Flying without a hardcase.

rflynnr

So. Just back from a four day trip from Bilbao to Bordeaux. (Highly recommended incidentally.) But it - once again - prompted me to wonder about how I pack my bike for air travel. Because we took a linear route - arriving at one airport and departing from another 430kms away - using a hard case wasn't a option. So, we did what I've done for a decade now: remove the rear derailleur and let it hang loose (albeit wrapped in bubble wrap) and then place the entire bike inside one of the clear tough polythene bags the Cycle Touring Club sells. And, once again, we basically got away with it insofar as the bikes were in pretty much the condition we packed them in (some minor adjustment, loose mudguards etc. aside). But, am I missing a trick here? Is there some alternative means of doing this kind of trip that would permit the use of a hardcase at both ends? (I should add that the bikes in question were aluminium-framed tourers and I'd never contemplate doing it this way with a road bike or anything with a carbon frame.)

Seaswimmer

rflynnr wrote: »

So. Just back from a four day trip from Bilbao to Bordeaux. (Highly recommended incidentally.) But it - once again - prompted me to wonder about how I pack my bike for air travel. Because we took a linear route - arriving at one airport and departing from another 430kms away - using a hard case wasn't a option. So, we did what I've done for a decade now: remove the rear derailleur and let it hang loose (albeit wrapped in bubble wrap) and then place the entire bike inside one of the clear tough polythene bags the Cycle Touring Club sells. And, once again, we basically got away with it insofar as the bikes were in pretty much the condition we packed them in (some minor adjustment, loose mudguards etc. aside). But, am I missing a trick here? Is there some alternative means of doing this kind of trip that would permit the use of a hardcase at both ends? (I should add that the bikes in question were aluminium-framed tourers and I'd never contemplate doing it this way with a road bike or anything with a carbon frame.)

Have done the same many times but always use cardboard boxes both ways. easy from Ireland. Just get one from your LBS.

Coming home a bit of research is always required.

1. Check if airport sell them. If not airport then some airlines supply them (Iberia in Spain for example)
2. Contact local bike shop in departure town in advance. See if they will sell/provide box or pack your bike. This is often difficult due to language issues and opening times.
3. Find your local Decathlon. You are never too far away from one on the continent. They will give you a box and with a few tie wraps and some kind of shoulder strap you can transport it a few kms to the airport on the bike.
4. Plan your tour to finish in Santiago de Compostella!! Excellent bike shop in centre of town that will pack your bike professionally for 21 euro and then organise your taxi to the airport..
5. Absolute last resort. Use plastic bag wrapping machine in airport. They will generally wrap for double the cost of a suitcase. Protect your derailleur with your helmet!
6. Start and finish tour in same place and leave decent bike box in hotel where you spend 1st and last night. We did Malaga > Granada > Seville > Tarifa > Malaga over 9 days and the hotel in Malaga were happy to hold onto our (cardboard )boxes,