Bikes on planes

You could also travel with 3 friends. Two people take a wheel each, one
takes the bare frame, and the other takes all the hardware. That way, no one
actually has a bicycle and you don't have to pay the $60.

Chris Zacho 'The Wheelman said:

I was riding with the club and the subject of getting bikes on planes
came up. One of the other riders gave his solution: Disassemble the
bike down so it fits into the smallest box possible, and therefore
looks as little like a bike box as possible. If the attendant asks
what's in it, he simply replies "athletic equipment". Not a lie, and
no charge on airlines!

Has anyone her tried something like this? or knows someone who has?
how successful was it? what "dangers"?

- -

"May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

trg said:

You could also travel with 3 friends. Two people take a wheel each, one
takes the bare frame, and the other takes all the hardware. That way, no one
actually has a bicycle and you don't have to pay the $60.

If it's still oversized luggage, you may get charged. It's not the
fact that it's a bike that invokes the charge. It's because it's
(usually) oversized.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

Terry Morse said:

trg said:

You could also travel with 3 friends. Two people take a wheel each,
one takes the bare frame, and the other takes all the hardware. That
way, no one actually has a bicycle and you don't have to pay the $60.

If it's still oversized luggage, you may get charged. It's not the
fact that it's a bike that invokes the charge. It's because it's
(usually) oversized.

Yeah, actually it is the fact that it's a bike that entails the charge (to
the bikers advantage, because an oversized bag costs more than a similar
sized bike.) Look at the rules and regulations on airline websites. They
refer to the charge on some sports equipment (including bikes) as "excess
charge" rather than oversize charge, which they describe in a seperate
place. Notice they differentiate between a bike and any other oversized
luggage, so obviosly, the fact it's a bike is an important factor in the
extra charge. But you're right, if the bare frame packed is longer than 62
inches (LxWxH), they could stick you for an oversized luggage charge?

Back to my farsical suggestion, I think a bare frame will fit within the
limits.

From: [email hidden] (Terry=A0Morse)

If it's still oversized luggage, you may get charged. It's not the fact
that it's a bike that invokes the charge. It's because it's (usually)
oversized.

Golf club bags are not charged. And these things are huge! I could
probably (as a preliminary guess) get My mountain bike into a 40x24x12
box, if I disassemble it to the max. About the size of two suitcases (in
volume, at least).

"Oversize" is not charged as much as "bicycle" anyways, I don't think.

- -

"May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Chris Zacho 'The Wheelman') said:

From: [email hidden] (Terry Morse)

If it's still oversized luggage, you may get charged. It's not the fact
that it's a bike that invokes the charge. It's because it's (usually)
oversized.

Quoted message said:

"Oversize" is not charged as much as "bicycle" anyways, I don't think.

I think I've missed a bit in this discussion, but two thoughts occurred.

First, you can strip a full-suspension mountain bike down by unbolting
the rear suspension. That may have been what you were saying.

Second, I have a theory that if I took a BMX bike, mounted a set of
high-pressure tires, slapped on a gearing system (I hesitate to mention
it, lest the internal-gearing fans here snap it up, but Harris Cyclery
has a $70 7-speed hub for sale right now), put on a tall stem with
either drop bars or flat bars, I could make a fairly fast, fairly
serious "road" bike that could be disassembled to sub-airline dimensions
and reassembled at my destination.

Specifically, I'm thinking of a probable trip to Greece next year (and
if I'm quick, a trip to Ottawa this Fall). On either trip, I'll be
travelling with my lovely spouse, and we will not be pulling stunts like
riding from the airport, so I really just need a bike that I can pull
out of my luggage and assemble when I have a spare half-hour.

I'm going to take a look at a BMX frame and take some measurements. Then
I'm going to phone Harris....

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 20:07:02 -0700, Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

high-pressure tires, slapped on a gearing system (I hesitate to mention
it, lest the internal-gearing fans here snap it up, but Harris Cyclery
has a $70 7-speed hub for sale right now), put on a tall stem with

Wow. Cool! I wonder what the gear ratios are on these...
--
Rick Onanian