General: How much does it cost to bring your bike abroad? (specifically japan)

I want to bring my road bike to japan this fall semester. I'm leaving from the USA. How much will it cost? I'm actually assuming it should be free cause the bike only weighs 20 pounds. I'm gonna package it in those cardboard boxes specifically for bikes from my LBS. Also, should I carry or put my wheels in a separate box?
Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ryan

Definitely depends on who you fly with and also on luck -- if the clerk is cranky or in a good mood. Shouldn't be that way, but it is.

I've flown to Europe and back with my bike several times, and my recommendation is to:
1. Get a small a box as possible from your LBS. (They come in various sizes, but get the smallest you can find that will fit your bike when it's broken all the way down to its frame.) Also get the fork and rear-dropout spacing plastic bits that new bikes come packed with, as well as the plastic discs that go over the axle ends. These are junk as far as the LBS is concerned, but you need them.
2. Get some pipe insulation tubes from your local hardware store. Generally a 6' length is a couple of bucks; you'll need three lengths of the size for 3/4" tubing or whatever. (It's the biggest of the two sizes commonly sold in the U.S.) It'll be a bit small but will work.
3. Take off the bike's wheels, pull the quick-releases, and zip-tie the QRs to the rims. If you have fenders, zip-tie them around the wheels, so they're one nice hunk.
4. Cut the pipe insulation the right length for all the tubes and zip-tie it at at least two points on each one. Cover every bit of paint you can get to, including the head tube.
5. Either pull out the handlebar/stem combination or turn the handlebars and turn them down -- whatever will be smaller.
6. Remove the rear derailleur and zip-tie it to the frame.
7. Remove the drive-size crank and zip-tie it to the frame, then zip-tie the free arm of the non-drive-side crank to the rear chainstay.
8. Attach the fork and rear-dropout spacers you got from the LBS.
9. Cut down the bike box to the minimum height and length that will fit the frame plus wheels. (The wheels will set the height and the frame the length.) Fold over and rejoin the ends with duct tape and big staples if at all possible.
10. Put the frame in the box, insert the wheels (with plastic discs on the outer axle ends) and zip-tie them to the frame.
11. Fill up the box with clothes and such -- whatever you've got that will pad the bike but is still light.
12. Tape up the box like crazy; recommend the heaviest possible duct tape.

All this preparation is to protect the bike no matter what happens, and you never know. It also produces a fairly light box (15kg the last time around) that can be moved by one person easily and quickly -- I run two nylon straps around the outside and then connect them to a shoulder strap from an old laptop case; I can carry the resulting box and still have both hands free.

On getting past the guardians at the ticket counter: When they ask what's in the mystery box, say "camping equipment." It's true -- you could go camping with it. Do not say "bike," as that's the trigger for additional fees. Oversize is one thing, but if they have a $100 (or whatever) fee for a bike, no matter what its size and weight, that's the thing you want to avoid.

Best of luck!
L.

thanks for all the info.. I'll try my luck and stuff my bike into a nice compact size box.

Posted By: RuffinitMake sure you get the spacers for the dropouts to keep your fork or rear triangle from getting crushed.

Excellent point that I forgot to mention. Usually available from your LBS (they get a set with every disassembled bike that arrives), but you can make a set yourself with a hunk of 3/4" dowel and some screws and washers. Also grab four of the plastic-disc things that go into the ends of your hub axles -- prevents them from poking their way through the box.

For what it's worth, I just did Boston-Paris-Stockholm and then back, and the total cost for my bike was 0. Followed my own instructions (see above), cutting the bike box as far down as possible (knocked off a foot in length and about 3" in height). Put all heavy bits in my backpack, and then checked both. The pack was 15kg, the bike box with bike was 19kg. The clerks didn't even look twice, and never even asked what was in the box. I had to carry it to the "oversize" luggage area after check in, but that was it.

Only thing I would add to my list above is that it's important to consolidate before stuffing things in the box. For example, I filled up the frame's rear triangle with the racks (front and rear), seat and post, and pedals and bottle cages (bagged). Also tied the fenders to the wheels (remember to deflate the tires). Last-stage assembly is the hardest, as I had to find a way to get the bars (on their side, rotated under the top tube) and wheels in. Eventually succeeded in wriggling the bars through the spokes, and then dropped the whole load into the box. A tight fit, but it made it -- and saved me at least 100 in each direction.

Glad you made it. Yeah, it often does come down to the clerk and how much they do/don't know and how much attention they're paying. A friend I often travel with recommends always printing out the airline's luggage policy just in case the clerk tries to charge you when in fact you're under the limits.

Way faster than my process -- complete disassembly, pretty much, plus the time to resize the box. On the plus side, the result is a box not much larger than some of the things people roll around airports and call suitcases. It's also easy to move solo through all the buses and subway systems normally between me and any airport. Less under my control is the weather, however. During a 2007 trip I did the same packing routine for two bikes, and got both through for free, but they were left on the tarmac at one point and got rained on. Between the zip ties and the duct tape, though, we didn't lose a thing.



My packing technique has gotten way better since this photo, by the way. Boxes are smaller, padding and taping better, the result much more portable and secure. Now I just have to be able to figure out a way to waterproof cardboard....