Flying with your bike: tips from a baggage handler

by Matt de Neef

Flying with your bike can be a nerve-wracking experience, particularly if the bike is new and/or you’ve spent a lot of money on it. Will the bike make it to your destination in one piece? And what’s the best option for keeping your bike safe – soft case, hardshell or cardboard box? CyclingTips editor Matt de Neef spoke to an aircraft loading supervisor with more than 10 years experience to find out how best to pack your bike when flying and, just as importantly, how to reduce the risks of your bike getting damaged.

Paul* has worked at the Adelaide Airport for more than a decade now, supervising the loading and unloading of passenger luggage and freight for many different types of aircraft. The one thing he gets asked more than anything else is: do baggage handlers take as much care with passengers’ luggage as they should?

“I know there’s one or two YouTube clips out there of guys throwing bags from bridges at an airport but it’s not an everyday thing I can tell you that, because someone’s going to wind up in an office with disciplinary action”, Paul told CyclingTips. “We basically work in a fishbowl — the public sees our every move and we’re aware of it. With the people I work with, there is general care taken with items.”

Of course passenger luggage does sometimes get damaged in transit (less than 0.05% of the time, at least according to this sample data from the US Deparment of Transport (pdf), but when it does, Paul believes it’s likely to have happened before baggage handlers have even touched the bag.

“A lot of it has to do with conveyor belt systems. We don’t really manually handle the bags until they come downstairs”, Paul told CyclingTips. “A lot of it’s automated where they have different ramps and a lot of this equipment is quite strong, to pull the weight of all the people’s luggage. They also have arms that knock the bags down certain chutes so sometimes the damage is actually done through this conveyor system.”

When you drop your bike bag off at the oversized luggage counter it gets set aside with other large items such as prams, car seats, guitars and fishing rods and, generally speaking, loaded on to the aircraft last. Why?

“It’s actually easier for us to load those items last, after all the other items of luggage like suitcases, so they’re easier to get off the aircraft and don’t get damaged.”

Choosing a case

If you’re about to fly with your bike for the first time, a big question you’re probably asking yourself is “what should of bike box/bag should I get?” Your three main options are a hardshell case, a softshell case or a simple cardboard bike box.

Back in 2008, in one of the earliest articles on CyclingTips, we wrote about a memorable incident while flying with his bike packed in a cardboard box:

“

I was once on a flight where it was raining heavily upon arrival and the box got drenched while sitting outside on the tarmac. My gear was delivered on the luggage carousel piece by piece since the box had been reduced to mush while sitting out in the rain.

That’s certainly one disadvantage of opting for a cardboard box but the upside is that it’s the cheapest option by far — often free from a bike shop — and with appropriate padding the bike can be well protected. A softshell case is considerably more expensive (several hundred dollars for a decent one) but does a better job of protecting the bike. And a hardshell case will do an even better job of protecting your bike, but at the cost of weight and cost (more than $1,000 in some cases).

As well as being a baggage handler, Paul is himself a keen cyclist that has raced for many years and travelled extensively with his bike. So what sort of box or case does he recommend?

“I’m a big fan of the padded bag. I’ve actually got an EVOC bag, which I think is brilliant. There’s a couple other guys at work that have them and they prefer using them as well.”

While the padding in a softshell case generally does a good job of protecting the bike inside, Paul recommends taking extra precautions.

“I quite often put bubble wrap around the frame as well. I might put a towel towards the rear derailleur just in case, not a beach towel or anything like that, just a little bit of extra protection. I haven’t had any problems at all.”

And there’s another reason Paul recommends travelling cyclists use padded bags; one related to how luggage is loaded on to some aircraft.

“The 737 is a non-containerised aircraft so they use what’s called a belt-loader. It’s a machine that they position at the rear and front of the aircraft and the bags are placed on the conveyer belt on this belt loader, and loaded manually in the hold of the aircraft.

“If people are using padded bags they generally have a bit of traction on the belt loader. It just makes for a smooth delivery of the bike bag into the hold of the aircraft.”

Hardshell cases, by contrast, can sometimes prove to be a hassle.

“In all honesty, when [hardshell cases] are on the belt loader, because they’re plastic, they actually slide quite a bit. It’s a rare occasion but … they can actually slide off the rubber belt, especially when it’s wet.”

Thankfully there are processes in place to stop that happening more often.

“The in-hold operator has stop-control buttons and he can stop it and the guy on the ground can help him position it back on the belt just in case it’s going to fall off.”

But it still happens.

“The perception is that [hardshell cases] are more rigid and tough, but the likelihood of them falling of the belt-loader on their way into the aircraft is actually a lot higher than padded bags.”

Another way to reduce the risk of your bike getting damaged is to keep the weight of the bag or box down.

“We’ve seen bike boxes — whether it be a hard case, padded or even the airline-provided cardboard box — and guys will put nearly all their cycling gear into the bag and the bag or box is up to around 30kg. And I guess you’re not breaking any weight restrictions in that regard but from our perspective these bags are not only awkward in size to maneuver inside the aircraft, but when they get heavy, generally speaking the guys are less tolerant, to some extent, maneuvering these bags inside the aircraft.”

Getting caught out

Regardless of the sort of bag or box you decide to put your bike in, there are some seemingly obvious things you should take into consideration. Liking making sure the bike isn’t hanging out of the box.

“Quite often you get triathletes travelling with their tri bike with the time trial bars still on there, actually poking out of the bag. They might put a bit of bubble wrap around the time trial bars in an effort to protect them. I’m not saying they will get damaged but there’s a likelihood they will get damaged in the hold [of the aircraft].”

This is largely due to the protruding bars getting caught on parts of the machinery during loading.

“On the 737 aircraft there’s what we call a ‘magic carpet’ and this rolls forward and rolls back as the loader loads it. So if you can imagine that the bikes are going on last, the conveyer belt has to retract and quite often if you’re putting quite a few items in the back of an aircraft the tri bars will get caught or rub.”

A similar situation arises when people don’t remove pedals before packing their bike, particularly when using a cardboard bike box.

“The first thing the pedals do is pierce the box. If you have pedals hanging out — or sometimes bike skewers — they [can] actually get caught on the belt-loading system or caught in the webbing in the door of the aircraft. On the rare occasion, bikes have actually fallen from the belt-loader on the way into the aircraft because a bike skewer or a pedal got caught.”

We asked Paul what the worst bike-related accident he’d seen was in his time as a baggage handler. He spoke of a brand of padded bike bag with four wheels on the base.

“There must have been about 20 team bikes, probably around the Tour Down Under, and a couple fell off because they’d been placed on the wheels and these wheels don’t have any locking positions on them. So the guys thought they were positioned fairly tightly on the barrow and they started to move and then the bikes fell off the barrow. But that’s the probably the worst I’ve seen, other than bikes falling off belt loaders.”

But as someone who’s been responsible for the safe loading of luggage for more than a decade, Paul reiterates that unfortunate accidents with bikes are thankfully rare.

“I guess the perception is that there’s horror stories about broken frames and broken wheels and that sort of thing but in my experience I haven’t seen any of that. Hopefully the travelling public aren’t afraid to take their bikes on trips!”

Some tips for packing your bike safely

- If possible, opt for a padded bag, as opposed to a hardshell case or cardboard bike box

- Remove your pedals, tri-bars or anything else that will leave part of the bike hanging out of the case.

- Regardless of the type of bag or case you opt for, make sure you put some padding around the most vulnerable parts of the bike, including the rear derailleur.

- Keep the weight of your bike bag down, and not just so you’re inside your weight limit. Heavier bags and boxes are more difficult to manoeuvre and have an increased risk of being dropped or manhandled in the tight quarters of an aircraft’s hold.

- If you are going to fill up the bag or box, make sure rigid items like bike pumps aren’t free to move around the bag, potentially scratching the frame or damaging the components.

- If you’re using a cardboard bike box, be sure to tape up the handles as well as the top of the box. It’s common for the handles on cardboard bike boxes to tear when you go to lift up the bike, particularly if the box is quite heavy.

*Name has been changed so that the person being interviewed can speak freely about past incidents.

Tags: bike bags, travelling

http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

After seeing dozens of different bike bags out there and using quite a few myself, the best one I’ve come by is the Pika Packworks (http://pikapackworks.com/). The protection is in all the right places, it’s extremely well made, it weighs about 3kg, can be broken down to be relatively small when you need to store it, and is discreet (no branding) to draw attention to it. Swift Carbon also makes a bag that looks nearly identical to the Pika Packworks: http://www.swiftcarbon.com/gear/ochrana-bike-pack/
- dcaspira
  
  Travelling around Europe with a Pika is brilliant. Compacts down, easy to get on trains, taxis, and rental cars. No brainer +1.
  - Tricky Dicky
    
    I agree. I’m pretty happy with it - I have only suffered damage to my carbon frame once in multiple trips. The airline (up to the convention limit of $1800) and insurance paid out pretty quickly too. The only downside to the bag is that it doesn’t have any wheels - so get ready to put in some heavy lifting if you have some serious mileage to do around airports (eg. try the walk from Rome Airport arrivals to the rental car area…). It’s probably worth getting a luggage repairer to put some very small integrated castors on the bottom of the bag so it can be “slid along” smoothly.
    
    All that said, I am about to pull the trigger on a S&S coupler Ti bike so everything goes in a standard-sized case - see Wade’s Baumpton for an example - because I am sick of irritating the family by having such a massive bag whenever we travel. Small European hire cars don’t like big bags much either …. so this should hopefully restore some harmony to the next family adventure and save money on baggage costs too (as some airlines now charge for bike bags).
    - http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
      
      I just travelled to Japan (planes, trains and automobiles) with the Baum S&S bike and it was the best investment in a bike I’ve ever made. Takes me 15mins to pull apart or put together and fits into regular luggage. Weighs about 16kg packed up with kit, shoes, helmet, etc.
    - http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
      
      I just travelled to Japan (planes, trains and automobiles) with the Baum S&S bike and it was the best investment in a bike I’ve ever made. Takes me 15mins to pull apart or put together and fits into regular luggage. Weighs about 16kg packed up with kit, shoes, helmet, etc.
      - Holby City
        
        Wade, did you put some foam around the tubes at least?
        
        http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
        
        Yes, definitely. Here’s how it looks once all packed
        
        David W
        
        Nice case, nicely packed!
      - Sean
        
        Thats unreal.
      - JohnB
        
        Looks great! What type and size case is that ?
        
        David W
        
        Ritchey Breakaway case.
        http://ritcheylogic.com/frames/break-away-accessories/break-away-travel-bag.html
        
        but a S&S coupler bike fits perfectly as you can see.
        Mine will usually arrive along with regular cases not the oversize.
        The fact that it is easy to open and close is handy if you are travelling to the USA as the TSA are allowed to open up your case to do a visual inspection. So it helps if they can close it up easily too.
    - A. Moose.
      
      Anyone know if/how/who can retrofit S&S couplers to a Ti frame (in Sydney) preferably? And, how much weight would you expect them to add?
jules

i haven’t travelled by air with my bike yet, but i have done a fair bit of travel and another point i’d make is that the professionalism of baggage handlers varies greatly across the globe. my worst experience was at Kathmandu Airport in Nepal, where they just trashed my stuff. luckily Singapore Airlines paid compo.
Holby City

I travel with my bike in a Biknd Helium case fortnightly and so far so good. IMO you want a bag that really secures the bike with quick release clamps and keeps it rigid by having an axle in the dropouts. I always wrap the rear derailleur in an old t-shirt or towel just in case.
- Tricky Dicky
  
  I spoke to the manufacturer of the Pika bag in the States before ordering mine a few years ago. He was dead against the idea of a metal frame inside a soft bag as he said that it gave the frame nowhere to go if there was a side impact problem. I know a number of people who have the Scicon bags who have had more issues than me: I don’t know if that is the reason. One other thing I have learned is to ALWAYS remove the rear derailleur.
  - Holby City
    
    The Biknd Helium case demands that you remove the derailleur. Interesting viewpoint, perhaps they’re right. My logic was based on rigidity = strength = good thing. It’s probably a good idea to at least put a skewer in the dropouts though is it not?
    - Tricky Dicky
      
      Yes, absolutely. Either a skewer or those plastic things that new bikes come with between forks and rear stays (I went to a LBS and picked up a few spares and always travel with them). I think they’re important to protect the rigidity of the frame & fork. That’s different to fixing it to a large mounting steel frame inside a bag though - that’s what the Pika guy said caused lots of damage, especially to seat stays.
      - Mat
        
        Dropout bracing is essential! CT should add that point to the tips at the bottom of the article!
        
        Ytd
        
        Agree you must have spacers in the both forks. I have a cheapo cycling express soft bag which has worked well although the wheels are getting a bit dodgy after 2 euro trips. A couple of things I have learnt.
        
        Leave your seat in if you can. It cushions the fall if he bike is dropped. If no seat your carbon frame will cop it.
        
        Cable tie youhain around the big chain wheel. My bag was dropped far enough in Pisa for the chain wheel to punch through the bottom of the bag and break off a tooth even though I had lots of padding under the frame. Youhain equals your chain. Bloody iPhone.
        
        Always take the derallieur off. Even when padded a drop wil bend it or the hangar.
Anthony

Unfortunately i was one of those unlucky bastards that landed in Paris to find a broken frame (well after it arrived because they left it in Dubai first but thats another story) I used a Sci Con Aerocomfort 2.0 don’t get me wrong i in no way do i blame the bag its a excellent bag (that was damaged as well) at least 10 people had that bag and they arrived without issue i don’t know how they did it but they broke the rear seat stay. What was interesting was Emirates didn’t consider that bag to be adequate for the ‘normal rigours of air travel’ and denied my claim (lucky i had insurance). It was heartbreaking to say the least! My tips definitely travel insurance on the bike! Have a direct contact number to your airline in Australia (i got hand balled from france to dubai and back again..then got hung up on) and as far as the bike bag goes…dont know i spent a hour packing mine before the trip making sure everything was covered, i have to fly to Byron in November and I’m shit scared of going through that again… I guess if its going to happen its going to happen just have some plans to deal with it especially on a foreign country where language barrier is a issue.
- GT
  
  I too have a SciCon Aero, I purchased mine as the tour company I first went overseas with, did not allow hard cases as they take up too much room in the vans etc. and recently on trip over to Ardennes, mine too had a damaged seat stay, sadly on the way over. I had wrapped the stay in dense foam padding but judging by the damage it was hit very hard, edge of a pallet maybe. Had to hire a bike at no notice, a right pain. I plan on replacing the bag with a padded or inflatable bag, I do not think the Sci Con is up to the perils of air travel, however judging by the article above, there are problems with all types of bags.
  - Anthony
    
    Sounds like a carbon copy of what happened to me! We should have hung out and cried over a drink haha…i would love to know how they did it as I’m sure you would too.
MK

I bought a bike box bag. Its a canvas bag that goes around the cardboard box to protect it from the elements. Also the canvas bag has handles so the cutouts on the carboard box aren’t used. I thought it was a very simple and excellent idea. Ive not used it yet but plan to latter this year.
For over 15 years ive used cardboard boxes and they have been OK. Not excellent (an EVOC or Sicon bag ive borrowed was better) but the cardboard has been pretty good. Having said that last year n the way to Italy my mates bike got damaged in a cardboard box and my box got damaged in the rain. Hence the new canvas bike box bag addition
- pdesenex
  
  cover the box with a large plastic bag to water proof it? minimal weight, if torn, discard.
pedr09

After reading a review here I bought a Scicon Aerocomfort and it has been excellent. Wheels off and into the pockets, frame onto the mounts in the bag, pop the foam tubes on the frame, zip it up and you’re done. Three to four minutes tops. I’m sure bags like the EVOC protect well but you’ve got to take off your pedals, undo your stem, take off your saddle and then at the other end, put them all back exactly as they were before. No thanks, that would just piss me off.
Anthony

What’s everyones thoughts on a aluminium framed bike to travel with, would that be stronger than the carbon and be more resistant to such damage? Luckily it was my praccy bike that got broken last time but I’m only down to one and its my pride and joy really don’t want to take that one.
- Holby City
  
  I do the Syd-Mel flight fortnightly with my aluminium bike inside a Biknd Helium case and so far no damage.
Guest

Lots of great comments here and useful tips. Am thinking that if Shapelle Corby was ever known to ride a bike and travel with one, this article may have taken a slightly different direction.
echidna_sg

people still fly on 737’s?
I haven’t been on an American built plane in 10 years or more…

My experience: I have both soft and hard cases, there are simple and light upgrades you can do to the softbag to bring it up in the protection stakes while maintaining the advantages - a sheet of coreplast (plastic corrugated board) down the sides plus padding and removal of the rear derailleur are the minimum. Ride a titanium as well and the risks drop further ;-)
http://subcontinentalcyclist.wordpress.com/ Ankush Agarwal

Thanks for this post. It’s really helpful.
Muz

Don’t underestimate the good old bike box from your LBS. I went to France last year for the TDF with 7 other guys who all purchased brand new Scicon bike bags. Another mate who has been to the tour mutliple times had one and when I asked to borrow it he said he used and preferred to take a bike box. He recommended wrapping the entire box in contact which I did and using duct tape around the corners. With some bubble wrap and some clothes thrown in for extra padding you can end up fitting a lot of stuff in as the box itself weighs so little.

Fast forward to bag pickup at Geneva airport and the boys were laughing their heads off as I dragged my box to the exit. Different story when we were all unpacking our bikes to go for our first ride and one of the boys pulled out his brand new SL4 with a large crack through the rear stay. I’d use a bike box again - planty of room, tough when wrapped up with contact and tape and best of all free. If you aren’t travelling regularly it’s a good option.
- Sean
  
  You’d think these people would have just once, wondered how the hell their bikes got over here in the first place. It surely wasn’t in a $1,000+ gimmicky bike travel case. I put my bike in a similar cheap/free cardboard box it first come to Australia in. The other good thing about a throw away box, is you can just throw it away at the other end. Bike cases are a major PITA to cart around.
http://www.weareonfire.co.nz Onfire Design

The plain old cardboard bike box works well for me…I travel a lot with a Pinarello Dogma and touch wood, its never had a scratch. The great thing about the cardboard box is it reusable, free and and also folds down into a small hatch back car if you’re needing to travel somewhere at your destination.
Devro

+1 for the evoc.
I have used it for several international and domestic trips with both MTB (29) and road bike. This includes several trips through Vanuatu.
The bag is scuffed, but the bike has always been intact.
I couldn’t have been happier.
Michael O’Reilly

0.05 per cent damages? At one stage I was running an average of one damage incident to my bike every four flights (and that’s counting as each direction, not round trips).

And an Evoc case didn’t stop my rear wheel being buckled when I flew to NZ to do the Lake Taupo. And then the bloke in the bike shop in Auckland managed to smash a 36-spoke Mavic Open Pro hub when trying to true it. And nearly didn’t have a wheel for the event (shop felt bad and did a free rebuild in a day so good on them).

Numbers have got better since then. At the risk of cursing myself …
bnjintokyo

I’ve used cardboard bike boxes several times, no problem except airline restrictions on bikes or size. Unless the airline has liberal rules, a cardboard bike box will be over-size and an extra charge. Soft cases, hard cases again over-size. I now have S&S couplers - no longer oversize, but some airlines still want a surcharge simply because it’s a bike. Packing takes some practice and some time (pedals, bars, cages, wheels, saddle, etc. all off - for me cranks/rings ok but a large frame may need to have them removed too). Reassemble is a little faster, but both about an hour. (So what? We’re on vacation!) Goes in a hard case 26x26x10 inches. There are lateral supports to prevent the bike/case assembly for crushing loads. Has wheels for dragging through airports. If you are arriving at a first airport and leaving from a second and riding from one to the other, look into a delivery service to ship the case from your first hotel to the last hotel.

Domestically in Japan, I use a cloth bag, the same one I use for the train. Weighs about 500 grams and fits in a stuff bag smaller than a 1-liter water bottle that I strap on the handle bars for the ride. One wheel off, packs/reassembles in about 10 minutes when traveling by train, a little longer when traveling by plane (No need to split the frame, etc.)

If you want to take your bike across an ocean, I recommend S&S
- Douglas
  
  Which airlines have charged you? They are easily avoided. I have flown with Qantas, Air NZ, Malaysia, Virgin, Qatar, Emirates, Cathay and Air France. Using boxes, soft cases including EVOC (which is quite large), only Air France have charged - a flat fee. Cathay has a 20kg baggage limit from Aust which they will stretch to 23kg which is fine for me. The others give 23kg, or in the case of Qatar and Emirates 30kg.
mt

I have travelled with the BikND Helium: Folds up to next-to-nothing yet has a lower hard shell case. Light to manouvre with a good wheel base that was sturdy. Great padding and made me feel confident that my Tarmac SL4 was protected during travel.
PatFitzy

Wade, is that bike a folding bike ? ie like a Brompton 20″ ;-)
haha I will burn in hell for that comment - see you in the UK.
PlaneImages

http://bikeboxalan.co.uk/

Best case I have found and provides peace of mind.

Tip: I travel with Qantas Club and get the extra bag allowance and this is for my bike. Haven’t found a cheaper way to travel internationally yet..
Chris Andrews

I had a my beloved Jamis Xenith Pro broken when flying from NZ to San Francisco last year - huge crack in the frame and a completely snapped derailleur. The bike was stored in a well padded bike bag (which ended up ripped), pedals off, even had some bubble-wrap. Got a full payout from the Airline.

Anyway one additional tip i’d give is to remove your rear derailleur. Use a spare tyre tube and wrap it inside your rear triangle - that way its not in contact with the bottom of the case.
Douglas

Have packed bikes in boxes, cheap bags, and EVOC bags about twenty times, and no damage has occurred to bikes, but boxes have been shredded, and bags quite scuffed so packing is important. The advantage of the EVOC bag, and no doubt others like it, is that packing is simpler because all parts of the bike are secured to the bag. Using boxes and cheap bags everything inside needs to be tied together, and the package will float a bit. I have always removed the rear derailleur and placed it out of harm’s way. Disposable rubber gloves are handy when reattaching it at the other end as is having it in the highest gear so the cable is slack.
echidna_sg

a mate recently bought a buxum box and raves about it…

the engineers solution?

http://www.buxumbox.com/
niknik89

So why not just wrap your bag in grip tape?
scott

I used a hard case bike box , $270 , great. wheels off , skewers out , pedals & bars off. pack clothes around in shopping bags as extra padding. Brussells & back , no problem.
Andy Larson

Trash Bags Space Junk flight travel box— fly protected with a corrugated plastic box and rugged cordura outer. and, it goes for normal checked baggage rates. it’ll pay for itself in savings in one round trip flight vs the hundreds of dollars most airlines carve you for. http://trashmessengerbags.com/index.php?cID=282
Dave Hollingham

After a few poor experiences with card boxes and with padded bags I recommend the following additional measures:

Protect your chainring (teeth can pierce bag or box and then get damaged when dropped or dragged on ground). - a bit of split hose pipe will do the job.

remove rear derailleur and hanger if possible and put one of those plastic drop out protectors in (my new bike came packed with these) - this will prevent damage to dropouts if bike is dropped.

Use some soft items (clothing in a plastic bag / bubble wrap etc) to pad the base of the bag.

Dave
Ben Pilot

On Ya Paul!!!