A challenge in your dojo.
Flying with a bike - how do you stay under the weight limit?
So, I understand that several airlines now accept bikes as regular luggage, but I'm not seeing how to stay under the usual 50 lb weight limit with a FS bike at ~30lb and even the soft cases at ~20 lbs. Am I missing something?
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Take small small stuff like cranks and cassette and put them in your carry on or another checked bag. Would they see a crank arm with a 34t ring on it as a threat/weapon in a carry on? Let us know.So, I understand that several airlines now accept bikes as regular luggage, but I'm not seeing how to stay under the usual 50 lb weight limit with a FS bike at ~30lb and even the soft cases at ~20 lbs. Am I missing something?
IMHO, the 50 pound weight limit is mostly a marketing gimmick. They probably did enough research to know that some percentage of high end road bikes would fit under the limit, but that they'd probably get 80% of bikes to weigh more than 50 pounds and thus have to pay the $150 or $200 for over-weight bicycles. And a lot of those would probably be people who didn't read the fine print and showed up at the airport thinking it was free. Nobody's going to walk away from their vacation because of the fine print around baggage charges, even if it means an extra $300 apiece times multiple bikes.
I suspect that mountain bikes take up a fair bit more cubic volume than road bikes in hard shell cases, so they can't afford loss leader pricing for mountain bikes, hence the 50 pound limit. Right now, especially with high demand for belly cargo space, I don't think they'll be all that motivated to raise the weight limit to 60 pounds or higher.
I don't know how much a cardboard box weighs, but that plus a lot of bubble wrap might get you under the 50-pound limit. Might be OK for a cheaper MTB but I don't know if I would want to ship my S-Works Enduro that way.
I suspect that mountain bikes take up a fair bit more cubic volume than road bikes in hard shell cases, so they can't afford loss leader pricing for mountain bikes, hence the 50 pound limit. Right now, especially with high demand for belly cargo space, I don't think they'll be all that motivated to raise the weight limit to 60 pounds or higher.
I don't know how much a cardboard box weighs, but that plus a lot of bubble wrap might get you under the 50-pound limit. Might be OK for a cheaper MTB but I don't know if I would want to ship my S-Works Enduro that way.
You won't be able to get under 50lbs with a soft shell case if your bike is already 30+lbs. As already mentioned, you'll have to remove parts from the bike to put into other bags.
Or use a cardboard box.
Or use a cardboard box.
Loss leader my ass, it translates to profit gainer! They adhere to the Ferengi rules of acquisition fervently...
Pack the frame separately from the wheels and fork. Twice the bags, twice the headache, and very little cost savings--the airlines will charge you for additional bags as well.
I make sure to fly Southwest when I fly with a bike. $75 and it's good up to 100lbs.
They have flown several of my bikes around the country with me, no issues to date.
They have flown several of my bikes around the country with me, no issues to date.
I fly with bikes a lot. But they are super light XC bikes, which makes that limit possible.
It really depends on how sticky the airline is about weight limits. Some airlines most airlines are good as long as your bike is around 50lbs. Others make you pay a fee if you are over.
Just keep it under 70lbs, over that and you run into issues.
It really depends on how sticky the airline is about weight limits. Some airlines most airlines are good as long as your bike is around 50lbs. Others make you pay a fee if you are over.
Just keep it under 70lbs, over that and you run into issues.
20lbs is a heavy soft bag. Mine weighs about 13lbs so I can fit my 35lb or so XL 29er in there as long as I have another bag to put tools and pedals in.
I don't know where you are, but for us the major carrier is Delta. I have a skymiles card and get free checked baggage, bikes included, with no overweight baggage fees. No way I could easily get it all packed up and under 50lbs.
This won't help most but I have the Delta Skymiles Platinum card and I get two free bags up to 70lb. I normally check in a buddy's bike when we fly because of the 50lb limit. Before this my buddy had to pay $150 extra because his bag was 57lb….7lb over their limit. I would’ve sat there in line and taken everything I could’ve out of the bag to avoid that.
The notion that airlines set the limit at 50 to gouge mountain bikers is laughable. Surely way under 1% checked bags are mountain bikes.
The notion that airlines set the limit at 50 to gouge mountain bikers is laughable. Surely way under 1% checked bags are mountain bikes.
It's mostly about cashing in on tourists, at least from who I see get charged the extra when I'm traveling.
I've never heard of a weight limit, just a flat fee. I fly with a hardshell Trico case and stuff that thing with all my gear. I used to ship ahead but it's either pay $100 or $50 each way to Europe or $700ish to ship each way these days.
What irritates me is golf clubs fly for free but my bikes and surfboards cost a fee.
What irritates me is golf clubs fly for free but my bikes and surfboards cost a fee.
A bike bag and especially surfboard is much bigger than a bag of clubs.What irritates me is golf clubs fly for free but my bikes and surfboards cost a fee.
Sounds like you got a hella-heavy "soft" case. I can pack an enduro bike in my Evoc case, although I do take the rotors and pedals off and this assumes an air shock. If you need to lose more weight, take the seatpost out, the chain off if you have a quick-link, stem, handlebar even if you need. My fat-bike is a lot lighter than my other bikes, but the volume is the hard part. An original bike-box would probably be the best, but I wouldn't put it past the airline for an oversize change...since it is so...oversize. The overweight on the other hand, that can get crazy depending on the airline.So, I understand that several airlines now accept bikes as regular luggage, but I'm not seeing how to stay under the usual 50 lb weight limit with a FS bike at ~30lb and even the soft cases at ~20 lbs. Am I missing something?
Well...if you've seen some of the club-nests that show up, it's not one bag of clubs, it's several joined together. Same thing with skis, they'll put a giant ski-hive together and get that on for free. The bike IS bigger than some of this stuff, but they pass through multi-set golf club bags all the time. Those ain't light either.A bike bag and especially surfboard is much bigger than a bag of clubs.
There is almost always a 50lb weight limit for domestic airlines. Above that, you are charged more.I've never heard of a weight limit, just a flat fee. I fly with a hardshell Trico case and stuff that thing with all my gear. I used to ship ahead but it's either pay $100 or $50 each way to Europe or $700ish to ship each way these days.
What irritates me is golf clubs fly for free but my bikes and surfboards cost a fee.
I flew a good deal this summer with my XXL hightower. Only took my light carbon wheels. used an Evoc bag on all flights. I put the pedals, chain, and tube pack in my checked baggage. I was 49.999lbs every time. HOWEVER I was flying back from Bentonville and got lazy. I left the chain on. The dude at the counter asked my wife and I if we were there to MTB. We said it was the ONLY reason we came. He smiled and told us to have a nice day while he lifted the bag a scootch. Bentonville WANTS you there.
Work of caution: Evoc bags and 29 x 2.6 tires are an outright battle royale. It works but is sweat inducing.
Work of caution: Evoc bags and 29 x 2.6 tires are an outright battle royale. It works but is sweat inducing.
My Evoc bag is usually right at or just barely over 50 lbs with my bike in it. I'm usually checking another bag with bike gear/tools, so I remove the rotors, axles, pedals, and whatever other small parts necessary to get to 50 lbs and put those parts in the other checked bag. Removing the rotors is important aside from the weight; they are almost guaranteed to get bent in transit if you leave them on the wheels. I learned this lesson once, and that'll be the last time I waste time truing rotors immediately after arriving to a riding destination...
Sometimes my wife flies with me and brings her bike, which is smaller and lighter than mine. This lets me swap her lighter wheels into my bike's bag and my wheels into her bike’s bag, getting both of our bags at or below 50 lbs. There is some risk to doing this, as one lost bike bag would mean zero rideable bikes. Thankfully I haven't run into this problem.
While it is definitely smart to get your bag below the weight limit, what actually happens at the bag check counter depends mostly on the individual person checking you in, more so than the airline's official policy. I've had everything from no charge when there probably should've been a charge, up to ~$150 or so per bike. I also had a guy (in Bentonville, actually) who wanted to charge me overweight at 50.1 lbs, so I removed some extra parts from the bike while in line... Its a total crapshoot in my experience.
Note that TSA will definitely open the bike bag, and most likely not re-pack it correctly. Just be prepared for this.
Sometimes my wife flies with me and brings her bike, which is smaller and lighter than mine. This lets me swap her lighter wheels into my bike's bag and my wheels into her bike’s bag, getting both of our bags at or below 50 lbs. There is some risk to doing this, as one lost bike bag would mean zero rideable bikes. Thankfully I haven't run into this problem.
While it is definitely smart to get your bag below the weight limit, what actually happens at the bag check counter depends mostly on the individual person checking you in, more so than the airline's official policy. I've had everything from no charge when there probably should've been a charge, up to ~$150 or so per bike. I also had a guy (in Bentonville, actually) who wanted to charge me overweight at 50.1 lbs, so I removed some extra parts from the bike while in line... Its a total crapshoot in my experience.
Note that TSA will definitely open the bike bag, and most likely not re-pack it correctly. Just be prepared for this.
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