I will be attending a conference in Cincinnati this fall. I’m going out a day early so I’ll have time to explore the city. I like exploring new places and doing it on foot is OK but I keep thinking about how much more fun it would be and how much more ground I could cover on a bike.
Last year my conference was in Milwaukee and I was really excited when I found a place that did laid back bike tours. They had pub tours, and Milwaukee history tours, and food tours. I really didn’t care what kind of a tour… it just sounded great. I was really excited. But then I found out they were on vacation the week I would be there.
Dag.
This year I was researching renting a bike for a day in Cincinnati. That may be what I end up doing. I think it’s about $40 for a hybrid, they provide a helmet so you don’t have to try to travel with one. I wouldn’t have to try to check crazy baggage on the airline. And it might still be an option, but the shop is closed the day I would have time to do a lot of riding.
And now that Brian is buying the Dahon, and I learned that Dahon also sells air travel bike carriers, well, now I’m thinking about how awesome it would be to have a bike with me the whole time. I could easily travel to the interesting coffee shop a mile or two away as opposed to the hotel Starbucks. I could easily make it to the zoo and the botanical gardens on my day off. But I know that airlines have crazy baggage rules, and some of those rules apply to bikes and I’d hate to be stuck paying as much as the stupid travel case costs to get my bike to and from Cincinnati.
So I started looking up Delta’s special baggage rules for sporting goods. I learned many interesting facts.
- It is possible to bring antlers on the plane for an extra fee. ($200)
- Canoes are not accepted
- Javelins are accepted but are subject to size and weight restrictions and fees, due to their large size.
- No more than five pistols and no more than 11 lbs. (5 kg) of ammunition
- Vaulting poles are accepted, but may not be greater than 80 inches (203 cm) in length.
There was also some stuff about bikes and I’m pretty sure it would not incur the $200 bicycle fee as long as it was semi-disassembled and in the travel case, but I’d want to know for sure before I bought the official case.
It would be so great to be able to have a bike with me the whole time. I can rationalize that it would be cost effective because I usually go to one conference every year so, by not renting a bike every time… it would totally pay for itself. …Right? But sometimes you don’t do stuff because it’s cost effective. You just do it because it would be great.
I just wonder if the hassle of air travel with potentially complicating baggage would outweigh the awesomeness of having the bike with me.
Sorry, I can’t give you any advice, as this is not something with which I have experience. But if you try it, I’ll be very interested to hear how it goes. One reason I want to buy a folding bike is to take it on plane trips. Good luck!
I have a Dahon Speed 7 and the Dahon airporter suitcase. For my job I travel 100% and in the past year I have taken my bike with me to LA, Seattle, Grand Rapids, Sioux Falls, Denver and Minneapolis.
The bike + suitcase weighs 48.5 lbs, just below the 50 lb limit for charged luggage on my FAVORITE airline Southwest. “Bags Fly Free” I could expense the fees due to it being business travel, but feel bad doing that and just love Southwest.
The bike is great and unfolds in less than 15 sec. I can ride it in snow, rain (comes with full fenders) and up hills; I love it.
Technically it is beyond the 62 linear inch limit for what constitutes oversized baggage but I have yet to encounter an airline employee who realizes this.
Any more questions let me know.
Cheers!
Aaron
I got a Bike Friday Tikit to travel with, and I’ve never had a problem. Portland, San Francisco, and NYC via Southwest, plus Tel Aviv via Delta. No extra charge from anyone — but I didn’t tell them “Hey there’s a bike in here”, either. Apparently some airlines will try to charge extra for a bike even when the suitcase is under their max weight and size limits. So just don’t tell them.
The only drawback to the air travel scheme is that packing and unpacking the bike takes me more time than I’d like it to. I did get better with practice, though. Definitely take time to practice the packing/unpacking process — that way you’ll only be frustrated when you’re at home, rather than on your trip.
Having made four trips with the bike, I can honestly say it’s just about the best thing ever for exploring new cities. I bought mine because I couldn’t rent a bike in Paris, so I bought a used one on Monday and sold it back to the store on Saturday. 150 euros was well worth it, but having a bike I was already familiar with would have been even better.
By the way, Bike Friday’s website has a fair number of tips on all this, if you can figure out where they’ve put them. http://www.bikefriday.com/
Oh, and as for the helmet — I don’t travel with one, but I imagine if I did I’d take it as carry-on. It definitely wouldn’t fit in the suitcase with my bike.
Also also: don’t forget to get lights for your foldy, if you haven’t already. I’ve always ended up riding at night on these trips at some point.
Try to take your folding bike as regular checked baggage and avoid saying it is a bike. Maybe just call it your mobility aid if you have to. Some airlines will charge you extra as soon as they find out it is a bike even though the case or bag it is in is no bigger than regular baggage. I think it is a liability thing in case it gets damaged. I would suggest a hard case or well padded bag. It will get some rough handling. Hope this helps.
Stephen
Thanks for all your input! This will be very helpful. I am 80% sold on going for it. Now I just need to get the folder and the case. Trying to find a dahon dealer in Rochester. We were going to get one online but they seem to be back ordered.
I usually bring my Brompton on travels, a little more expensive than some Dahons but much smaller in size. http://www.nycewheels.com/folding-bike.html
I like the airlines 5 pistol, 5 kg limit : )