Looking for some advice on flying abroad with a bike

[Borden]

Hi guys,

Myself and some friends are planning on a mini tour around France in June. At the moment the plan is to fly down to Biarritz and then cycle up the coast towards Caen where we will catch a ferry back.

I've had a look at the Ryanair regulations and it just states that the bike must be in a box or bag. I'd rather not have to buy a bag which I will then need to carry around with me once I get there. On the other hand, I also don't want my bike getting completely ruined.

I found this (http://www.basquemtb.com/views-holiday-bike-packing/#/) after a brief search but it seems a little excessive to me, are the airlines really that careless when handling bikes?

At the moment I'm considering using a double walled cardboard box stuffed with bubble wrap. Am I mad?

If anyone has done this before and has any advice I'd be very grateful!

 

[Borden]

Hey, thanks for the reply. Some useful information in that link! It seems to make sense though that if the baggage handlers can see it's a bike they're less likely to kick it around. The bag is also cheap enough that I can just throw it away on the other side. Reading the comments by others who have used that bag, a lot of people seem to just turn up at the airport and wheel the bike into it complete, apart from twisting the bars and removing the pedals. I think I would follow the advice on CTC though and remove front wheel etc, as well as bubble wrapping everything.

So with BA you pay for hold luggage (with a limit of 23kg) and you don't need to pay any extra for a bike? It's not too clear from their website. I know that Ryanair charges £50 for a bike and Easyjet charge £27.

I wish I could go to Geneva and cycle back from there tbh. I'm limited by the amount of time my friend can take off work. I will be on uni holidays so it doesn't matter to me how long it takes! I was in Geneva last summer and we rented out the free city bikes and cycled a decent way around the lake, crossing the border into France. It was awesome! The bikes were pretty heavy but we managed to see so much more than the standard tourist would. Definitely recommend going around the lake if you have the time!