The recent Irish holiday was the first time I too a bike on a plane. I had always been nervous about taking a road bike. But, I knew that renting a bike would be a disaster. The more cycling you do, the more important it is to ride a bike with the same set up as your own. If you switch to different sized bike, you can cause yourself an injury. Also when you are used to riding a top of the range bike, there is no joy in reverting to a heavy mountain bike with fat tyres. My friends were amazed at how quickly I could cycle; but, alot of the difference is the speed of our bikes. When I tried their bikes it was torture - so slow!
Bike Bag.
I choose this Pro Race bike bag from Probike kit. It cost £90. I was tempted to get a hardshell bike box, to give complete protection. In the end I choose the cheaper option. However, I added extra protection to the bag.
- Several layers of bubble rap.
- Some clothes padded between bike and bag.
The effect was that the bike was well protected and I didn’t notice any scratch.
I took my winter training bike, as I didn’t want to risk my racing bike; but, next time I would probably be happy to take any bike.
Preparing your Bike for the Plane
I only had to undo the handlebars and stem and place it to the side of the frame. For this I only need 2 allen keys and is a fairly simple operation. I didn’t need to remove pedals (speedplay) and I just removed the two wheels.
It is important to secure all the bits tightly together. I highly recommend some reusable plastic ties. This helped keep everything together and prevented any movement, which can cause scratching.
Make sure you keep all the bits, tools and accessories in a safe place. Luckily my bike bag and a pocket within.
It took about 15-20 minutes to prepare the bike. It may be quicker as I get more experienced.
Cost of Taking a Bike on Plane
Amazingly the cost of my Ryanair ticket from Stansted to Kerry, Ireland was £0. However, to take a sports bag cost £50 return. Tax cost £20 and another suitcase cost £25. The extra suitcase was actually unnecessary as I could have put all my clothes in my bike bag.
2 comments ↓
Some good tips here, though I wouldn’t recommend putting everything in with your bike. If it gets lost on the way, you’ll have lost everything. Even if you can get a replacement bike in time you’ll still struggle without your clothes/pedals/shoes etc.
I recently took my bike to an event in Sweden, flying with SAS. Having spent ages looking at reviews of boxes and bags I discovered that my LBS rented hardshell cases for £20 per week. Worth enquiring at your local shop if you don’t think you’ll be travelling with your bike all that often.
Thanks Rob, That’s a good point about bikes going missing and hiring a hard shell. Some of them can cost upto £300. At £20 a time renting seems cheaper.
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