Tips for packing/flying with a bike

Hi everyone.

I will be moving abroad shortly and plan to bring my bike with me.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks for flying with a bike, boxing it etc?

I see I need to deflate the tyres. I have tubeless tyres so wondering if people have gotten away with just partically deflating them so sealant doesn't go everywhere?

All and any tips welcome.

Orlagh

Hi Orlagh,

I have taken two racing bikes to Argentina and one MTB from Argentina to here in the last nine years.

First you get a bike box from your local friendly bike shop. I have two boxes at the moment and you are welcome to one of them as I only need one for my upcoming return to Argentina.

Remove the wheels and the pedals and lower the saddle as far as it goes.
Turn the handlebars to be parallel to the frame and put the wheels into the box around the frame as well as you can.

Close the box, and most importantly wrap up the box with duct tape, just leaving the hand holes uncovered. You will use 2 or 3 rolls of duct tape but it's worth the effort as it keeps the box stable and intact.

As you already know you should deflate the tyres. I don't know anything about tubeless ones.

Good luck on your move,
Michael.