UKH

Morning all.

Just wondering if anyone has any information/ideas/beta for flying with a bicycle. 

Objective: Fly with a bicycle (easyjet) and cycle back to the UK.

On their website easyjet specifies that a bicycle must be stored in a bicycle bag or bicycle box for transit. I don't have one of these and even if I did I wouldn't be able to carry it with me on my forward journey. I was originally thinking I could just package it up in some disposable packaging but it doesn't sound like they would accept that. Any ideas?

Thank you in advance. 

Fit wings

Find a hill

Pedal like hell

As far as I know you can put it in a cardboard bike box, then dispose of the box at the destination... 

(btw you shouldnt need to pay for one of these, any bike shop will have a load waiting to be put in the skip)

https://www.eta.co.uk/2013/06/17/paravelo-the-worlds-first-flying-bicycle/

Ah, cheers Richard. I assumed by bike box they meant one of those proper hardshell ones.

Agreed!

But if you have to buy one for the purpose...

https://sendbike.com/products/european-recommended-bicycle-box

Agree!! I did this a couple of years ago flying to South of France then riding home….

OP….a box from a bike shop, loads of bubble wrap and Gorilla tape…enjoy the trip!

The bag or box you want/need depends on what sort of bike you are taking. If it's fancy carbon or a nice mtb with lots of expensive sealing surfaces then you need to get a proper bag or box. If you are just touring on a relatively simple and robust bike then you can get away with a plastic bag as sold by the ctc or cycling uk or whatever they are called this week. If you are wanting a posh box for a posh bike you can hire them from places like "bike box Alan". The issue arrises if you want to do a point to point with a posh bike. As mentioned above, you can often get a free bike box from a bike shop but this can make the last day before the flight home a bit stressful when trying to find a bike shop and box. Also, they are massive.

Easy - get a cardboard bike box from your local bike shop, pack bike into it and fly*

At the destination, dispose of box and wrapping - ideally by giving it to another cyclist to re-use.

If you leave it by the airport bins, you might spark a security alert.

* There's various videos about how to pack it - the critical part is to protect your rear mech.

Befriend ET!

Package it well. Handlers aren't that kind to bikes

(Taken MTBs on many flights (soft bag))

What everyone else has said - a cardboard bike box.  If you bike has hydraulics, be very careful not to kink a hose and put a spacer between the brake pads if you have disk brakes - easy to pop a piston out if you squeeze a brake lever.  Let a little bit of air out of your tyres - not a lot.  Don't forget tools to put it back together again, including a small torque wrench if you you have a carbon bike and worry about these things.  You can expect to have to remove the pedals, saddle/seat post, and probably the bars/stem.  You may need or want to remove the rear mech/hanger.  A dab of tippex or similar makes it a lot easier to put things back as they were.  Plastic pipe lagging is a good protector of bits.

if you have disks, then slide something between the pads so that the pistons can't fully compress if the lever gets activated.

I also have cut short pieces of wood to put between forks ends and rear dropouts to stop compression if (i.e. when) the box gets stood on.

hi,

ive taken my bike all over europe on easy jet.  i use a soft bag, take front wheel out.  use old karrimat for protection in key places.  then leave bag in left luggage at aiport or local train station or at a hotel that has left luggage facilities.  other people ive met at airports use a cardboard bike box then just leave at arrivals, and have arangement with a bike shop to collect a cardboard box from them to pack bike in for return flight.  its all very easy...

Is this not Mary Poppins?

I've flown about ten times with the bike (aluminium frame with carbon forks) on easyJet using the £10 CTC plastic bag.  The only problem I've had was at Marseille where I struggled to change gear after arriving.  I soon sussed that the RH gear shifter had been knocked inwards slighlty, pulling on the gear cable.   A quick adjustment and all was well.

I detatch the rear mech and mech hanger, hanging them from the spokes via a bit of 2mm tat.  The CTC bag lasts about ten flights before disintegrating and packs down quite small if you want to bring it with you.  As others say, put pipe insulation around the frame.

A friend uses a cardboard bike box for his one-way flights and then cycles home.

Advice I received from a friend was - "if it looks like a box, it'll be treated like a box; if it looks like a bike, it'll be treated like a bike".  

It was a while ago now, but I have travelled on easyjet with my touring bike in a poly bag, without any problem. I removed the pedals, turned the handlebars parallel to the frame, and disconnected the rear mech to protect the hanger.

I use 2 bits of copper pipe with large washers at each end for this - QR through the pipe.

Despite what everyone else has said on this thread, invest in a proper bag/box and pack it properly. Baggage handlers are underpaid,  aren’t connected to each airline (they work for a subcontractor), and only have the goal of getting your stuff on and off a plane as fast as possible, as this is the metric most low-cost airlines care for. They generally have other priorities than ensuring your pride and joy remains intact. I’ve travelled with my bike quite a bit, and have seen it get a whole range of treatments including being dropped out of the plane. Be aware.
 

Pack it in a way that you’d be happy to throw it down the stairs. A good quality box is an investment. You can also hire boxes, or hire bikes in a lot of classic bike destinations. Alternatively- get the train and avoid these issues! 

To be fair to the other posters' answers, riding back home towing a 'proper bag/box' behind you would suck the joy out of the experience.....

"Objective: Fly with a bicycle (easyjet) and cycle back to the UK."

Last time I checked, Eurostar didn't allow bikes on unless they were in a travel box/bag. Granted, there's less risk of damage from baggage handlers, but there's still a significant element of inconvenience. Seems like an oversight in the train design

Thank you everyone for your pearls of wisdom. Lots of really useful information to think about in this thread! The bike isn't anything that special so I think some careful packing will do the trick.

I have flown out with a bike lots of times and it is always stressful. Check in staff don't always know their own Ts and Cs so have a print out. Allow lots of time and then some more. Your bike may not fit the oversize conveyer so you will need to drag it miles round corridors for a hand search and swab...so they rip your packaging! Do not cry when you see your bike on the bottom of the cart on the runway with dozens of suitcases on top. Do not expect to put your bike on the bus from the car parks at Stansted.....it is too dangerous even at midnight when the bus is empty. Beware of sneaking your bike on the middle doors of the bus from Prague airport to the City Centre... you may find it is heading in the opposite direction! I use a CTC plastic bag  with a bit of padding...easy to carry on tour or dispose of. Copenhagen airport , not surprisingly, is brilliant. Beware of using a box from a LBC ... it may not even fit in a minibus taxi ...as I found when coming back from Budapest.

Thanks. I did actually look into both train and ferry options first. But the cost of the train to Paris alone is close to double that of the flight/baggage and a ferry is even more! 

Not sure of the current situation but when we took bikes on Eurostar to Paris, it was a bit of a faff and a worry that they would not guarantee that the bikes would be put on the same train as us. As it turned out they were and we were able to intercept them on the platform.

Sounds like the train is the answer. Or mailing your box back home. Either option is better than a smashed up bike from bad packing.

Agreed - but on the train, where you lift your own box about, a disposable solution as above would be fine (assuming you will treat your bike with much more respect than the average baggage handler)

As always Denmark showing how it should be done - from a personal point of view it’s nice to only worry about half of the airport on your journey being crap.

Yeah it’s crazy that’s the case 🤷‍♂️ 

Interail. Covers your UK train and can link with ferry. The UK train is probably expensive, so this is a good option. Lower carbon, more scenic, avoids the airport craziness that could ruin the whole trip.

Packing video if you do go box

https://youtu.be/uZq3hD2iwNQ?si=SgufqooGCerLE7Gc

Seat 61 for train advice https://www.seat61.com/

I've used cardboard boxes plenty of times but stopped when I saw my box, lovingly gaffa taped to within an inch of its life, sat on the tarmac in the pouring rain awaiting loading onto the plane. It turned up a sad state and I was delighted when only the rear mech was smashed.

I now hire a Bikeboxalan when I 'have to' fly.

Done this a few times (used a second hand cardboard bike box twice and other time simply took the bike with no packaging at all) … the one tip I’d suggest is to take spare spokes and a spoke key.

A friend thought of a good wheeze for flying and then cycling on a round trip. "Why don't you bury your bag?"

Well, not bury, hide.  So for a round trip in Provence, i hid my CTC bag and pipe insulation in a wood, near the first/last nights campsite.  Worked a treat but going back to find the bag felt like doing my first E1!

Sendbike.com        are apparently a courier firm that specialises in sending bikes abroad....so arrange to get it sent to a hotel from where you can start your tour.

A few tips on packing your bike in a box:

- remove the chain and detach the rear derailleur (leave the cable attached). Cable tie it to the stays. This should prevent your dropout being bent/snapped. 

- put something rigid (e.g. plastic pipe) between the stays.

- if using disc brakes then remove the rotors and package them between stiff cardboard. Also pack out the brake pads.

- only let a bit of air out of your tyres (it’ll protect the rims if the tyres are inflated). They’ll ask at check in if the tyres are completely deflated, which they definitely are .Trying to explain that the 10psi pressure difference between sea level and 30,00ft won’t cause your tyres to explode is probably a waste of time!

Keep your fingers crossed!