Greetings Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 My friend and me are thinking about going riding to China this year and we're wondering how to take bikes with us. Has anyone traveled intercontinental with their bikes before and could shed some light on roughly how much this costs and what the best option to take 2 bikes with us would be? Bike cases seem to be a the obvious solution but how likely are we to fit 2 bikes into one? There are no direct flights to where we'd like to go (Guangzhou) so presumably one gets charged separately per flight for the bikes rather than for the entire trip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 I flew UK to NZ so technically one of the longest you can do. There wasn't a direct flight so there was some f**king around with transfers but the airline handled that. That also included a final 4hr domestic/internal flight with a different company. All of those flights were as part of the overall charge though, but if you're having to chop between different airlines and actually book the different legs separately you would get charged individually I'd assume. Might be worth playing around to see who can fly you to where before having to get your final flight, just to cut down on costs. You'll be needing to declare it as a bike so it's worth seeing what kind of hidden charges there might be beyond that. Your issue with two bikes into one might come into play here too as different airlines will have different restrictions on the overall weight of your luggage, so getting two into one might get close on some once you've padded them up well. Every time I've flown abroad I've used a normal, standard cardboard bike box, and just wrapped my bike up well. It's handy as you can just throw a bunch of other stuff in there too, so you've got ample room. Some of the bespoke bike boxes seem to be pretty limited on space, so although they're easier to move around airports you're more restricted in what you can bring. There are pros and cons of each, but I'd rather deal with two shit trips to/from the airport rather than being a whole week or more without something I really want just because it wouldn't fit in a 'proper' bike bag. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davetrials Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 How can this be worth the money? (£420) having never flown with the bike i cant comment, but your saying a cardboard box does the job.. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/evoc-bike-travel-bag-pro-280l/rp-prod131474 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeperson45 Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 2 hours ago, Davetrials said: How can this be worth the money? (£420) having never flown with the bike i cant comment, but your saying a cardboard box does the job.. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/evoc-bike-travel-bag-pro-280l/rp-prod131474 I don't think they are, I've flown to America and old bike box worked fine, as said, just make sure thing's aren't rubbing or have room to rattle and you should be all right. I used clothes as padding so saved some money there too. The bike bags are kind of nice and probably make it easier than having to source a box if you've thrown out yours, but I'll pop down to Halfords and ask for a box to save a couple hundred... To get to America and back it cost me £80 each way with BA, if that means anything to you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 Some airlines will include bikes as part of the baggage allowance - I've done this before with BA and Emirates on Europe-Asia routes. As other people have done, I've generally used a cardboard box and stuffed clothes and other things around the bike. When you actually think about it there's not that much stuff you should need to take with you anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 10 hours ago, Davetrials said: How can this be worth the money? (£420) having never flown with the bike i cant comment, but your saying a cardboard box does the job.. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/evoc-bike-travel-bag-pro-280l/rp-prod131474 They've got pro riders wages to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davetrials Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 Pros Aint' cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted February 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 For those who have used bike boxes, what's the condition of the box once you reach your destination? Wondering what the likelihood of damage to the box itself is making it difficult to re-use on the trip home. Did a brief check and the boxes I use to ship bikes in should do fine for 2 bikes if 1 set of wheels is de-laced. The weight limit appears to be around 30kg depending on the airline, the bikes are around 17kg leaving a nice 13kg for the packaging, yay! Mark and Tony, did you bump into any difficulties when transferring from the airport to your hotel? Most taxis are going to be good for normal luggage but add a 105x70x30 box to that and things could become awkward? For future reference, it seems a good precaution would be to pack the box in a waterproof layer, in the unlikely event that the box gets caught outside during the rain that will stop it from disintegrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 (edited) Been fine for me so far. Only thing I noticed was my 9mm QR axle on my front wheel had poked through the box. That was my bad for not putting a plastic stopper on it. Could always wrap a t-shirt/towel bla bla round bits like that. To stop the handlers from ripping the hand holds, I usually put a few layers of parcel tape around them to make them more robust. Could always use a layer of black bin bags round the box if you're paranoid of the rain getting it. Remember and pack extra for the return leg. In the case of Taxis. Most of, if not all airports will have taxi drivers jumping all over you looking to nab a fair. You'll have a big box. All you'll have to do is point to it and they'll soon point you to a driver with a big enough car. They'll be geared up for groups with large amounts of luggage. I doubt you'll have a problem finding transport, wherever you go. Edited February 28, 2017 by Ross McArthur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwtrials Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 Check your airline's rules and fees. Each one is different, especially on cost. Some of them rob you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 be aware that bike weights don't necessarily mean that's the final weight...once padding and protection is added it soon gets heavy, my bike bag (which is a bit heavier than a box) + padding + helmet + shoes + tools + a few bits of clothing gets to around 30kg on it's own. Going over weight sucks too, I had to abandon my clothes bag in the Philippines as I was 14kg overweight, they wanted $750 to put my clothes bag on too, make sure you bike is booked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 Indeed, overweight baggage charges are ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwtrials Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 1 hour ago, Ali C said: be aware that bike weights don't necessarily mean that's the final weight...once padding and protection is added it soon gets heavy, my bike bag (which is a bit heavier than a box) + padding + helmet + shoes + tools + a few bits of clothing gets to around 30kg on it's own. Going over weight sucks too, I had to abandon my clothes bag in the Philippines as I was 14kg overweight, they wanted $750 to put my clothes bag on too, make sure you bike is booked! yeah. Use a scale before you show up to the airport. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 Flying short haul I've got to witness my bike box getting thrown around by surly EasyJet baggage handlers as we sat on the plane looking out the window at them, and even getting thrown around in the rain (Gatwick) and snow (Edinburgh) they still handled it. The ones that went across the globe to NZ and back looked fine too - if you click here, the cover shot there is my bike box having been to and returned from NZ: https://issuu.com/cleanzine/docs/clean_-_travel Still pristine. If you've got access to bubble wrap make the most, and take a spare roll of duck/gaffer tape with you. Like Ross said, reinforcing the handles works really well too. If you make your box easier to carry, they'll be less likely to hit rage mode and start going into full-on slinging it mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted March 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 13 hours ago, Mark W said: Flying short haul I've got to witness my bike box getting thrown around by surly EasyJet baggage handlers as we sat on the plane looking out the window at them, and even getting thrown around in the rain (Gatwick) and snow (Edinburgh) they still handled it. The ones that went across the globe to NZ and back looked fine too - if you click here, the cover shot there is my bike box having been to and returned from NZ: https://issuu.com/cleanzine/docs/clean_-_travel Still pristine. If you've got access to bubble wrap make the most, and take a spare roll of duck/gaffer tape with you. Like Ross said, reinforcing the handles works really well too. If you make your box easier to carry, they'll be less likely to hit rage mode and start going into full-on slinging it mode. Box pictures aside, that was a fantastic read! Cheers for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncy H Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 I've done the trip from the UK to Canada with bikes a few times now (direct). It mostly depends on the flight company, I've flown with air transat and they allow a bike package up to 32kg for just £20. Always been easy to sort, just shown up at the airport a little earlier. Ive only ever used cardboard bike boxes myself, they've always been up to the job and survived doing a return trip, reinforcing certain areas with gaffa tape helps. Actual specific bike bags just seem to be very heavy and my friends that have used them have always been close to the limit even with just their bike in. In the cardboard boxes I've been able to put loads of extra stuff in and effectively used it as an extra suitcase. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 (edited) Been googling places to ride this summer and came across (wayhey!) this video. Start made me laugh. Bike box woes. https://www.pinkbike.com/news/mountain-biking-adventures-in-greece-2014.html Edited March 2, 2017 by Ross McArthur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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