"I'm told that some airlines are more bike friendly (Southwest, maybe others) but have no personal knowledge of their rates & limitations"
Just to chime in on this one topic. I was just researching Southwest and their boxed bike fee was raised from $50 to $75 as of February 2013. That's their printed 'policy' but you hear lots of anecdotes of them waiving the fee for some people. On Monday, August 19, 2013 11:41:09 AM UTC-7, dougP wrote: > > Michael: > > My Atlantis has done a bit of traveling, both by air & by ground. While > I'm not familiar with the box you reference, I can offer some thoughts in > general. > > Within the US, look into shipping your bike ahead of time via ground > service. Great Debate about who to use: Fed Ex or UPS; no clear winner > there. However, both will take larger & heavier shipments for less money > than the airlines. I have a hard plastic case that is right at the magic > 130" size (girth plus length) for ground services. Despite it's 30 lb > weight, the Atlantis (usually 35 lbs) plus some other junk does not trip > the "overweight" button. The convenience of ground shipping is you can > send it directly to your destination & don't have to hassle getting it to > the airport. Downside of course is being without your bike for a few > days. > > Airlines charge high fees (check with your specific carrier; it varies > continuously) AND seem to universally impose HUGE overweight charges for > checked baggage over 50 lbs. I have gotten the Atlantis packed into a > cardboard box under 50 lbs but it meant no racks & carrying some heavier > components in other luggage. I'm told that some airlines are more bike > friendly (Southwest, maybe others) but have no personal knowledge of their > rates & limitations. Having your bike "with you" on the plane is nice, but > oversize luggage is the first to get bumped to the next flight (not always > bad because they have to deliver it). Once at the airport, a boxed bike is > a bit of an albatross to drag around & a pain if you have to use a cab, bus > or train between the airport & your destination. > > As to actual containers, I've used the regular old cardboard boxes that > bikes come to shops. They are "good enough" for one trip, free, and > readily available. The do not offer the greatest protection and do require > quite a bit of disassembly & careful packing. Allow several hours for the > process. Another option is to have a trusted LBS pack & ship it for you. > You'll of course pay for this service but if you find a shop that ships > bikes (not all do) they'll have experience. This can be especially handy > on the return. Source the shop ahead of time, drop the bike off & it will > appear back home in a few days. > > An open question is whether to reassemble at your destination or have a > shop do it. I know people who feel better just having a shop do it all at > both ends. There are good arguments on both sides of the question but it's > an individual choice. > > dougP > > On Monday, August 19, 2013 9:22:56 AM UTC-7, Michael Hechmer wrote: >> >> Slightly OT, but I posted this to the Lifestyle list with no response. >> I'll be flying cross country to the Bay area in OCT and am considering >> bringing a bike in an eBike Box. >> >> Does anyone have experience with this container? How large a bike will >> it hold? How many trips can you expect to get (the mfg says 4-6 but it >> would be nice to hear from real users? Has it done a good job protecting >> your bike? >> >> Michael >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
