bike here in San Diego, and I'm seeing shipping estimates on the order of $150-$200 using FedEx Ground or UPS Ground to ship a bike across the U.S. Given the shipping charges I typically see on ebay, I'd have guessed that it was more on the order of $75-100 for a full bike, and $25-50 for a frame, but apparently, it's more like double that amount.

Those prices assume I pack and ship it myself. I had a bike shop offer to do it for me, for $70 additional (which was only slightly higher than I thought it would be).

oddjob2

bikeflights.com, which is fedex ground. The LBS here, which is the Specialized dealer, charges $30 including all material to breakdown and pack a bike for shipping.

2016 Experience

A mountain bike from Detroit to Portland OR ran $45, a frameset same route was $38.00

Road bike from 33480, Palm Beach to Detroit was $45.00

Darth Lefty 

The last time I shipped a frame was a couple years ago by fedex ground, it came to $79 for a 62cm frame which put it just a bit oversize iirc

francophile 

ShipBikes or BikeFlights normally. Whichever is cheaper. I can usually ship anywhere east of the Mississipi $40 or less for a full bike and get it there in less than 4 days (as few as 2 days). When shipping framesets, I've shipped USPS for under $30 but last time, at $28ish, they lost the bike for a couple of days, and a fellow BF member and I were seriously sweating it (all turned out OK, bike arrived intact, I overpack everything bomb-proof). Insurance is supposedly awesome, I hear BikeFlights handles claims directly. I was initially using ShipBikes happily, I tried BikeFlights the last two and wasn't disappointed with either; operationally they're virtually the same. I used to use my FedEx biz account, but between these three (USPS/BF/SB) I'm blowing my FedEx merchant prices out of the water. I've even had two shops I used for facilitation convert after they saw the prices I was paying to ship, which were 40% less than what they typically see shipping to adjacent states (I was 5-6 large states away from both).

FBinNY 

How a bike is packed makes a significant difference in shipping costs.

All major carriers use "dimensional weight" using a formula (volume in inches / 166 = #s ) that converts volume to a billable weight. There are also surcharges for specific dimensions, ie the longest dimension being over X, and more significantly, the second longest dimension being over Y, or the sum of all three dimensions being larger than Z.

These rules can hit bike shippers very hard. For example, both UPS and Fedex have steep surcharges if the second longest dimension exceeds 30" which is close to bike box size. So, two bike boxes, one being 60x31x8 and 60x29x8 can incur very different fees.

It pays to know the rules and pack accordingly, working around them to the greatest extent possible.

The best rates will be if the bike is packed with the front wheel, bar/stem, saddle and pedals off, and the fork turned backward, with the front wheel nestled against the frame, all in a flat box less than 30" high. In some cases even more money can be saved by packing in 2 smaller boxes, one from frame and stuff and the other for 2 wheels. The added cost for a 2nd box is more than offset by avoiding all the oversize surcharges.

djkashuba 

Full bike with Bike Flights ... Virginia to California 73.00 insured. 4 days Fed Ex.

-D

D1andonlyDman

The quotes I got assumed 2 boxes: 1st box was 44x28x10 for the frame and most components, weighing 25 lbs, 2nd box, just for the wheels, was 28x28x8 weighing 10 lbs. Fedex ground quoted me $148, UPS ground quoted me $175. These were for San Diego to New York, with me dropping off the boxes at a FedEx or UPS main office.

oddjob2

Get it all in one box and watch your costs go way down.

chrismorg

here is your answer and shipping size limits ................................https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgTm7XC0i1E

verktyg 

BikeFlights +1

I've never used ShipBikes but I've heard they're good too!


Two weeks ago I shipped some rims via BikeFlights for $19... less than half of what US Postal Service, UPS or FedEx wanted! (BikeFlights used FedEx Ground)

It was easier to do online than shipping via USPS, UPS or FedEx! They can do pickups or you can drop the package off at a FedEx facility (see note below about franchise outlets).

A few years ago all of the shippers changed to "dimensional weight" for large packages that don't weigh a lot. It's the length times the girth.

FedEx .PDF file shipping information:

https://images.fedex.com/us/services/...ines_fxcom.pdf

The shippers use a measured piece of string or a beaded chain to determine the maximum size for "standard" pricing. It can be subjective...

I had to repack a frame twice because the schwantzkopf FedEx clerk kept saying it was 1/8" (3mm) too big! Finally I took it to the post office!


NEVER use a franchise shipping outlet like the "UPS Store", Mail Box companies and franchised FedEx outlets! They wont even ask if it was good for you too! I've seen them charge more than double the standard price!

Large volume shippers get special deals from FedEx and UPS. Amazon, eBay and many online outlets fall into this category.

Individuals and small companies subsidize those enterprises. For example UPS and FedEx have additional fees for deliveries to residences!


Here's a Flickr album that I did with suggestions about packing a frame or bike:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/282672...57625469349057


verktyg

Chas.

clubman 

My experience from Canada is completely different. No Bike-flights or anything like that. Canada Post won't ship it. Used UPS and it worked a charm. Shipped two frames in one box to Kentucky insured for $100. Hell I can't sent 4 lbs of anything in the post for less than $40 to the US. (insured)

italianbiker

i'm going to used them next time, I shipped UPS and paid 90.00 for a frame.

daf1009

Never use UPS or FedEx directly...the prices are crazy! I have used both Ship Bikes and Bike Flights...very similar and I can usually ship a frame from Atlanta to anywhere on the west coast for about $40; whole bikes run about $60.

vtchuck

Bike flights is great. I shipped a bike from Vermont to Australia...expensive but $250-$300 cheaper than FedEx or UPS. Handled all the customs stuff & it arrived in 4 days.

T-Mar

Last year we shipped my son's bicycle to him at university. We found the best rate was Purolator and were really surprised to see it come in at only $50 CDN. Nobody else was even close and I've often wondered if the agent made a mistake. The distance shipped was 3500 km. IIRC, it took three days to reach him.

davester

I'm surprised at these low domestic rates. I looked into having bike flights ship my bike to and from Italy for Eroica, and the rate was more than $700, with me supplying the box and packing. At those rates it would be smarter to rent or buy a bike there. Taking the bike on the plane as excess luggage is between $0 and $300 roundtrip, depending on airline. Heck, we managed to take two bikes for that price by jamming them into a single-bike box.

Gartenmeister

I've shipped a couple dozen framesets, wheelsets & complete bikes in the last few months. Have sent complete bikes all the way to NY for under $50, insured. Most of mine are through e-Bay/FedEx, though some are through bikeflights/FedEx. I have not paid more than $60 for anything to anywhere, and that was for a frameset that went to TN. It was a really big frame. Really big frames cost way more than whole (smaller) bikes- the height number makes all the difference.

What others have told you is correct- use bikeflights (or similar), never pay retail, dimensional weight is everything, keep the box height to a minimum and put everything in one box.

My suggestion is to play with the calculator at bikeflights.com to get a real grasp on how this stuff works. Because of dimensional weight there are size thresholds that will make the cost go way up. Likewise, reductions in size sometimes make very little difference at all. You need to play with the numbers to find out, and you need to be willing to use a boxcutter.

As an example I put in your two boxes for a quote, SD to NY. The first comes in at $43. The second is $31. However, if you were to put it all in one 54x9x28 bike box the rate is $44- only $1 more than your 44x28x10 alone. But don't get over 29 for the height on that box....that sends the quote to $64. As you can see, if you run only one quote (for the size of the box sitting in front of you) you won't get to see this difference. You need to fiddle and play with the numbers to find what works best.

BTW, those bikeflights quotes do not include any insurance or the $5 residential delivery fee.

fietsbob

My LBS has a UPS account
billed cost from UPS is passed along a fee is charged to Pad it with some recycled padding from un wrapping new bikes
and knock down and Box It.

people say some ebay sellers dont do more than put things loose in a box.

Business to business is probably lower Because unlike residential home delivery
some one will be there to receive it the first time.

D1andonlyDman

I wanted to thank everyone for their very useful inputs in this thread. So the moral of the story is, use bikeflights or their competitor, and put everything in one bike box that does not exceed 29" in height, and of course, pack it all well. Thanks again to everyone.

oddjob2

Total box dimension should be 108 inches I believe. Furthermore, an extra inch of box thickness is the biggest penalty as it affects cubic inches the most. I often use flat screen tv boxes for frames.

speedy25

You guys forgot one- Greyhound. You dont get the wacky big box rates with them. I ship bikes and camping gear from Ohio to AZ when we go west. Price is affordable and so far its also reliable. For the rate I wouldnt mind if the delivery date is a day off, its still more reliable than USPS.

-SP

mparker326

108 is for USPS. 130 for FedEx ground.

igz

*Thread bump* just to ask if there are any specific shipping companies users have used within Canada. This is the first time I’ve been considering shipping a bike, and I find a lot of the companies (aside from usual fedex, ups, etc) I’ve found are US only.

mongol777

I shipped 4 bikes/bike frames this year, Canadapost with full insurance and tracking. Average was around $100CAD from Ontario to BC, NB and Quebec.
You can do estimate here www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1
Typical bike box dimensions are 9x22x46 and weight is usually around 20 lbs (I overpack so frame arrives safe)

Schreck83 

I found ShipBikes to be much less than BikeFlights ($75 v. $130) recently. Same dimensions and weight for a full road bike in a Cannondale box from WNY to LA. Didn't try FedEx directly.