Best way to transport a bike?
I've apparently been spoiled with Tri Bike Transport. Now I have a race that they don't service...in fact no one does. That leaves A) taking it on the plane, or 
having it shipped via UPS/Fed Ex.
I'm wondering what the team typically does. Please note, my wife & I are not pros and don't plan on buying $400 bike cases that we'll hardly ever use. Renting a case is also out of the question at the major LBS's around town.
A lot of people seem to swear by Fed Ex, but the cheapest one-way rate I found with them is $350.
The best option I've seen is www.shipbikes.com which uses a reinforced cardboard + metal box that ships the bike intact (no disassembly/reassembly). Their rate ends up being about $400 roundtrip (including insurance).
Any other advice? Thanks!
Comments
Sadly the cost of taking the bike with you on the plane is all over the place depending on the airline. Last time I flew with my bike was Air Canada which had a posted rate of only $50...on the 3 legs, they only charged me on one of them, so that was cool.
Since the hard case bike boxes weigh about 30 pounds on their own, add in the bike and you're right at the 50'ish weight limit, without anything else in the box...and the bike boxes are all over-sized on dimensions, so there's a risk if you get the wrong person at check-in that you can get dinged for bike/overweight/oversize
Sooo...I just have the LBS pack my bike in a cardboard bike box. It's a lot smaller than most hard-case bike boxes...easier to fit in a rental car at the other end...I can stuff it with other 'stuff' and still be under 50 pounds, minimum dis-assembly, so I can easily put it back together in my hotel room...and touch wood, never had a damage issue on multiple trips over many years.
I repack it to go back, and for a 2 leg trip, works fine...the box will hold up through 4 trip legs, although pretty much done by then.
"Please be aware that the best method of transporting your bike is to bring it with you on your plane. UPS and FedEX are very expensive. We will have a bike shop set up near Race Registration and they can assemble/disassemble the bikes for you. Make sure that you are not scheduled to connect on to Cape Air, as they do not carry bikes."
A few things:
The race is in NC so no excessive overseas charges thankfully.
Borrowing/renting a case is an option, however, with the exception of Southwest the airlines all have oversize and overweight fees which are NUTZ! I also have a local teammate who knows of three different recent stories of TSA tampering with bike cases and then re-packing the bikes incorrectly which each resulted in damages (cracked top tube, bent derailieur, bent wheel). That said, most likely travelling on the plane is out.
I like the shipping idea, but I am clearly not going about it the right way. I input whatever dimensions and weight (depending on the bike box or bike case) for Ground shipping on the UPS or Fed Ex sites and keep getting rates of $300+ each way. Yet, I've seen posts on Slow Twitch where shipping is well under $100.
Bill, how did you get the $50 rate? I plugged in the AirCaddy dimensions and the cheapest rate Fed Ex gives me is $245 one way. Does setting up an account drastically drop the rate?
I'm guessing youve declared the value of the bike....You may want to research the value of the "insurance" they sell, in my experience, with work related shipping, FedEx/ups charge for "insurance", but it is not really damage insurance, just a declared value for loss. I've heard that they RARELY if ever pay out for damages in shipping, and even total loss they only pay I think $2500, no matter what the real value you've declared.
I'm only declaring a minimal amount that would cover the deductible of my homeowner's insurance (that covers the bike in and away from my house). I even tried it without declaring anything but the rate is still high.
I'll add one other option. I recently purchased the hen house by Ruster Sports - http://rustersports.com/ It is a soft shell case on the more expensive side, and it takes a little bit work to pack the bike as the fork has to come off. However, it gets around the "bicycle" fee that most airlines charge by dividing the bike into 2 separate bags - one for the frame and one for the wheels and both bags are under the magical 62 linear inch rule for airlines. thus theoretically won't get hit with the bicycle fee and it is pretty hard to get these bags over the 50 pound limit. only fees might be the routine baggage fees. if you have status with an airline and get "free checked bag (s)" it isn't that much.
I travelled with it a month ago and the bike arrived without a problem. I also paid $0 - yes that is correct, zero, in baggage fees (disclosure - my frequent flyer status gives me 3 free checked bags - 2 bike and 1 piece of luggage with clothes etc). the owner of the company states that he has never been charged the bicycle fee when using the bags.
I'll be flying with it again in june, and maybe even more, having a "free" way to fly with bike is great and the extra cost of the bag has already paid for itself in saved baggage fees with one trip.
Two things: 1. It's Ground, not Air FedEx. 2. Setting up an account (I'm a biz anyway) allows for deals that the walk-in-the-door customer dosen't recieve.
Flying: Frontier, last year anyway, bikes flew free as long as they were under 50lb. My bike + case + about nothing in it weighs ~47lb.
Shipping: what Bill said. Also, maybe ship it from a friend's business? I ship from/to Wheelbuilder, have them make up the return label for me, etc, so I can take advantage of Rich's shipping rates.
Great tips about shipping from a business. Hopefully I can work that out with the local tri store. Thanks!