Top tips for travelling with your bike

If you’re travelling by plane to a cycling event or riding trip, then taking your bike can be a worrying experience. At the end of the day, packing your pride and joy into an oversize suitcase and trusting it with a bunch of strangers is not a relaxing proposition.

Of course you could hire a bike when you get there and this is often an easier option for a few days of fun riding, but if this is your key event then you really want to be using your own bike, with your set up, saddle and bike fit.

Over my sixteen years as a professional rider I packed my bike onto a plane hundreds of times. I only had one breakage and this was my fault as I packed the bike in a rush and didn’t secure the front wheel. So these are my top tips for packing and travelling with your bike.

What to put the bike in?

There are three options: a hard case, a soft bag or a cardboard box.

Type	Pros	Cons
Hard case	Safe and secure, less chance of bike damage, easy to move around	Expensive (can be hired), hard to pack in hire cars, can be heavy
Soft bag	Light, inexpensive, easy to store, some have wheels	Limited protection, some do not have wheels
Cardboard box	Cheap (most bike shops give them away), strong	Bulky, no wheels, need to be packed correctly

I always used to use a soft bag and as long as I packed the bike well it was great. However now I use a “Bike Box Alan” hard case and would never go back. This is easy to pack, it’s light and secure.

Packing the bike

Packing the bike safely involves taking off a few key parts so it fits in the box/bag, and securing any moving parts to stop them hitting the frame. Here’s my check list:

• Take off the pedals, put these and your shoes in your hand luggage (worst case scenario and your bike is delayed/lost you can hire a bike and still ride)
• Use some pipe lagging or bubble wrap to cover the main tubes on the frame
• Mark where the handlebars are with a mark or some tape and then remove them. Wrap with some bubble wrap and use a zip tie to secure them in place against the stem or frame
• Where possible leave the seatpost in place. If you need to remove it then make sure you mark the position and secure the seat clamp so it does not fall off or even worse fall into the frame
• Take off the rear derailleur and secure it to the frame with a zip tie
• Secure the chain in place with some padding against the frame with a zip tie
• Take off the wheels and let the tires down to half pressure (40PSI on road and 20PSI on MTB). No need to take all the pressure out as there is a risk the tire will unseat from the rim (important with a tubeless tire)
• Some boxes/bags have specific wheel compartments, if not make sure the axle/discs of the wheel are well padded and then use cardboard to separate them from the frame
• Do not put CO2 cylinders in your bike box, this is illegal and they do look for them in the x-ray when checking in the bike
• Make sure you include the tools to put the bike back together including allen key/spanner for the pedals. Plus extra zip ties for the return journey
• Along with the shoes and pedals I would also put your helmet in your hand luggage
• Secure the zips/buckles of the box/bag with zip ties

Weight of the box

Although your bike can be lightweight, once it’s in the box with a few extras it can quickly mount up. Generally the max allowed is 23kg/50lb so with a road bike you’ll be okay, but with a mountain bike you’ll need to be careful not to go over the limit.

Adding some kit to the bike box makes sense and can often avoid the need to pay for extra hold luggage. However be careful not to exceed the weight limit or get too heavy as the bike box is more likely to be dropped or for the bike to be damaged.

Have a great trip!