I would be sharing some tips for packing your bike overseas.
Packing your bike overseas is an adventure in itself.
This was the first time I used a bike box to bring my road bike to Taiwan.
However, my first overseas bike trip was with my foldie “Crius Master” and cardboard. Read about my 7D6N Seoul to Busan trip here.
I will try to list some of my Packing considerations and feedback in this blog post. My fellow Taiwan kakis all agreed, you will definitely enjoy cycling overseas with your own bikes (rather than rental).
Please pop by our Taiwan Round Island videos at the end of this blog post too.
1)Bike boxing overseas options (for own bikes)
Besides purpose built bike boxes, you can have cardboards. For important rides or events, I might suggest a bike box.
Our bike box is at the mercy of the airport handlers! Whether you rent or use own bike box, rough handling can damage your bike box and contents. The last thing we need is to arrive at our destination with a damaged bike or wheel. OUCH!
However, a new bike box can cost anything from $500 to $1500. This is not cheap, and we need to travel more to capitalise the investment.
Fyi, bike box rental might be $10 to $20 per day, this can be $100 + for a one week cycling holiday.
Another topic to ponder, ensure you have space to keep your bike box (bigger footprint)
Some frequent travelers have used cardboards to protect their bikes (maybe aluminum or titanium). Card boards are not as rugged as purpose built bike boxes.
If you are considering cardboards, do take note overseas bike shops might not have spare boxes. It can be stressful to hunt for bike shops. Besides, you need to ensure the box can fit inside your taxi. (A sedan would not be enough, you need a six seater cab).
In worst case scenario, roll your bicycles to the airport and engage the luggage-wrapping vendor to build a cardboard box.
2)Packing your bikes (and assembling)
Bike boxes are built differently. Regardless of soft, hybrid or hard casing. Careless handling can still damage the box and content.
If you are looking for a bike box, I thought these features are important :
– No need to remove handlebar
(Fixing back is the challenge. Getting the right angle, you might need a torque wrench)
– No need to remove the seat pole. I hate to remove my seat pole as there is a di2 attached. It is very challenging to plug back your di2 cables.
– Many first timers will fumble with removing the pedals. Either too tight, or turn wrong side :p
– Keep practicing boxing and unboxing. This ensures you know the sequence and tools. Get familiar with allen key (wrench) size 6 and 8 for wheel axle and pedals respectively.
Side note. Above picture is my bike resting on Evoc’s bike rack.
After wheels are removed, plug in the spacers (photo below). This will ensure your disc brakes are not squeezed accidently. Otherwise, it can be challenging to realign your brake pads.
Additional tips:
If you are engaging a bicycle tour vendor overseas., I would recommend them to standby bicycle pump, tyre (maybe 25 or 28) and torque wrench. And maybe some grease.
I would also recommend airtag or android tile to gps track your luggage.
There is a grey area for bikes with Shimano di2. To unplug or not?
According to FAA (aviation authority), any battery above 100wh should not be check in. But di2 battery is only 3.7wh.
Over zealous airport handlers might assume your di2 is an e-bike, and thus “batteries” must be dismantled.
It is not easy to remove and plug back the Di2 battery cables. You need a special Shimano tool. If the cable breaks, there goes your holiday plans.
3) At the airport
Your bike box will be considered as odd shape. You would need to pick it up at the “odd shape” conveyor section.
But the more crucial thing is to ENSURE your bike box does not exceed the luggage allowance. (We took SIA economy, ie 25kg.)
An empty bike box can easily weigh 10 to 12kg !
As an example, Singapore Airline (Economy) :
– luggage allowance 25kg and hand carry bag 5.5kg
We should pack and weigh our individual bags, so that we do not accidentally exceed the luggage allowance (female folks will have more things to pack :p )
As per SOP. Ensure there is no power bank in bike box. I would hand carry accessories which have batteries in them.
This includes :
– lights front and rear
– rear camera or radar
– bike computer
– electric pump
-power meter pedals
-shifter batteries are ok
3a) Documenting and weighing our bags
Documentation helps me to remember which items go where, and the sequence. It is useful when I am packing for the return trip.
Examples (regardless of check in or hand carry)
Bag 1 -Day clothes. Maybe tshirt and shorts (1.5 kg)
Bag 2 – Glove, mask, jersey and bibs, shoe (2kg)
Bike box – 12kg
Road bike – 8kg (Thus bike box and bike would be 20kg easily!)
Bag 3 – Bike accessories and parts
Examples
-pedals weigh (0.34kg)
-spare allen keys (0.2kg)
-My tyre weigh 200gm lighter after air is released!
Knowing your bag allowances, can determine how much souvenirs to cart home.
Buying excess luggage allowance is expensive. 5kg might cost $70++!
Most importantly, documentation ensures I do not forget my stuff! I have heard horror stories of folks forgetting to bring their helmet or wheels overseas!
4) Where do we store our bike box overseas?
One of the limitations of a bike box, is you have to return to the first hotel to pick up the box.
We normally ask the “first or last” hotel to store the bike boxes until our trip ends. We can also engage a forwarder to ship our bike box to the end point.
For comparison’s sake, if you fly with a cardboard. You can cycle anywhere and just build a new cardboard box at your end point.
Bike assembly sequence at destination:
-After landing in Taoyuan airport (Taiwan)
-Collect our bike boxes
-Truck our boxes to hotel
-Assemble bike, keep bike boxes in hotel
This is the opportunity to ensure your bike is in order.
I hope the above tips for packing your bike overseas would be helpful. I had benefitted from friends’ advice before I flew overseas with my own bikes.
I am still pretty new to overseas bike rides (except Malaysia), keen to learn and explore more.
Do pop by our Youtube for our 9 days Taiwan Round island adventure.
Part 1/2, from Taipei to Kenting)
Part 2/2 from Pingtung to Taipei