Any ideas on shipping my bike?????

Why don't you rent a bike while you are out there? Or are you racing?

There is a GREAT chance that the TSA baggage screeners will open up your cardboard box to inspect it, even after it goes through the big x-ray machine in the back. They'll be nice enough to put a note in it saying that it was inspected, but you'll already know that because your carefully strapped down parts will no longer be carefully strapped down properly.

After the careful packing job has been undone by the TSA, now the airline ramp personnel get their chance with your bike. Each surface your poor bike box touches, it'll be thrown onto. It'll probably be chucked right into whichever space it'll fit into the cargo compartment, regardless of the 'UP' arrows, probably underneath a few pieces of luggage. In Cali, it'll be chucked into the loading cart after it comes down the belt out of the cargo compartment. Finally, it'll be tossed onto the carousel belt at baggage claim and shoved sideways correctly to it goes through the hole into the terminal.

Unless your frame is super small and light, and packed subcompactly, you have to pay an oversize cargo fee, approx. $80.

I'm NO EXPERT, but that was my bike. At the airline I work for.

Did you try calling UPS?

You might have to start pedaling now if you love your bike. The only way I see around avoiding the crush factor is to get a hard-sided case. Look around - my tri store rents them reasonably cheap.

Good luck

Well that reply has just made me really not want to ship my box through the airlines. I'm sorry about your experience. Actually UPS was quite a bit more expensive than Fedex, but I can go pick it up.
I will check into renting a tri case. I'm looking to ship to the Guerneville/Santa Rosa, CA area.

Well, unsure of *as of today's posting*, but very recently, cargo was screened differently depending on if it was shipped via an exclusive cargo outfit or via passenger airline service.

In addition, cargo airlines use dedicated separate containers that all fit snugly into the plane, the containers are loaded individually with boxes then each one loaded into the plane.

I doubt the manufacturer sends thier bikes via the ticketing counter at the airline.

Besides you lose nothing but time if your bike from the manufacturer arrives damaged....just wait for them to send another one. Good luck getting re-imbursed from the airlines, and have fun watching everyone else having fun while you have no wheels to ride.

If having your bike traveling with you on the same plane is what you want, I think the only safe way is to get a hard-sided case.

Or send via FedEx or UPS.

My son worked at a bike shop so he knew how to pack a bike for flying it to Spain to his sister. He put it in a regular bike box from the store. It arrived fine. My daughter used the same box to ship it back and it arrived fine. When they opened it together, my son looked at how sis had packed it and commented, " now that's an interesting way to pack a bike!"

Otherwise, go to the library for the Sept 2002 issue of Bicycling Magazine, page 66. It tells exactly how to pack your bike for maximum arrival safely.