+1 for the cardboard boxes. I've taken around a dozen flights with a bike and never used anything else, never had a problem. One important point I've had numerous problems with though is airline policy. There's loads of different ones; some have special sports equipment rates some of which extend to bikes while some don't; some only count the box towards your luggage allowance but are relaxed about dimensions, some are extremely stubborn and exact about this common "no side longer than 150cm" rule. And things may or may not be clear from what their website says. Best to write them an email beforehand or have the travel agent extract some written statement from them.

Thanks Simon. Greatly appreciated.

Excellent content, good to know about those zip ties (I wouldn't use Velcro BTW). And of course having your name and destination info printed up and inside the box is good, too.

Very informative vid..thx!

As informative as ever thanks 🙏

This is fantastic! I’ve shipped bikes I’ve sold in country using cardboard boxes, but never traveled with one. And yes, the “post it to yourself” on the other end works brilliantly. (I did it with climbing gear when I trekked between Chamonix to Zermatt and needed it on both ends.) Hotels are (at least in my experience) so accommodating in that way.

When my wife and I cycled North to South through France we posted out from the UK our collapsible EVOC and Scicon bags to our hotel in Nice for the flight home as we'd caught the ferry on the way out. We went with the collapsible bags as they are 'almost' as good as the bike cases but cheaper to post/courier. This year we're cycling back to the UK from Barcelona so will be doing the cardboard box approach and hoping! Good idea about the Airtags, our bikes have 2 mounted on them already so we'll be able to see if they've arrived with us!

Great content. Pre-C@VID my wife and I had been cycling yearly in Europe with a couple of Surly Long Haul Truckers with S&S couplers. I could split the bikes apart and pack them in suitcase style bags that were checked as regular luggage. We carried the panniers on board as our carry-on luggage. Once we got to our country of choice I would assemble the bikes and we'd ride off for the next two weeks or so. The transport bags could be folded and strapped across the tops of the panniers so no need to worry about them. Once we were done I'd break the bikes down again and pack them for the return flight home. This worked great for many years but we always longed for our carbon Bianchi's when doing some of the infamous climbs while loaded down. Now we've switched to Litespeed Watia's and will be using those as our gravel/EU touring bikes going forward. The ti frames should hold up better than carbon while in transit and we don't feel like we're giving up much in performance. Now we just need to decide on hard travel bags or soft. Your information has me leaning toward the soft bags. I know there are bags that use air bladders so that's probably the safest route.

I travelled to and from USA . Used a separate company ( dhl) to ship my bike. I also used the Apple Air Tag in the box . Worked great !

interesting & some useful tips.

genius with the air tags

I'm smitten with Santana Tandems' Z-couplers (also utilised by 22Bicycles) and Brake Breaks (leak-free hydraulic housing coupling fittings, sold by 22Bicycles and SJS Cycles) since learning about them a couple of years ago. Match that to a custom-made titanium frame with 3D-printed lugs to mimic carbon's looks (I loathe the look of welds), a hard wheeled case (S&S style) with custom hard foam dividers that keep the contents safe, as well as isolate the dirty wheels from the handlebars, the grips and the frame - and you have the perfect touring / flying setup for a bike. An idea, perhaps? There's a chance that 22Bicycles might incorporate Z-couplers and Brake Breaks into your Camino, if you persuade them to: they do provide the service.

I have an expensive bike bag which I have never used, but will certainly use it now with your “post it to yourself” advice. Simple, so why didn’t I think of that myself.

Very interesting!

When I took my wheels off peddles etc and turned my bars, lower seat and covers it in cardboard as per air line guide lines when I took it to east midland check in it still would not fit in the oversized scanner . They looked like they have never seen a bike before . Some airports are just not up to speed and don’t want the hassle I think that’s why the air lines charge so much to transport them to discourage people taking them .

Another great video. But personally, life's too short. I'd get the boat or hire a bike in country, but then I'm easily defeated... 😊

After using several bike cases, the Orucase is by far my favorite - simple, light and not overly large (for smaller cars or metros), but still an awkward shape (like almost all bike cases). However, you have to be okay with taking out the fork, an extra step that adds 5-10 minutes to the process, and makes the finished package much smaller. When I was flying 2-3x per month, the easiest solution was simply buying a Bike Friday, which rides surprisingly well (just like a decent steel road bike) and is a snap to get into standard sized check-in luggage. Can get the Bike Friday packed/unpacked and riding in 10-15 minutes. Have found an S&S coupled bike not worth the extra hassle - on the occasions I travel with a full-sized bike, the Orucase is much simpler and provides almost all the benefit (no extra airline charges, small cars, public transit, etc). When (frequent) packing and luggage portability are the priority, the Bike Friday is the easy choice. Agree that Airtags are great and have learned that zip ties and duct tape can solve most unforeseen packing issues.

I use a bulky bombproof B&W box. a mountain bike with 29 wheels fits really well with some additional space for gears helmet and kits. It’s not light, 12kg. Fine for Ryanair or companies that admit bikes as extra luggage around 30 kg

If you have a cardboard box it might be a good idea to bolt a bit of threaded rod between the dropouts and another one between the fork ends (with a nut both sides of each dropout). Frames and forks are quite vulnerable to damage when the wheels aren't in there.

Some airports offer a box / wrap service. I used this at Incheon airport in Korea. $20 and they made me a new cardboard box and wrapped it, including the bubble wrap. They did a better job than I had done on the way out.

Great reminder about the brakes!

I've got lots of racing, TT bikes, wouldn't take any of them because of their cost and fragility, most being around the £5k mark. What I would take is a Brompton. People don't realise how fast and good they actually are and have a very good gear range ( on the 6 speed ) and for this sort of thing, they can go anywhere a racing bike can go. They maybe a little slower but you won't lose fitness whilst you are away and transporting it anywhere is simplicity itself. Andy Feather beat Oliver Bridgewood up cheddar Gorge on one, whilst Ollie was on a state of the art bike, that is how good they are. If you have talent the bike is less important and you aren't in a race anyway. As far as staying safe in transport, I read as a child, somebody travelled from Peru to London, with a label stating 'Please look after this bike '. At least I think it was a bike?

I've got a Shokbox and don't need to remove hangar and cassette and works a treat.

I cycle to the airport with the cardboard box from Halfords rolled up on the back (20 miles as there's usually no trains). Unroll it outside the airport next to a trolley😅. Pedals off, handlebars, front wheel, seatpost, rear derailleur unscrewed tied to a rear spoke, tyres down a little, and put a block of wood with a hole drilled between the forks, then gaffa tape it alot (30 minutes max). 15+ flights, never had an issue. Bin it at the destination airport and find a new box in the return country. Airline staff usually don't know much about the bike box rules so just put a sticker on, without checking dimensions or if you've put all your panniers and luggage with the bike 😮

Excellent content. I fly with my gravel rig quite a bit and endorse all your recommendations. Am currently mostly traveling with a Bike Box Alan which is spectacularly good, but I sometimes wonder whether I should go back to an EVOC Bag just because its somewhat less bulky (and airlines seem less prone to charging additional bucks). Your views will be appreciated!

Quick tip for one-way cycle trips in the U.K. We now carry a pair of light bike bags now for putting our bikes in the hold of the stagecoach buses. After a long negotiation/conversation with one of the drivers we got read the rules. It’s to keep the luggage and the bikes separate. Unfortunately we cannot fly ebikes due to the battery and the weight would probably bankrupt you in costs. There is companies that land freight bikes to European destinations. At this point local hire becomes more financially viable on the stress/ £££ points

airliners should just come up with train sort of hooks in a specialized cargo compartment, that would make it so much better. Otherwise its just pain and probably better just to rent one once you land

Exactly the video I was after. I've always been worried about the logistics and the chance of planning a big trip only to get there and find my bike in pieces on the luggage conveyer. I plan to tour Japan when it opens back up, do you think a cardboard box would survive a long haul flight like that? Ideally I'd take it in a hard case but I'd have nowhere to leave it when I got there.

My wife and I have flown with our bikes in cardboard boxes many times with only one mishap - BA 'lost' one bike for four days, one time. After that episode we avoided connecting flights. Your marking up and labelling tips are very helpful. Thanks.

Hi there great video, How do u get your bike box from the airport to the hotel, do the bus hotel transfers allow u to take a bike box? Thanks

Suggestion: instead of using zip ties, what about velcro? Here (Canada) I can buy a roll of several metres by about 1.5 cm at most gardening supply centres. Reasonably cheap. Reusable. No tools required to remove it.

Once you have your bike in the box, and are ready to take it to the airport, don't use too much tape on the top. The security monkeys will want to see in, under the guise of "box doesn't fit in XRay machine", and you're going to have to cut it all off again, just to do it up after inspection. Don't need to let too much air out of tires either. The handlers will absolutely destroy your box sometimes, so do pack the bike well.

When you remove the rear derailleur with it still attached to the cables, do you need to tune it after putting it back?

EasyJet policy now states “No other items can be carried in the bicycle box/bag (i.e. clothing)”, which suggests you need to book hold luggage as well to transport tools to reassemble the bike. I had a small bike multi tool confiscated at Edinburgh airport security last year, so putting tools in cabin luggage isn’t an option. Note: this comment was posted 10 months after the (excellent) video.

What type of car do you use to get from airport?

I wish S&S couplers were more common and not so expensive. It would make travelling with a bike much easier.

Are these bike boxes checked in as normal luggage?

Oppressor MK II?

Buy a Brompton. Carry on. Easy life

Not gonna lie, thought this was about that GTA 5 bug where leaning back on a bike let’s you fly lol

It's kind of annoying, because once you have the bike at the destination you might not want the bike bag to haul around. It would be good if the airlines could come up with a better system for transporting bicycles.

I just got my new bike indian brand ninety one. For the first time I ride 64 km. It was fun but my Ass get hurts so much. Please help me to get rid of Ass pain for my next long trip.