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Travelling With A Bike

Travelling With A Bike

19 November, 2024

When planning a point-to-point bikepacking trip abroad, the logistics can be quite daunting, especially if it's your first trip in this format. This guide is looking specifically at the transportation of your bike to the start point and then getting it home again at the other end.

It is really important to test fit your baggage, lights and GPS devices before boxing your bike, as you won't have your workshop full of alternative mounts, bolts and bags when you get to the other side. It's also good to rehearse the rebuild, as you may well be in a busy arrivals terminal or stood outside with people rushing around you, unless you choose to take a taxi to some accommodation on your first night.

Flying With A Bike

If you’re cycling point-to-point it is most likely you’ll be using a cardboard bike box, unless you are on an organised event with a shuttle service for a bike bag. Sourcing a cardboard bike box for your outward journey is a job you can do in advance. Contact local bike shops and ask if they can put one aside for you, or ask cycling friends if they have a box. Now for the packing, you are going to be at the mercy of whatever dimension of box you manage to get hold of, but in general, this is the best way to pack your bike down:

  1. Clean it and then test fit all your baggage.
  2. Remove pedals, mark your seatpost height then remove seatpost.
  3. Remove your chain, relink the quicklink and put it in a small bag.
  4. Detach your rear mech and bundle it up with bubble wrap, then tape it to the chainstay.
  5. Remove the front wheel, put the axle back in the fork, wedge front brake calliper (optional).
  6. Remove the front plate of your stem, hook the bars around the top tube, replace the stem.
  7. Test fit the bike into the box and work out where all your bags will fit around it.
  8. When you know it will fit, get as much protection as you can on the extremities of the bike, paying special attention to the parts close to the side of the box likely to be crushed in transit.
  9. Pad the rest of the box out with your bikepacking bags to make sure there’s as little movement as possible when the box is sealed.
  10. Tape up with a suitably large quantity of parcel tape for further peace of mind. Full laps of the box tend to work well. Gorilla tape can add extra security or for reinforcing hand holds.
  11. Write your contact number and email address on the box.

Considerations:

  • Does the shuttle bus from the airport carpark allow bike boxes?
  • Do you have a connecting flight? If so, an AirTag or equivalent could put your mind at ease about the bike making the connection.
  • Can you carry the box where a trolley isn’t available?
  • It is quite likely you’ll need to push the box at some point, so make sure the base is sturdy and well secured.

Tips:

Make sure you can get into the box at the other end. Taping your pocket knife inside the box near the handle could help if you’ve gone overboard on Gorilla Tape.

Help! I’m at the end of my route and I can’t find a box!

So you’ve tried the local bike shops and none of them have a box for you. You could try social media, such as local Facebook groups or ideally finding a local cycling group.

If you're really stuck, DIY stores, builders merchants, animal feed shops etc may have sheets of cardboard you can fashion into a box. If you get hold of plenty of flat cardboard, several rolls of decent packaging tape and you have the time and space needed to make a box, you'll get your bike home safely.

Taking a Bike on a Train

It would be nice to say that train travel is a breeze, where you ride to the station and push your bike onto the carriage, however that is rarely the case. Many trains have limited bike carriage, some require your bike to be packed down and boxed/bagged, and some will simply claim to have no bike space. Then there’s the issue of plenty of bike spaces, but they’re not designed for a loaded bike.

Do not make travel assumptions based on previous experience - research whether or not you’ll have to pack your bike down, and make sure you’re prepared for it in advance.

Tips:

  • Have a multitool handy
  • Get anything you’ll want for the journey out of your frame bag
  • Consider fork protection when your front wheel is off
  • Make sure you get there in good time to pack your bike

There are several bags on the market for packing bikes down without completely dismantling them. Ideally you want something that only requires the front wheel off and is vast enough to avoid a struggle getting a laden bike into. Here are a few examples: