Domestic Flights with bike in a Polythene bag

[8mph]

I think your plan will be fine. Not sure of frame material - carbon more susceptible to damage with a bump in an unexpected direction - but leaving wheels on mitigates the main weak spots of crushing forks or stays together. Defo remove & tape your rear mech to inside of rear triangle

is quite reassuring.

Dont forget to take a pump with you

The material is steel, I'll probably loosen off the front mech enough to allow for some movement and remove the rear.

The airline guidelines only specifies that tyres should be slightly deflated and bars turned in, the chap I spoke with only said,

"its better if you have it in a bag"

Let's see how it goes!

 

[presta]

most handlers don't actually want to damage stuff

Having seen the way others treat bikes, including their own, I do everything possible to avoid anyone getting their hands on mine, and as a result I have a 21 year old bike with 46,000 miles on the clock that has no chips or scratches other than the ones from the chain flicking the chainstay.

Some examples:

Watching GWR loading my bike on a train, she snagged the gear cable on an adjacent bike in the rack, and instead of unhooking it she just pushed harder until I shouted stop!

At Oxford Backpackers, the bike shed was jam packed with a mountain of bikes piled on top of one another, so to make room for mine the receptionist picked up the nearest one, and threw it up onto the top of the pile at the back of the shed.

At Exeter Globe there were a stack of bikes propped against the wall in reception, all apparently stowed carefully until you spot that the front derailleur on one at the bottom is supporting the weight of the entire stack via the tip of the pedal on the next bike bearing against it.

 

[matticus]

The airline guidelines only specifies that tyres should be slightly deflated and bars turned in, the chap I spoke with only said,

"its better if you have it in a bag"

They sound a great bunch - where else do they fly to??

[even the sodding Germans made me let mine down completely - bah!]

 

[matticus]

Having seen the way others treat bikes, including their own I do everything possible to avoid anyone getting their hands on mine,

in that case, I suggest avoiding airlines, even with a hard shell thingy!

 

[8mph]

Having seen the way others treat bikes, including their own, I do everything possible to avoid anyone getting their hands on mine

The plan is a bit sketchy, but if I were to grab this opportunity the journey could start at my doorstep.

Here's the bike in question ( rescued from the recycling center for a fiver)

 

[newfhouse]

What's your experience of using a clear bag?

I have done so a few times, all with good outcomes.

 

[Sixmile]

For what its worth, I've flown a few times with my hybrid and also the tandem using the Scicon Pocket bike bag/s. It packs down rather small but can fit a regular bike or two of them stuck together to fit a tandem in like so...

On the flights out I pack the bike well with cardboard and pound shop arm bands. On arrival most of that packaging gets ditched. On the flights home I visit the closest poundland and buy £10 worth of bubble wrap and wrap the frame sparingly.

The bags are around £40

 

[8mph]

So... the bike was fine. I watched it being loaded and unloaded quite carefully, no throwing more plonked on top of some suitcases. I'd be happy to do the same again on domestic flights.

 

[matticus]

So... the bike was fine. I watched it being loaded and unloaded quite carefully, no throwing more plonked on top of some suitcases. I'd be happy to do the same again on domestic flights.

Excellent!
(and consistent with my experience and many others. Miserable doom-mongers take note )