Shipping/transporting your bike

[jitterjepp]

I'm flying out to Vegas next month and I want to bring my bike. How are people getting their bikes to where they fly. Do you take them apart, box them up and ship them or put them in a box and and check them in as a suitcase at the airport. I'm not buying one of those bike cases for $250.

I've always driven to the places I've biked so this has never been an issue.

[gopherhockey]

Here is a thread that might have some info for ya:


http://www.morcmtb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9420&highlight=shipping+bike

[Brick]

I'm flying out to Vegas next month and I want to bring my bike. How are people getting their bikes to where they fly. Do you take them apart, box them up and ship them or put them in a box and and check them in as a suitcase at the airport. I'm not buying one of those bike cases for $250.

Check these out.....IMBA membership bennies:

http://www.imba.com/membership/bikes_fly_free.html
http://www.sportsexpress.com/

Never had the chance to use either one, but might be worth a look.

[funky-funky-chicken]

County Cycles in Roseville will rent the Trico Iron case. Depending on how long you need it, it might be a reasonable option. If you decide to buy a case, they will apply a percentage of your rental fee toward purchase.

If your trip out to Vegas is not entirely for cycling related activities, you might consider searching out there by phone for a bike shop that will rent a decent bike. That way, you could avoid bringing your bike all together?

[BrightYellow]

Last year when we went to Moab, I shipped my bike via UPS to a shop in Moab. It worked pretty well, but I learned a couple things:


A decent bike shop will give you old bike box, if you ask. Wrap your frame in pipe insulation and it works great.
Shops will pack your bike for a charge, but I found it really wasn't worth it, because they packed mine poorly and it cost $30.
If you ship through the UPS store it costs more. I paid $45 to ship it from here to Moab through the UPS store and $30 to ship it back through a local place there.
Shipping insurance costs extra.
Good shops will receive and store your bike for you, even assemble it if you want. I shipped my bike to Poison Cycles in Moab and they stored it for me no problem, just wrote on the outside when I intended to pick it up. They even had a outside "shop" that I could use to assemble it when I got there.
Any questions, let me know...

[manual63]

Last year when we went to Moab, I shipped my bike via UPS to a shop in Moab. It worked pretty well, but I learned a couple things:

A decent bike shop will give you old bike box, if you ask. Wrap your frame in pipe insulation and it works great.
Shops will pack your bike for a charge, but I found it really wasn't worth it, because they packed mine poorly and it cost $30.
If you ship through the UPS store it costs more. I paid $45 to ship it from here to Moab through the UPS store and $30 to ship it back through a local place there.
Shipping insurance costs extra.
Good shops will receive and store your bike for you, even assemble it if you want. I shipped my bike to Poison Cycles in Moab and they stored it for me no problem, just wrote on the outside when I intended to pick it up. They even had a outside "shop" that I could use to assemble it when I got there.
Any questions, let me know...
Wow, that sounds kinda slick. I wonder if popular mountain bike locations have shops that cater to this sort of thing........ideas are a brewin'.

[nigel]

Wow, that sounds kinda slick. I wonder if popular mountain bike locations have shops that cater to this sort of thing........ideas are a brewin'.
Just about any shop will do it (or should) if you ask, most people just dont ask :)

[jitterjepp]

I found a place in Vegas that boxes and ships. This is funny though they had this on their site under the "Ask a mechanic" thing. I don't know about you guys but I've had tubes with twelve patches on them and none of them
sat over night. In fact I always just put the glue on, wait about ten seconds, slap the patch on and go. I've never had a bad patch job. I can understand why a shop wouldn't do it but from my experience they are lying about the patching process itself. Doug?

Why do bike shops always insist on replacing my tube instead of patching it?

We replace tubes because it takes too long to patch a tube. In order to patch a tube correctly the rubber has to have time to vulcanize. That means the patch has to sit overnight at least. That's why it's always best to keep an extra tube with you on the trail. If you try to do a patch out on the trail it usually doesn't hold. Also, don't forget to check the tire for thorns or whatever may have caused the puncture in the first place.

http://www.escapeadventures.com/lasvegas_bike_shop/

[manual63]

Why do bike shops always insist on replacing my tube instead of patching it?
They can charge $3.99 for a $.79 tube and get $5.00 or so in labor on top of it.......:) .

Actually, I think it just doesn't make sense for a shop to patch a tube. I mean, it is just a temporary fix in most cases. I have had patched tubes last a long time and I have had some not last at all. There is no consistancy. If I want to be sure my bike is reliable, I don't want patched tubes on it.

I think if I was to pay someone to do the work, I would just want a new tube. If I can do the work myself, then a patch will do the trick........

I don't know....I am sure there is more than just a couple of reasons.

[jitterjepp]

They can charge $3.99 for a $.79 tube and get $5.00 or so in labor on top of it.......:) .

Actually, I think it just doesn't make sense for a shop to patch a tube. I mean, it is just a temporary fix in most cases. I have had patched tubes last a long time and I have had some not last at all. There is no consistancy. If I want to be sure my bike is reliable, I don't want patched tubes on it.

I think if I was to pay someone to do the work, I would just want a new tube. If I can do the work myself, then a patch will do the trick........

I don't know....I am sure there is more than just a couple of reasons.
If I owned a shop I wouldn't be patching tires. I doesn't make any sense and you may be held liable if something happens because it went flat. Who knows with people now days? I was standing in my sisters driveway the other day and some neighbors lit a bunch of firecrackers that scared the crap out of us. I asked my brother in law if he though we could sue them for scaring us so bad.

"Help me! I'm a victim! Emotionaly ruined, always looking over my shoulder now! I deserve compensation for my suffering."

A shop plugs a car tire because it makes sense if there is still miles left on it but to save a couple bucks on a bike tire? I don't think so. Besides you have extra labor on the patching and materials so it would probably be the same or more to patch. If I did work at a bike shop though I would be digging those flat tubes out of the trash and patching them to use for myself. I've probably put 150 patches on in the last two years between my buddies bikes and my own and not one has gone bad. In fact I havent had a bad patch in twenty years! I guess I just got that magic touch. I am the patch master! Hear me roar!

[jitterjepp]

Check these out.....IMBA membership bennies:

http://www.imba.com/membership/bikes_fly_free.html
http://www.sportsexpress.com/

Never had the chance to use either one, but might be worth a look.
I checked this out and hey hey, I got a decent price on the flight and my bike goes free. I called Northwest and they want $80 to bring it one way. So it costs almost as much as another ticket!

"Say there Mr. SuperCal are you going to eat them chips? I'll trade you some chain lub for 'em"

I'm super excited about the trip. I'm going to climb a Mountain out there maybe two depending on how the first climb goes (I'm a lothesome peak bagger) and then boogie out to Moab, do the White Rim Trail and hit some AZ trails on the way back. Guess I'm a trail bagger too. Nothing wrong with that.

I didn't get to the either of the rim trails when I went to Moab the first time and I've been bummed ever since I heard they are great trails. All I did was ride the slickrock two or three times a day because I thought mountain biking could never get any better than that with my only mountain biking experience being in Minnesota. I never bothered to go anywhere else in Moab except the Poison Spider bike shop, a climbing shop for directions to potash road climbs and Eddie McStiffs every night to get the jugs refilled.
White Rim is now at #14 on my top 100 list of adventure things to do.

[Brick]

I checked this out and hey hey, I got a decent price on the flight and my bike goes free. I called Northwest and they want $80 to bring it one way. So it costs almost as much as another ticket!

Woo-Hoo!! :banana::banana:

Glad it worked!