Ryanair travel for bicycles

Del1888

just heading soon on an ryanair fight just wondering does the bike HAVE to packed in a box or bag, or anyone refuse travel for not havin it pack away thanks.

Trojan

I brought em no problem without a box before. Last time was 2 years ago so YMMV.

Turn and lock bars sideways (parallel to frame).
Deflate tyres fully (because otherwise they will, and might break your valves).
Remove or put pedals on inside of cranks.

Take photo of your bike in airport before it goes in. Just in case.

Morgan

I believe you have to completely strip the bike down to it's constituent parts. Then you have to carry them through the airport all the way to the plane. Finally you have to stand beside them for the duration of the flight.

On the positive side you can buy scratch-cards on board.

blorg

No, in most airports it doesn't have to be packed in a box or bag. On recent flights with Ryanair I have only had to let air out of the tyres, and even then you can get away with a token lowering of pressure (the hold is pressurised same as the cabin so your tyres will not actually explode.)

Nothing else, no pedals off, no turning of handlebars, etc. Make sure you have the tools to do these things if they are required however.

Note what you have to do is generally more down to the airport than the airline though in any case.

Eoin D

Morgan wrote: »

I believe you have to completely strip the bike down to it's constituent parts. Then you have to carry them through the airport all the way to the plane. Finally you have to stand beside them for the duration of the flight.

On the positive side you can buy scratch-cards on board.

I heard that now you have to hold all the parts with outstretched arms and pay €5 for each piece you drop, which they keep.

But on a thread hijacking note, how are aer lingus in this regard? Do they charge much?

Caroline_ie

Brought myTrek 1000 Alu w/ carbon fork to France last august, Wrapped it ups real well with buble wrap, lowered seat post, Losened the headset, taped the handle bars to the frame, removed pedals. Flew in with Aerlingus> No Problems, Flew back with Ryan air -> Buckled back wheel.

Brought My Fixie To Madrid on a RA flight, last november, did more or the same as above, Bike was grand.

Flew in with RA again with my carbon bike in a Proper case, bike was fine.

I think it has a lot to do with the handlers at the airport more than RA themselves tbh.

DualFrontDiscs

Eoin D wrote: »

But on a different note, how are aer lingus in this regard? Do they charge much?

Fixed your post there and prevented our data overlords coming down on us

blorg

Eoin D wrote: »

I heard that now you have to hold all the parts with outstretched arms and pay €5 for each piece you drop, which they keep.

But on a thread hijacking note, how are aer lingus in this regard? Do they charge much?

Ryanair are actually a lot better than Aer Lingus now- they have a 32kg limit on a bike while Aer Lingus have a 15kg limit (not always enforced and I have never been stung in Dublin- but Raam reports nearly being charged in Munich.)

If I was flying with a bike in a box it is going to be well over 15kg and I would actually try to fly with Ryanair in preference to Aer Lingus. Generally it is less stress dealing with a bike in the smaller airports too.

Flying with my unboxed tourer that would be under 15kg so I would consider AL in that case.

Eoin D

DualFrontDiscs wrote: »

Fixed your post there and prevented our data overlords coming down on us

Ha, thank you, I used that term in the lightest way!

Just checked the wiki as well which has a page on it

stuf

Ryanair's website wrote:

Special advice for the carriage of bicycles

The pedals must be removed (or fixed inwards) and the handlebars must be fixed sideways. The bike should be contained in a protective box or bag. It is not necessary from a safety perspective to deflate typical tyres found on bikes and wheelchairs for carriage in the hold. However, to eliminate the small risk of them being damaged by bursting, you may wish to deflate the tyres. Understandably this decision may be influenced by how easily the tyres could be inflated upon arrival.

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=bag&quest=sportsequipment

considering taking the bike to spain in november rather than hiring there - hmmm

Eoin D

Yeah, I've been pondering this for a while, I'm moving to Holland for a couple of years and I'm wondering whether to bring the bike over or sell it and buy one there. Also considering the ferry and a bit of a holiday to get there!

rottenhat

Eoin D wrote: »

But on a thread hijacking note, how are aer lingus in this regard? Do they charge much?

€40 for the bike, plus €20 if you buy a box from them.

In practice, as I was unsurprised to discover last week in Marseille, they don't have the box. Air France had boxes but refused to sell them to non-Air France passengers. So it ended up with the bikes being shipped wrapped in plastic bags for €18.

Trojan

blorg wrote: »

On recent flights with Ryanair I have only had to let air out of the tyres, and even then you can get away with a token lowering of pressure

I did this once and had no valve caps on the far end and both tyres completely deflated. I'd rather not have someone messing with them so do it myself now always.

kenmc

Trojan wrote: »

--snip--
Remove or put pedals on inside of cranks.

Wouldn't advise this, if for some reason they decide to try wheel it backwards ( you never know with some of these lads) the pedals will catch on the frame and jam (see the Danny McAskill thread if you don't understand why), and they may force it, wrecking everything.

Trojan

kenmc wrote: »

Wouldn't advise this, if for some reason they decide to try wheel it backwards ( you never know with some of these lads) the pedals will catch on the frame and jam (see the Danny McAskill thread if you don't understand why), and they may force it, wrecking everything.

Sound enough advice - guess it depends on the bike and where you lock the cranks.

blorg

@stuf- in practice in my experience airports generally do not require removal of pedals and rotation of handlebars. Certainly not in Dublin. This is with drop bar bikes mind, where the bars are narrow enough to start with and rotating them would not really save that much space. With wide flat bars maybe they would want them rotated. Once I did have to take the pedals off- in Santiago. So as I say make sure you have the tools to do it if they request it (and make sure your pedals are well greased so they will come off to start with.)

Also bear in mind that you will have to check the tools into hold baggage, they won't let you carry them through security. I've got away with it on occasion but I've also had a multitool confiscated, there is a specific prohibition on "tools" even if they are not sharp.

As Trojan says the baggage handlers will sometimes deflate the tyres, as Ryanair even say on their website though it is not necessary. I don't use valve caps myself so not too worried about that. Leaving at least some air in is prudent as it will protect your rims to an extent.

rottenhat

blorg wrote: »

Also bear in mind that you will have to check the tools into hold baggage, they won't let you carry them through security. I've got away with it on occasion but I've also had a multitool confiscated, there is a specific prohibition on "tools" even if they are not sharp.

Yep, got caught that way on Saturday - apparently three Allen keys and a 10mm flat head spanner are a serious threat to the structural integrity of an aeroplane. And it was about 15 minutes to take-off so I couldn't even go back and check the bag.

seamus

blorg wrote: »

Also bear in mind that you will have to check the tools into hold baggage, they won't let you carry them through security. I've got away with it on occasion but I've also had a multitool confiscated, there is a specific prohibition on "tools" even if they are not sharp.

You've obviously never managed to stab yourself in the hand with a 2mm allen key then.

Ouch.

blorg

seamus wrote: »

You've obviously never managed to stab yourself in the hand with a 2mm allen key then.

Ouch.

Haha, I have managed to stab myself with most things, that included. The point is though, it bears no relation to the sharpness of the tool, it is a specific prohibited category "tool" and arguing that it is not sharp will get you nowhere. I think they are afraid you might disassemble the aircraft from the inside. It is possible that it is a new rule as the first I heard of it was when my multitool was confiscated; I used carry allen keys in my hand baggage without problem before but sure enough "tool" is on their list and they were not just making it up.

ashleey

Flew aer arran last week. Bought an avenir (froogle it) bike bag for 40 sterling. Removed pedals, turned handlebars, and partially let down tyres. Removed wheels and put in interior pockets. Pack bike upside down. Otherwise it will be rested on rear derailleur. Got it delivered by hand off the plane at waterford. Cost 30 euro to prebook and airline and handlers were exemplary.

vektarman

[QUOTE=blorg;61150292

Also bear in mind that you will have to check the tools into hold baggage, they won't let you carry them through security. I've got away with it on occasion but I've also had a multitool confiscated, there is a specific prohibition on "tools" even if they are not sharp.

QUOTE]
I usually pack the tools in a saddle bag on the bike before checking it in, of course you're taking a chance that they won't 'go missing' but I've never had a problem.

alritelad

OK. so just to get this totally straight, people have transported their unprotected or boxed precious, damageable bicycles on an aeroplane without incident?! that seems both crazy and brilliant. if that's the case, i'd never have to rent another bike again.