Getting bike to UTAH

[C.P.]

Okay, the good news is, my wife & I just booked a tour with Escape Adventures for May 15-19.
We chose this tour (http://www.escapeadventures.com/tours/mtb/ut_maze.htm)

Anyways, It's been a few years since I've travelled w/ my mountain bike. Every time I've travelled in the past, I used a bike bag, and checked it with my luggage, and boarded the plane. Sometimes the gate agent charged me, sometimes they didn't. I'm sure that's all changed with the Homeland Security stuff going on these days...

So, I have a few choices, trying to find best price since I have some time to prepare.
Does anyone have any opinions or experiences?

1. Bring it w/ me on plane in bike bag/case(up to 85. surcharge each way)
2. Ship it out there, (could be logistical problem) Escape charges 90 to recieve it, & build it up and have it on the truck when we arrive for the tour.
3. Ship it out there to our first arriving hotel or a UPS shipping outlet, and build it up myself. 'Dont know the cost. Maybe 60 bucks?(could be another logistical problem...)
4. ...gasp....Rent - which I cant imagine doing but I suppose it can be an option.

Oh yeah, my wife is renting a bike, since she really wants to try out a full susp bike. Escape Rentals cost 175 for the week.

[AA]

It depends on what is important to you.

Option #1: If you want to go on vacation and not have to deal with any logistics and deadlines ship your bike to Escape Adventures and let them do the work.

Option #2: If saving $ is important, ship the bike FedEx (alweays cheaper than UPS) and assemble yourself

Option #3: If you dont trust anyone working on your bike see option 2

I wouldnt want to check my bike with the airline. If for some reason your bike dosent make it to Utah in time for your trip you will be one unhappy camper.

BTW I chose option #1 when I went to UT in Sept.

[Jisch]

CP:

When we went out to UT in April with the family last year I shipped 3 of the bikes via UPS and took mine on the plane (I wanted to get one more ride in before we left). I think Fedex ground is cheaper than UPS - but I found out about that after I shipped. I built the bikes in a mad dash trying to get them built before the RV place closed. Building 4 bikes in an hour was a bit of a challenge - sorta like a one man Indy pit crew. It was a bit of a hassle, though I think we all enjoyed having our own bikes.

I've flown a few times recently with my bike, if you can get the sky caps to take your bike, its more likely they won't charge you, but it is a bit of a crap shoot. I think a similarly packed bike will get less abuse on the plane than being shipped. If it were me (I wish it were me!) I would ship it to your hotel and build it up yourself, one other thing to consider is the box for the return trip. I had the RV place hold the boxes, but in other trips that was a hassle.

Let me know if you want more information.

John

[digger]

If you want to take your bike on the plane and you don't mind flying America West, there's always the IMBA bikes-fly-free program http://www.imba.com/membership/bikes_fly_free.html

[truckboy]

I don't know where you're leaving from but the Moab bike shops (at least poison spider and chile pepper, I think) will receive and build it for you for less than what Escape is charging.

[bdee]

If you ship it yourself via UPS or Fedex try to get one of those Cannondale boxes from a shop. They are made to slip in under the oversize box guidelines that UPS uses to charge more for shipping. I was surprised at how much cheaper it was to ship a bike using one of those boxes. Also, and I'm sure you've heard this before, don't ship via the UPS store (they charge waaaay too much) - find a local shipper. I think it cost me like $45 to ship my 'cross bike to Oregon with UPS, via a local shipper (it was full of extra stuff and was not light).

[Slider]

I've rented from Escape a couple of times, and the bikes were OK. Not great, but sufficient. If they have your size, and can give you the quality you want, I'd think it would be worth avoiding the hassle of:

unbuilding/packing/toting/building/toting/unbuilding/packing/toting/building

Phew! I get annoyed just writing it.

Slider

[BigMac]

check with your Local Bike Shop, they can more than likley get you a good rate for shipping your bike.

[nembabill]

Just got back from a trip to Florida. Brought my bike with me on the plane both ways. $50 each way.
This ended up being a lot cheaper and more convenient than shipping for the following reasons.
1. I had my bike to ride till the night before I left.
2. I didn't have to pack my bike up and ship it 10 days ahead of time.
3. It didn't get lost in shipping, (which has happened to me before.)
4. I had my bike back together the day after I got back.
5. I didn't have to wait 7-10 days for it to show up.
6. In the past I've done the IMBA - Bikes for free thing. It will more than pay for your IMBA membership. :-)
You should know that your bike bag or box will be opened and re-sealed by airport security personnel. So don't have a lot of loose items floating around in the box as they may fall out.

[Coolriding]

I toured with escape adventure last summer (North Rim). I decided to rent one of their bikes (Santa Cruz blur- nice bike). Mostly for ease of travel because I was continuing on to Las Vegas and Phoenix after the trip.

One think to consider is that if you bring your own bike you are respnsible for all repairs and maintenance. I think because of liability issues, they will not service your bike including changing flats. The trips are great and they take good care of you. My recomendation would be to rent the bike, relax and enjoy the trip without the hassle of worrying about your bike. Bring your pedals and maybe your seat if makes for more comfort.

Enjoy.....

[mybluebike]

My local bike shop boxed up my bike for free and the fedex ground shipping charge was $35. I sent my bike to Chile Pepper in Moab and they charged me $20 to put it together. Sending it home was a little more because they charged me to break it down and box it. No damage to bike either way and being able to just pick it up ready to ride and drop it off to get shipped home was worth it.

I've also rented from Chile Pepper and another bike shop. The first year had a Santa Cruz superlight from Chile Pepper in mint condition all decked out. The next time had the same bike but the front fork was beat and unresponsive. Find out how old the bike is and what condition if you are renting.

All in all I really enjoyed the riding better with my own bike.

Have a great trip!

[AA]

One think to consider is that if you bring your own bike you are respnsible for all repairs and maintenance. I think because of liability issues, they will not service your bike including changing flats.

That wasnt my expirence when I was on my tour w/ Western Spirit I flatted twice and they were mad I didnt let them do the repairs. We had people on the tour with mechanical issues and the guides worked on the bikes whenever there was an issue.

[radair]

I'm with Bill, bring it on the plane. Yes, the charge is a gouge, but I prefer to break down and build my own rig. I don't trust any of the shipping carriers, even though I'm a loyal FedEx user. I would avoid UPS like the plague.

[mtbtom]

I'd say that 1 in 3 times I don't get charged for the bike. Sometimes they totally ignore the case, last time coming home I didn't get charged even after telling them we had bikes in the cases !

I think if you check in and try to expedite the process the counter person will just try to get you through so he/she can help the next person line. OTOH, you if show up at the counter and slap down your credit card telling them you have bikes you will get charged.

One thing I don't do is lie about what's in the case. I've had the counter person ask me to open the case right there at the counter so I figure it's not worth the trouble.

As for shipping vs. flying, I look at it this way: If I ship, I will definitely get charged for it. Flying could go either way. In addition, I reason that my bike is subjected to a lot more "handling" on it's trip across the USA via UPS facilities than it would getting loaded and unloaded on the plane which increases the chances that it's going to arrive broken.

Have fun in UT, The Maze looks like a great trip.

Later

[C.P.]

Well, suffice it to say, I certainly got the info I needed. Thanks everybody for the feedback.
I've elected to take the bike on the plane. At least I've got some familiarity with this process, and will be able to enjoy my own bike while out there.
Some tips I learned that I'll try out this time:

- I'll check it with the skycaps rather then at the desk inside - those guys are usually extra helpful (and hopefully wont be so apt to charge me) if a sawbuck is in hand as I approach the desk. ;)

- I'll be sure that the bike is accessable with no loose stuff inside (which I was going to do originally) for any unforseen security check/inspection as I pass through.

-I'll be prepared to pay extra if I have to - no big deal to me, since I'm pleased that my wife just scored two RT tix to Salt Lake (where we're meeting my brother) for 202 ea - direct AM flights!

-I also have a place to keep the bike container safely while we enjoy our trip (My brother's truck).

Now it's time to start packing...anyone have a bike-travel case I can borrow??



Oh! I'll be sure to report back my experience for point of reference.

[radair]

CP - I wouldn't hesitate to throw lots of loose stuff in the case. I usually put my helmet, Camelbak, and all my riding clothes in there to pad the frame. In a half-dozen trips, they've never asked my to open it, but even if they did I'd rather have plenty of soft goods around the hardware.

Have a great trip, take lots of pics!

[Scott O]

You don't need to lie, but withholding info can be a good idea. I've flown w/the bike a few times, been charged a cpl times, but not all. A few times at the check in counter I've been asked, "Is that a bike?"
Me: "It's excercise equipment."
Them: "But is it a bike?"
Me: "It's excercise equipment."
Them: "ok"

[C.P.]

Well, the trip is over, and I had to write about my experiences getting the bike there/back.
I used a performace bike carry case (borrowed). It is about the same dimensions as a large bike box, but is purpose built, and has wheels and handle. It was very easy to get around the airport.

As for cost to me, My original plan failed - I went directly to the skycap for check in (JIsch's idea)
Well, as I approached, the skycap stated "bicycles cannot be checked in at skycap", I replied with, "there's a 20 in it for ya, if you take it here right now". His reply, "I have to charge you for the bike"...I said thanks, but no thanks, and proceeded to ticket-check in where I was promptly charged 80 each way - no tip cost to me here either...BTW we flew Delta.
No big deal on the extra expense, I expected it.
What I didn't expect was the postcard inside from TSA saying they performed a search of my bike, and noticed things were shuffled a bit in the case. It happened to other luggage AFTER we had checked it in.

In the end, it would have cost me an extra 15 more for a rental, and I wouldn't have had a bike for other riding outside of the trip we booked. Also, for me to build up my bike is a breeze - so that part was easy.

All in all, bringing my bike rather then renting was the best b/c I always had a bike to ride.

[ArmOnFire]

Thanks for the insight CP, did you bring a camera on your trip?

-dan

[C.P.]

Thanks for the insight CP, did you bring a camera on your trip?

-dan


I have lot's of pics - still sorting/unpacking etc. I'll try to get a few up for show & tell this week.

[ArmOnFire]

Thanks for the insight CP, did you bring a camera on your trip?

-dan


I have lot's of pics - still sorting/unpacking etc. I'll try to get a few up for show & tell this week.


sweet