Finding one to fit my Enduro (wheelbase: 1177mm...) is another matter...
Alternatively can anyone recommend somewhere in London/the South East that has them for rent?
i had a 200 quid one first time i flew to morzine, sides got caved in, did its job, weighed 13kg empty so cost me £90 in excess baggage on way home
wow, on top of the £37 they charge you for taking a bike? (assuming this was Easyjet)
my last flight with the bike in a cardboard box was just sphincter tightening
The cost of a decent bag will be far less than a frame to replace the one that got damaged on a flight, surely?
I suppose if it protects your rig and you will use it again it would be imho
drive, piece of piss from London, max 8 hours from Calais and the same in tolls and fuel than a box, plus you can lob whatever you want in the back spares wise
I figured out the lump sum cost of driving from London would be £400, all in - not really viable for small groups/duos!
I have a 13kg or so box too - brand new gathering dust. Was a replacement from a baggage handler when they finally bust the original. I think they must've dropped a plane on it because it was a bloody robust thing and they properly bent it.
Bike was absolutely fine though
It's just to heavy for me to take with my cheap bike to the USA every year - some carriers won't take at all and with others the excess charges are so high I could buy a bike out there & make up the money in a couple of years. If I had a posh bike I'd swallow the charges and take it for sure (as it is, I dismantle the frame & shove it in a normal suitcase & take the wheels in a cardboard box)
Cost 3 of us about £400 (return) in petrol, ferry and tolls to get to Morzine from Huddersfield last July. As said earlier, the amount of extra stuff you can take with you in the car makes it by far the better option IMO. Especially considering the freedom you have once there too.
Take care when choosing your box/ airline combo.
Some airline's most recent maximum dimensions are smaller than a lot of manufacturer's boxes. I forget the details - but I'm sure BA was one of them.
[b]IF [/b]they choose to get all letter of the law with you it could be a problem.
Thanks, that's worth knowing. As said my frame is of the long-wheelbase variety so I'd probably be in trouble if this applies.
I had a quick look on Easyjet, BA and Ryanair's sites and can't find any details regarding dimensions - these don't seem to be published, at least in a readily available place - do you happen to know if these are published online? Tried a google too but nowt.
Thanks again...
I got one off fleabay for £50
My bike survived intact to Oz and back, five flights with three changes in total.
The other six bikes went (padded!) in bags, five of them made the trip there OK.
PITA to find as I've got an integrated seatpost, eventually found one which would take it, although had to remove the forks.
Don't know what your Enduro is worth but for £5k+ of carbon I couldn't afford not to get one. Box was knackered when it came back (wasn't great before it went TBH) but did it's job, £50 very well spent.
Box is heavy though. I went with Emirates, 30kg baggage allowance, friends with BA had 20kg, hence the bags.
Pretty sure it was BA that saw me mate of to the tune of 700/800 pounds over the terminology of the description of the bike, even though it was within the pre confirmed (and payed for ) weight and dimensions they screwed him over because it was a mountain bike and not a racing (road) bike
I've stuck DH bikes straight on flights with no bag/box at all.. they get far less damaged than in the back of a cattle truck 😉
oh.. and Yes £200 is ridiculous when a couple of cardboard bikeboxes inside each other gaffertaped up does as good a job for less than a fiver.
chain reactions own brand £48 worked fine for myself and 3 of my mates when flying to cyprus.
Used to have one, waste of time as far as I was concerned, more difficult to carry then a free box from a shop, and at the end of the day you need to store them somewhere. A box can be recycled at the end of your trip. Have used cardboard box to fly to NZ on 2 different occasions, have had no problems either time. (and they free) Do pack it well though.
Have used a padded Neil Pryde one with wheels to Canada and France.
Cardboard box every time.
Have a look at a Bike Crate... really happy with the one I have, its a compromise between a bag and a hard case... seems a lot for the material but its pretty tough....
Thanks for these tips (that is ridiculous that they screwed the guy for taking a mtb not a road bike! I'd pay up under duress and then make a claim). I think I will just stick with using a cardboard box. I suspect that airlines are more likely to enforce dimension limits if you're using a proper box than a cardboard box, based on anecdotal stuff here (I've never had trouble with cardboard). Sure the bike is totally vulnerable but I'll insure it and hey worst comes to worst I'm a litigator...