What Do You Do with the Bags for Transporting the Bicycle on Aircraft?
Hi, any recommendations for bike bags for travelling on aircraft. Also, what do you do with the bags when you are away and not use them until you want to come back? Do they fold down to a size you can carry on a bike?
The bike bag that you can carry on a bike for long distances is the hope and dream of many but I don’t believe such a thing exists. I like my Evoc. Hotels will store them.
I make my bike bags out of rip-stop nylon spinnaker cloth. I roll it up and it goes on the back of the bike when I land. There is no padded protection and it has never been damaged when flying
indeed there are many ways. Boxes work well as in a recent post here
Yes, they do. The only time my bike was damaged was in a cardboard box. There are 3 problems with cardboard boxes.
- Getting them to the airport.
- Disposing of them when you land and finding another one before you leave.
- Talking to baggage handlers they explained that if the bike is in a hard shell or cardboard box.
They perceive them to be protected and can throw them about. If they are wrapped in plastic or in my spinnaker cover. They handle them more carefully.
- Getting them to the airport.
- Disposing of them when you land and finding another one before you leave.
- Talking to baggage handlers they explained that if the bike is in a hard shell or cardboard box.
They perceive them to be protected and can throw them about. If they are wrapped in plastic or in my spinnaker cover. They handle them more carefully.
Maybe you can modify them and put some hooks or loops to add some straps to carry them like a backpack?
I've tried to carry bags from the airport to my accommodation - they are way too big and heavy to carry whilst cycling. Better to use the cardboard boxes new bikes are delivered in - they're strong enough for new bikes and good enough for at least one more flight
We use a bike box free from our local bike store, break it down and get rid of it or store it at a hotel if we are coming back to our starting point on arrival. Then contact a bike shop near where we depart from and bring it back in that.
One problem (other than they are expensive) is that if you are flying and then returning from different airports, how do you get the purpose-made bike box or bag to your leaving destination. One cheap and very practical way is to use cardboard bike boxes, that new bikes are delivered from the factory to the retail shop. You'll get these no problem for free from a local bike shop - recycle it at your arrival airport then get another one at your departure location Simple!
I have had some success mailing a bike box ahead to a hostel. They always have luggage storage. I have also talked some Airbnb folks into accepting them by mail and storing them till I arrive.
I have invested in a bike bag that is soft and foldable so that I can have it on my bike while cycling. I use it as a ground sheet as well for that matter. It cost me around 70€ but lasted me for well over a dozen flights, including several overseas flights with my bike. I have used several other ways of flying with my bike in the past. But I am very happy with the soft bicycle bag I have now. I have a little about it on my blog, in case you are interested: https://travellingclaus.com/flying-with-a-bike/
: I do the same. Nice idea about using it as a ground sheet.
Since bikes fly free or cheap, no reason not to use a bike box. After arrival, I dump the box and then pick up another at a bike shop for the way back. Bikes come in cardboard boxes to the shop, packed properly you'll have no problems. I've done it for 20+ years all over.
A cardboard bike box is the best solution if you are cycle touring and leaving from a different location to your start. We have used them multiple times and they work well. For trips, we are road cycling we have an Evoc bike travel bag and recommend them. This only works where you are based in a single location not cycle touring.
We go to Halfords for a spare free delivery box which I leave in my first hostel or discard at the airport if it's a one-way trip. We have never experienced any damage
Note bikes are free on long-distance flights with the big companies (BA, Quantas, Thai Airways...)
sometimes, but when they codeshare, the other company can still charge you. I fly Emirates, the bike is free, but counts as baggage. You are allowed 1x bag/Box of 32kg max so if you can’t fit your gear into one bike box (some airlines don’t allow anything other than a bike in a bike box), you have to buy more allowance. It costs about $75 for an extra 15kg plus about $10 per kilo after that for each flight. With two stop flight, you need three amounts of that fee. Becomes quite expensive quickly. That’s my experience after filling up my passport and 70+ countries
I used to use a very light bag which I had to repair after every journey because the material was that light. When I used it for flying, I had to pack clothes around everything to protect both my bike and bag. It proved most useful on trips when I didn't spend time in cities and just cycled to the airport and packed up my bike. Also useful in countries like Japan that require the bike to be in a bag on the train. On long trips, I don't want anything extra so I sort it out when I arrive at my destination. Thick clear plastic or cheap tarps from a home building store work in a pinch. Lots of options.