Taking a bike on a plane

[Wagoneer]

Might be worth the OP checking whether there are any "Adventure Tour companies" in Colombia. If so, they'd probably have suitable spare bikes for hire.

I spent 10 days riding coast-to-coast across Costa Rica with 50 others, on a tour organised by the Mencap charity. It was all off-road, except for a few miles on the Pan-American Highway, where we had a Police escort !!!

I just took helmet, clip-on pedals/shoes and saddle. The bikes were middle of the range Trek.

 

[funflair]

Not a problem, we have taken our tandem, which has couplers, with no issues in a 2 rigid bike boxes.

You might want to weigh up the cost of renting a bike which you can do versus taking one over there. Our problem is we have quite a high spec tandem and it is unlikely that we would find one in resort, hence the reason we travel with it.

friends of ours took their rigid tandem to Cyprus and it came down the baggage belt

 

[clanjones]

Ouch not good!

 

[funflair]

Here is our MTB’s getting packed up to leave Turkey, I fitted the panniers and then wrapped the lot in a big plastic bag.

It’s worth fitting a bit of dowel into the fork dropouts.

I started to remove the rear mech after the dropout got bent one time.

 

[gpat]

friends of ours took their rigid tandem to Cyprus and it came down the baggage belt

I think they were kidding you.....surely!

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[funflair]

I think they were kidding you.....surely!

No, I saw the photo that’s why we never took or tandem

 

[gpat]

No, I saw the photo that’s why we never took or tandem

Ha Ha. How many corners did it make before it fell off or collected someone standing waiting for their bags.

Ps. We have a tandem too. Not taken it on a plane though. Just fits nicely in our MH garage.

 

[funflair]

Ha Ha. How many corners did it make before it fell off or collected someone standing waiting for their bags.

Ps. We have a tandem too. Not taken it on a plane though. Just fits nicely in our MH garage.

It got stuck on the feeder belt.

 

[clanjones]

 

[clanjones]

Well that didn't work! Photo's showing tandem in 2 bike boxes before clothing helmets etc!

Highly recommend Jet2 if you want to take your bike on holiday.

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[Jamesh]

After my lejog I put my carbon bike in a bin bag front wheel gaffa taped in tight to the frame and bungeed it with my single strap to the steel uprights in the baggage hold of the Highland coach from thurso to Inverness!

Remarkably it was fine!!! I was more concerned that I wouldn't be allowed to brin it than anything else.

 

[Brains]

Be aware the rules governing how a bike is packed are down the baggage company for that airport, not the individual airlines.

For example we travelled with bikes from Heathrow to Shannon.
They asked for the bikes to be left 'wheelable' semi flat tyres, handlebars at 90deg, paddles inverted or removed.

On the way back Shannon to Heathrow (same airline), they insisted that the bikes were boxed.
Wheels and pedals removed, tyres completely flat.

Luckily at Shannon we found some inbound cyclists who were very relieved that we took both their boxes off them and a quick visit to the shop at the airport got us a roll of tape. We had to dismantle and pack the bikes whilst we were in the check in queue!

PS - Ensure ALL tools are with the bike and not in your hand luggage!