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.
Packing your bike overseas, flight to Taiwan
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.
Image credit Google
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)
Evoc: No need tilt or remove handlebar
– 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.
Do measure your bike box, to ensure it can fit inside your taxi
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.
Presenting our 10D9N Taiwan Itinerary for families.
(The itinerary and links to our photos and each day’s blog post are at the end of this page)
We love 台湾 Taiwan’s forest, mountain and waterways . Trails and hikes are simply refreshing for us, away from urban cities and just enjoying the great nature. We make an effort to spend more time to absorb the greens and fresh air in the mountains.
As it was near to Winter and with the high altitude, we were constantly blanketed with mist. So mystical and surreal, LOVE !
Boon Kang taking a breather at Aowanda
We last visited Taiwan as a family six years ago, read our precious itinerary here. Kids have all grown up and we can afford to add more sports and hiking into our itinerary.
[4 videos below]
YouTube link – 10D9N in 2 minutes, we Love Taiwan Day and Night, Dry or Wet
溪頭 Xitou’s mini hike was actually my second favourite activity, but I over-estimated our family’s fitness. Just amazing to see the bamboo forest :p
清境 Cing Jing farm, everyone knows about the sheep and fresh air, but did you know about the sheep poo :p (It was still a lot of Fun for our family)
奧萬大 Aowanda National Forest’s famous suspension bridge, only 180m long.
Our 10D9N trip took us from Nantou to Taichung to Ruifang and back to Taipei. We plan for only 4 or 5 sights per day so that we can fully enjoy and appreciate each hop.
We are still sorting out the photos. Tips, Venue and GPS will be added later. If you have any urgent requests, just drop us an email “andy@SengkangBabies.com”
Day 1 (Thu) – Dec 2017
Taiwan Itinerary for families start at 桃園 Taoyuan Airport. We hired a van to 清境 Cing Jing (Nantou).
1)Aowanda National Forest (奧萬大國家森林遊樂區) for hiking and maple leaves. The maples will not be as stunning as Osaka’s.
(Ticketed, recommend 2 to 3 hours, you need 1 hour to walk from entrance to bridge)
Taiwan Itinerary for families
2)Do take note Carton King 紙箱王 and Swiss Garden 小瑞士花園 are closed till end December 2017.
3)Our Minsu 好家寨民宿, 8 min walk to 7-11 and Starbucks. One thing we quickly realised is we need a cab to get around. Would be challenging to drive when the fog sets in.
For meals, you can call the F&B outlet and they will provide complimentary transfers.
4)We visited 廬山 Lushan for a dip in their hot spring (aka Onsen, 泡湯, 溫泉). Feels shiok to indulge in hot spring in cool autumn or winter period (be it indoor or outdoor pools).
Temperature can drop to 7 degrees in the evening, we all love our snug and heated blankets.
We love the weather, the mist, the sheep and all the photo opportunities.
(ticketed, recommend 2 to 3 hours, including tea break)
Trailed 487 steps from horse ranch and walk back to 7-11. We did not try Sunset trail 4pm (Sun sets around 1705 during Winter time).
How come there are so few stars in the Winter evenings?
The cold weather gave us the perfect excuse to indulge in Hot Chocolate and cheese cake. Visited 星巴克 Starbucks every night 🙂
Day 3 (SAT) Xitou and Sun Moon Lake
9)Visited 妖怪村 Monster Village and 溪頭自然教育園區(Xitou), they are side by side. Nature lovers can spend up to half a day here. Famous icons are the bamboo forest and 天空走廊 “Sky corridor”. (Ticketed, recommend 2 to 3 hours)
Families might find Monster village fascinating, like a Japanese popup neighbourhood. Look deeper and you will find all stuffs quirky and even crass haha. (1 hour should be enough)
Taiwan free and easy family
Love the mist which keeps floating in and out, so cool (literally).
10)We spent so much time at Xitou that we had to skip 車埕 and 貯木池.
11)Sun was setting and we had to forego cycling around 日月潭 Sun Moon Lake. If time permits, cycle towards “向山觀景台 天空步道” within 20 to 30 minutes. One round around the lake is about 25km, or 2 hours.
Rested at Sun Moon Lake 日月潭民宿 水社海 for the night (Homeaway link)
Day 4 (SUN) Taichung 台中
Finally, the SUN came out to play with us but temperature is still a cool 15 to 20 degrees YES!
12)苗栗大湖採草莓 Strawberry picking along Dahu (Miaoli). This is the first batch of strawberries so size is smaller and slightly more sour.
(Pay by grams, we recommend 30 to 60 mins)
13)勝隆客栈 (客家 Hakka restaurant) restaurant was recommended by our driver, Xiao Li. Love the old school feel and delicious home-cooked food.
Do visit the old Sheng Xin Station too, so nostalgic.
(1 to 2 hours, lunch and attractions)
14) 中社花海 Zhong She Flower Market (Take note this is different from 新社花海, which is free but open only in Nov/Dec). We found our Lavender field, pity too much photobombs.
(Ticketed, 30 to 60mins to pose with Piano and props :p )
We rented bikes (got eBikes too) and cycled South to the famous 九號隧道 Tunnel 9. Trains used to run through the tunnel!
(Go and Google Map “隧道口烤肉租車中心” for estimated bike rental location. The whole lane has at least 10 rental stalls, yet bikes can be fully rented during weekends!) (recommend 60 to 90mins easy ride time)
The kids all agree that Taichung cycling was the best activity from our trip
(I had planned for goKart too, but did not have time to drift).
16) 逢甲夜市 Fengjia Night market
After a few days of hills, Tai Chung offered our first Night Market and YES, 泡泡茶 bubble tea. Street food are best shared 🙂
The nights are still 15 to 18 degrees, huddle together to keep warm. Boon Kang (no2) mentioned he loves the aircon weather 🙂
17)台中逢甲葉綠宿旅館 Green Hotel is just 6 min walk from night market, plenty of food options around and dry cleaning washers downstairs.
The Mrs prefer Taichung to Taipei, I can understand why. It is slightly more laid back, and the small lanes are packed with good food and boutique shops.
18) 動漫彩繪巷 Painted animation lane was recommended by my boy, pity many painting had been demolished. (30 to 45min is enough, Manga fans can spend more time with selfie)
19) 彩虹眷村 Rainbow Village
SengkangBabies started with Mummy and Daddy. Rainbow Village has a lot of mushy couplets, perfect for love birds. (we recommend 30 to 60mins)
20) Taichung yummy Food tours 🙂
From Famous ice cream, 太陽餅 Sun cake, 鳳梨酥 pineapple cake to 日出蛋糕 (cheese cake) , you must visit 宮原眼科 Miyahara.
Besides the “eye treats”, the building interior is also Instagram worthy 🙂
(recommend 30 to 60mins)
21)大東屋日本活鰻店 (Japanese style eel was not suitable for kids, too much bones) and 春水堂 Chun Shui Tang, rumoured to be the world’s first Bubble Tea 🙂
(recommend chill 30 to 60mins each)
Boon Xin (no 4)’s favourite activity is actually hunting for Bubble tea at all the night markets haha. Kids all love to catch a toy or two at the Night Markets‘ arcades.
22)Optional tours in Taichung:
-新峰農場 Xin Feng to pluck Grapes – not in Season during our trip
-高美濕地 Gaomei Wetlands (check the tides and sunset timing first)
-九二一地震教育園區 Earthquake Museum (educational tour)
29) Skipped a few attractions due to rain and heavy fog.
-南雅奇石 Nanya rocks formation
-黃金瀑布 Golden Fall (10 mins)
-九份老街 Jiufen Old Street (60 to 120mins, inclusive lunch)
(Skipped)
-金瓜石黄金博物馆 Gold Museum (trailhead for Teapot mountain hike)
-不厭亭 Buyen Pavillion
30)十分大瀑布 Shifen waterfall (15 mins)
十分天燈 Shifen Lantern + train (passes by hourly)
(we recommend 30 to 45mins)
31) Optional tours near Ruifang:
-鼻頭角燈塔 Bitou lighthouse (previous blog link)
-猴硐貓村 Cats Houtong (for cats lover)
32)Taipei stay (Homeaway link) at Nanjing Fuxing Station (central location)
Play the Instagram video (slide to second picture below), felt like Christmas has come earlier. This Taipei Homeaway unit totally exceeded our expectations 🙂
33) Visited 遼寧夜市 Liao Ning Night Market (8 min walk from our unit)
34) Legs Massage (爽 shiok)
Day 8 (THU) Taipei
35)永康街 Yong Kang for brunch and ice mango (many famous food here). Maybe you can visit 師大夜市 Shida Night Market (1km South), for dinner and snacks after Yong Kang.
(60 to 90 min to explore the corners, just follow the queues)
36)西門町 Xi Men Ding, sightseeing and 阿宗麵線 :p
(recommend 60 mins)
37) Split- Gals went 五分埔 Wu Fen Pu (recommend 60 mins) , boys hiked 象山 Elephant Mountain (recommend 60 mins, including 30mins for slow climb)
38) Gather at 饒河夜市 Rao He Night Market for snacks again 🙂
Acting cute, kids always role play Assassin Creed with their hoods :p
Day 9 (FRI) Taipei
39) Christmas toys shopping 東東玩具百貨
(10min walk from Taipei Main Station)
40) 北投區 Beitou hot spring dip our sore legs for free (recommend 20 mins)
Beitou Hell valley hot spring 地熱谷 (di4 ri4 gu3) (20 mins for surroundings)
滿客屋拉麵 Full House Ramen, enjoy some good broth in cool weather. Do sit outside.
41)士林夜市 Shilin Night Market. Kids thought all Night Markets are the same until they visit the Mother of all Night Markets.
A pity I ran out of time to discover the Coffin Bread stall, it is now located at basement near to prawn catching.
42) Back to Taipei 101 but minimum Christmas celebrations here.
“Frozen” special exhibit (ticketed) close at 10pm.
If you wish to soak in the Christmas festive atmosphere, take a train to 新北市板橋區 Banqiao Station (GPS 25.013666, 121.464886, Facebook link).
Day 10 (SAT) Taipei
43) walk around neighbourhood, no itinerary. Just anyhow explore.
Rest, eat, relax, eat and recuperate. This is our type of Holiday 🙂
Boon Yee (No3) is easy to feed. Just buy him 滷肉飯 (Lu3 Rou4 Fan4) and 鸡蛋糕 (Ji1 Dan4 Gao1) :p
Boon Wee (no 1)’s favourite activity is exploring Night Markets, because of abundance of cheap and delicious food choices! Our 50th bowl of Lu Rou Fan.
Our kids actually prefer local “mixed rice” compared to fancy restaurant or cafes! So easy maintenance right.
We did notice there are many accessories for pet dogs. Why do Taiwanese like to parade their pet dogs?
* 44) Taiwan culture is best experience. Most folks are very hospitable and helpful. 人情味 is so strong in Taiwan, and I hope the kids remember the friendly guides, host, drivers and many other vendor, hawkers we met in Taiwan.
Taiwanese know we are from Singapore or Malaysia from our accent haha.
As the Sun set somewhere in Taiwan, we got 10D9N of memories to bring home. 台灣赞!
Additional tips :
a)Be it high in the mountain, deep in the forest or exploring some back alleys in Taipei, ChangiWiFi from Changi Recommends did not disappoint. We could connect up to 6 devices simultaneously.
ChangiWiFi could last us 4 hours easily before a recharge.
Being Online means we can utilise Google Map, Google Images, Email, Social Media and if parents allowed, online games for the kids :p
Rental of ChangiWiFi is only $5 per day for Taiwan, more details here www.changiwifi.com
b)YouBike is very popular in cities, but you need a Taiwan number for registration. When we were walking around in Taichung and Taipei, we love the dedicated bike lanes, there was minimum risk of being knocked over by a reckless eBike or eScooters.
By the way, bikes can only park at designated lots, thus no messy situation like Singapore’s bikes.
Easy connections via the Train routes 🙂
c)Lastly, we wish to recommend our guide and driver for 3 of the days, 小李 Xiao Li (from Tour Taiwan Hong Lee).
He did not know we are blogger but he treated us like VIP because we were introduced by Angeline (https://www.lifestinymiracles.com). Thank you Angeline 🙂
小李’s Hello Kitty van is his trademark and he is very popular with Singaporean tourists. Kids are comfortable around him and he never hard-sell any attractions. Do Whatsapp or WeChat 小李 +886 955 133572
We cannot guarantee that his price is the cheapest, but you will get honest recommendations and feedback, and most importantly “Peace of mind“.
d)Do follow our Instagram hashtag #SengkangBabiesTaiwan for all our Taiwan Fun episodes 🙂
Instagram #sengkangBabiesTaiwan
This page is the overview of our 10D9N Taiwan Itinerary for families. Too much Fun! , pardon the spam of photos.
Do pop by this page again as I will be updating the urls for new photos (on Facebook) and each day’s blog post. We hope our itinerary will be useful for your planning and reference.
Do visit our Google Sheet for our 10D9N itinerary (and Google Map tips)
*Updated 2019Oct – We cycled 250 km from Hualien to Taitung. Super Fun !
Cycling Hualien to Taitung
Photo albums :
–Day 1 Aowanda, Cing Jing
–Day 2 Cing Jing
–Day 3 Xitou Nature Education Area, Monster Village, Sun Moon Lake
–Day 4 Taichung (Zhongshe flower, ShengXin station, Cycling, Fengjia)
–Day 5 Taichung (Animation Lane, Rainbow, Miyahara)
–Day 6 Keelung 基隆 -Day 7 Ruifang, Jiufen and Shifen -Day x Taipei HomeAway and Neighbourhood
–Day 8 永康, Xi Men Ding, 象山, 饒河 Raohe
–Day 9 and 10 北投 Beitou, Toyshop, 士林 Shilin
ps..
for the two Homeaway links above (Sun Moon Lake and Taipei), use promo code “HomeAwaySKBabies” and enjoy 8% off your booking (Valid until 31 Mar 2018)
