Bike on a plane

[jrenaut]

I’m flying out to California in May with my bike for a century ride (my first!) and I seem to remember that WABA loans or rents cases for bikes as luggage, but I can’t find where that was mentioned. Is that true, or did I make that up?

Topic

[bluerider]

Check out the bike box section here:

http://www.waba.org/get_involved/benefits.php

[jrenaut]

Ahh, thank you, I looked at waba.org and didn’t find it.

[Dirt]

I also have one or three (depending on if I get 2 of them back from current borrowers) that you can use pretty much any time. I really like the Crateworks cases. They’re inexpensive, tough and pretty easy to move/use. If you fly Frontier airlines, get a coach + seat and manage to keep the box under 50 pounds, it basically flies as a normal piece of baggage too.

[jrenaut]

Awesome, thanks. I just emailed WABA, I’ll see what they say.

[Megabeth]

Enough is enough! I have had it with these #*(&$ bikes on this *((*&#@ plane!

(Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)

[TwoWheelsDC]

I’ve also thought about this for my vacation this summer, but ultimately decided to rent a bike at my destination. I very much prefer having my own bike though, as I know it works, fits, and has the gears I want. Maybe I’ll do more research into bike boxes and see if I change my mind. I’m not traveling until the end of June, so you’ll have to let me know about your experience.

[jrenaut]

Will do.

[Dirt]

I probably take 5 or 6 trips per year with a bike. Rentals really aren’t an option for me since I’m not human-sized. My biggest problem is dealing with the lack of patience of other travelers since it takes a bit more effort and time to travel with a bike. I may get a new case this year. This one is a lot lighter than what I’ve used in the past and that makes everything easier. http://www.biknd.com/home.html

[JimF22003]

I bought a huge THULE case from REI that I’ve only used once. Unwieldy in an airport to say the least. The bike survived, except for me cross-threading the derailleur when trying to reattach it to the hanger. Had to get somebody at the local bike shop to fix that for me. I left the derailleur attached on the way home, and again the bike survived, but I noticed the plastic spacer I used on the rear drop-outs was bent, so there had been some severe pressure on the box at some point. I worry about how a soft-sided case would have survived that one…

[lisaworld]

I have a Crateworks case you can borrow. It has been to SE Asia and India multiple times with no damage to the bike. Normally I can make the weight limit of 50lbs for international flight with the case, steel Gunnar Rock Tour bike with rear rack and Salsa Anything cages, tools, and some clothes.

[baiskeli]

@Megabeth 39326 wrote:

Enough is enough! I have had it with these #*(&$ bikes on this *((*&#@ plane!

(Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)

You beat me to this by almost 24 hours. I am getting really slow.

[Author]

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