Help with shipping a bike to a race

mancona

For those of you that have shipped your bike to races/camps before can you share your thoughts on a few things?

• Any advantage to using either FedEx or UPS?  The prices is about the same and my expericence with both is usually the same.
• Any addvantage to paying about $75 more to use a service like sportsexpress?
• Do you set the declared value to the full value of everything you ship in the box? (i.e. bike + whatever else I stuff in there)
• I assume you ship directly to the hotel, correct?
• Have you been able to schedule a pickup from the hotel to get it back home, or do you drop it off at a FedEx/UPS location yourself?
• Any tips or thoughts?

Please do not suggest TriBikeTransport instead as I am not interested.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

Chris G

If you have a decent relationship with a local shop, or really any business that does a bunch of shipping it will be easier and cheaper for them to do it for you.  Just calling or walking into a Fed ex/ups place is very expensive.  For some reason businesses fall into a different category in terms of shipping, likely cause the trucks are headed there anyhow.   The last time I did that [shipping just a frame in a box] they wanted close to 100 and the shop got it done for less than 50.  Never tired it with a full bike but when shipping Wheels in boxes the post office is much cheaper than UPS or Fedex. 

Assuming that your lik peep  bike is about as big as trent's, you could always just carry it on and stick it in the overhead bin 

Nemo Brauch

My thoughts and experience below:

• Any advantage to using either FedEx or UPS?  The prices is about the same and my expericence with both is usually the same.

For whatever reason, FedEx usually ends up be best value of fast/cheap from my location.  I've never shipped UPS

• Any addvantage to paying about $75 more to use a service like sportsexpress?

I used Sportsexpress the first time I ever shipped my bike.  The main advantage you get with them is that in addition to insuring your bike if it's lost/damaged during shipment, they will cover the cost of a rental bike for your event (or vacation trip).  They do all the leg work for you and take out some of the admin stuff, but that isn't really worth $75 IMHO.  Once I saw how easy it was to use FedEx (which is who they use for shipments) I just went direct.

• Do you set the declared value to the full value of everything you ship in the box? (i.e. bike + whatever else I stuff in there)

There is a cost to the insurance, and there is a max.  You can basically set the value at whatever you want if you are willing to pay the fee (provided it's under the max).  I only set the insurance for the value of the bike fully assembled.  I don't worry about the nicks & nacks also tucked inside the box.

• I assume you ship directly to the hotel, correct?

Yes.  But check with your hotel first.  Some hotels will charge a "package receiving" fee. 

• Have you been able to schedule a pickup from the hotel to get it back home, or do you drop it off at a FedEx/UPS location yourself?

I've done both.   Scheduling the pickup is occasionally an extra fee (unless the hotel already has a regular pickup) and again, see comment above regarding package receiving fee at the hotel- applies to shipping too. 

• Any tips or thoughts?

Yes.  First (and this is a big one from experience).  Make sure you have your home address afixed to that box in a way it's never gonna come off!  That FedEx tag can come loose in transit and without some addy on the box, your bike gets lost.  This brings me to point #2, get a shipping label pouch from your FedEx office to use to attache the shipping lable (use a zip tie to attach the pouch to the box).  Do NOT rely on FedEx to attach the label for you.  Make sure you know it's on their yourself.  And this brings me to tip #3, print out the return shipping label before you leave home and pack an extra one of those pouches and zip ties so you have everything you need to pack it up for the return trip.  I keep forgetting this tip #3 and it bites me in the ass every time!! 

And finally, follow the shipment online and track it's movement.  If the box doesn't move or have some sort of update over the course of 24 hours (or 48 if you are shipping over a weekend and not paying for next day delivery), start asking questions about why it isn't moving.  Don't wait until the FedEx guy shows up on your front doorstep with your bike happily "delivering" it to you when it's supposed to be half way accross the country at the hotel!

mancona

Thanks Guys!

Chris, I actually have a "business" FedEx account of my own, but I'll definitly check with a LBS to see if they can ship if for less.

Nemo, great tips on the labels and tracking the progess... I'm sure I would have forgot to print the return label ahead of time as well. I'll call the hotel today to check about receiving packages.

Coach Rich

What I do:

• Ship through a friend with a biz, store, etc.  I ship through Wheelbuilder. I measure, weigh the box there, print out the label, slap it on (I used lots of tape), etc.
• At the same time I print a return label and take that with me on the trip.
• They use FedEx pretty much exclusively, dunno about UPS rates or service
• There's a BIG difference between Ground, 3-day, 2-day, and overnight. Whenever possible I ship ground and borrow a loaner bike locally to keep me riding while it's in transit.
• There's also a BIG difference in shipping rates depending on where you're shipping from/to. Shipping was much more expensive from LP than to LP. Like, 200% more, must have fed the mule golden carrots or something. So by doing the return label beforehand you know what costs to expect.
• While I've arranged to have the box picked up from the hotel, and it's worked, I usually try to get it to the FedEx location on Saturday, hopefully so I can get the bike back more quickly. But you'll need to check on the pickup differences/frequency for the different shipping methods above when you're doing a Saturday drop off.
• Don't go crazy with the weight in the box. I fly with my shoes, pedals, helmet, and cycling kit -- everything I must have to ride, in case the shipping falls through and I need to rent/steal a bike when I get there.

Scott Alexander

Nemo's advice is spot on, as usual.



I used shipbikes.com for ToCA 2010, to/from a local Dallas FedEx office. I think it would have been slightly cheaper to just go direct to FedEx, but I didn't check and had it all done ahead of time. Cost a little less than $200 round trip.

BTW, I've been told multiple times to NOT ship to/from international destinations...no guarantee of arrival on time with US Customs, etc, involved.

I'm taking my bike with me when I go to Spain next month, so AA will charge me, but at least it should (god I hope so) be on the plane with me.

Norton

Check out Aircaddy and their services. The box is cool and they've been remarkably responsive.

Dave Tallo

Odd one out: I will only fly with my bike, never ship. Aside from the 'Canada -> anywhere else' border issue, I remember buying my first tri frame via mail order from a place in WA, and watching UPS send it back and forth between IL and WA six times before it finally got straightened out. Box looked like it had been through a war.

mancona

Great Advice Guys, thank you.

I actually always fly with my race kit, shoes, pedals, helmet in my carry on... figure worst case I can borrow/rent a bike and still race.

@Rich, great point about return shipping, I just checked and it is $10 more. So no big deal but I would have just assumed it was the same both ways, but now I know to check.

J.T. Thompson

Great tips above - Like others I've used Fed Ex with no problems. Only other tip I would add is to make sure your name and address are also attached inside the shipping box/container. If the worst happens and they lose all identity on the outside of the box, if they open it you still have a chance of getting it back....

Nemo Brauch

Posted By J.T. Thompson on 01 Mar 2011 09:00 PM

Great tips above - Like others I've used Fed Ex with no problems. Only other tip I would add is to make sure your name and address are also attached inside the shipping box/container. If the worst happens and they lose all identity on the outside of the box, if they open it you still have a chance of getting it back....

 

Great idea.  I'm adding that one to my list!

scottwstewart

One thing I will add about UPS is that they will not insure your bike unless it is packaged in a cardboard box. That means if your like most people and put your bike in a plastic bike container (which in my opinion is much better then a cardboard box), they won't insure it. I know, it's completely rediculous, but that's what they told me when I was looking into shipping options to IMFL. The guy at the UPS store actually recommended that I put my plastic bike container inside a cardboard box that he wanted to charge me $40 for. For me this was a major deal breaker as that made the cost of using UPS much more expensive. FedEx, on the other hand, will insure your bike as long as they can look to make sure it is properly packaged, regardless of what type of container it's in.

zipburn

As for using FedEx Ground, I just had a really bad experience with them.    I had my quarq sit at one of their locations only a half hour away for three days. I would advise getting certain day delivery, such as 3-day. Though I never had a problem with FedEx, I use them quite often.

gilliatt

I've shipped mine a good number of times w/ decent results. As one person pointed out, it matters where (physically) you ship the bike from. If you have a fedex depot near by they are a good bet. The price difference between taking my bike to fedex vs kinkos was about about 30% IIRC.

kurshing

Has anyone ever tried shipping a bike straight to their hotel?

Scott Alexander

Posted By Dan Gilliatt on 07 Mar 2011 11:09 AM

If you have a fedex depot near by they are a good bet. The price difference between taking my bike to fedex vs kinkos was about about 30% IIRC.

Isn't it all FedexOffice (the combination of Fedex and Kinkos) nowadays? I can't imagine (although wouldn't be surprised) that they'd be different.



 

mancona

Posted By Scott Alexander on 07 Mar 2011 12:54 PM

Posted By Dan Gilliatt on 07 Mar 2011 11:09 AM

If you have a fedex depot near by they are a good bet. The price difference between taking my bike to fedex vs kinkos was about about 30% IIRC.

Isn't it all FedexOffice (the combination of Fedex and Kinkos) nowadays? I can't imagine (although wouldn't be surprised) that they'd be different.



 

@Scott - Isn't it all at&t ... I can't imagine that orange/blue, or SBC/PB/Ameritech/AT&T/etc, could still do things differently from each other :-)  That said I have been involved in a number of mergers and at&t really does a good job and moves very quickly compared to many other companies.  Sorry I couldn't help but mention it.

 

Nemo Brauch

@Matt- HA HA HA! Good one :-) Similarly, remember that FedEx Ground and FedEx Overnight are also not exactly the same company. It's not quite as easy to just "upgrade" your shipment from Ground to Overnight once it's in transit as you might think.

@Stephen- re shipping to hotel, yes- see my post above with notes on this subject.

Scott Alexander

Posted By Matt Ancona on 07 Mar 2011 02:07 PM

Posted By Scott Alexander on 07 Mar 2011 12:54 PM

Posted By Dan Gilliatt on 07 Mar 2011 11:09 AM

If you have a fedex depot near by they are a good bet. The price difference between taking my bike to fedex vs kinkos was about about 30% IIRC.

Isn't it all FedexOffice (the combination of Fedex and Kinkos) nowadays? I can't imagine (although wouldn't be surprised) that they'd be different.



 

@Scott - Isn't it all at&t ... I can't imagine that orange/blue, or SBC/PB/Ameritech/AT&T/etc, could still do things differently from each other :-)  That said I have been involved in a number of mergers and at&t really does a good job and moves very quickly compared to many other companies.  Sorry I couldn't help but mention it.

 

The view from the outside is much different than the view from the inside, I imagine. But we TRY to present a united front, sometimes even successfully!



 

kurshing

Ah...thanks Nemo! You were way ahead of me!

Chris M.

I have shipped my bike twice from KY to CA (my sister lives in Simi Valley, great riding) using FedEx because it was the cheapest at the time (2003-4).  On the second return trip, they ran over it with a forklift, then tried to say that I hadn't packaged it well enough, then also tried to deny the claim since I didn't open the box while the delivery driver was still at my house and report the damage right then.   It was quite a hassle getting them to replace my $150 wheel but they eventually did.  

I ended up shipping it to CA one more time with UPS and it's been there ever since.  

Matt did you not ship your bike to Kona?  

gilliatt

Isn't it all FedexOffice (the combination of Fedex and Kinkos) nowadays? I can't imagine (although wouldn't be surprised) that they'd be different.

Yes, sorta confusing. We have an actual fedex depot here in town (where they park the trucks/recieve and sort the packages etc) it was much cheaper than fedex/kinkos. Don't know why though.