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Bunch of us riding from Geneva to Nice in September - any tips where we can get boxes for the flight home? There are numerous bike shops in Nice and it seems they can be bought (for €€'s) at the airport, but any tips for the budget conscious........
Cheers
Ask the local bike shops?
They usually pack them full of cardboard and chuck them.
Yeah, been told Velo Culture was a good bet, but closed Sunday and Monday, which is when we're there.
There's Decathlon too I guess.
Guess I'm after recommendations from anyone who's done it/ helpful locals 🙂 so we'll have options.
Decathlon gave us 4, but we had to be there at a certain day/time as they build on 1 day only. Tbh they weren’t the greatest boxes and for the amount of hassle it was, if buying them at airport is an option, I’d just do that.
Try Cafe du Cicliste which is the finish point of the Turin Nice Rally and relatively close to the airport, although if their clothing prices are anything to go by, they'll probably charge you €200 for a designer Rapha item.
Used to be said that a bike that wasn't boxed, just pedals off and bars turned, would be treated fine by airlines. In fact they used to have clear bags for them at check-in!
I never trusted this so always found boxes mind.
I was told pipe lagging and wrapping etc is no longer allowed and they have to be boxed. I've emailed the airport as I can't find details on the website - just that they are offered. I'll contact Cafe du Cycliste.
Got this from the airport:
"Thank you for contacting Nice Côte d'Azur Airport.
The following bicycle-packing facilities are available :
Bike boxes for €30 at the Service Center, open from 7:30 am to 10:00 pm in the arrivals hall of Terminal 2. (Dismantling the pedals is recommended)
Plastic wrapping for €24 without warranty / 28€ with warranty / 34 € with return warranty at the SafeBag stand in the departure area :
Terminal 1 : open from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Terminal 2 : open from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm (at the Service Center from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm)
Dismantling the wheels is recommended.
Also, Air France and KLM can propose to their passengers special cardboxes."
This: Plastic wrapping for €24 without warranty / 28€ with warranty sounds like a good option - use pipe lagging etc and wrap it all up in clingfilm, then get Safe Bag to wrap over the top and do what they do to take more care of it.
Those boxes used to be 20E. They were big but thin/flimsy. Haven't used them for a few years though so they might have changed spec.
Cheers James. The airport have replied to say they always have some 'in stock', so will use it as a fall back option if local bike shop haven't got any. A roll of tape should beef it up, or wrapping from Safe Bag.