We’ve been amazed by both how often people ask us for advice on packing bikes into bags, and how little advice there is available on the world wide interweb thingummy about how to do it properly. Actually we’ve also been pretty appalled by some of the “packed” bikes which we have seen being hauled out of bike bags; either in a throughly unloved and lousy, or OTT 2 tonne marshmallow, state of packing! The idea of this guide is to help you get the right balance between just enough packing to stop anything getting damaged and not using so much that the check-in attendants rub their hands together gleefully whilst ££ signs appear in their greedy, dead eys....we love excess baggage fees as you can tell! With this guide you’ll hopefully be able to avoid them!
First, a word of reassurance. We’ve been flying with our bikes for years now, and have met hundreds of people at airports, and we’ve yet to see any damage that has been caused by a baggage handler. There are lots of urban myths about how they will throw your bike around, or use it as a chock under the front wheel of the plane – well, from what we’ve seen, this just isn’t true. In fact, because your bike is big and bulky they are more likely to physically carry it seperately to the plane rather than throwing onto a conveyor or crushing it amongst the suitcases. In fact, bikes are usually the last thing onto the plane, and the first thing off.
We’ve seen a couple of bikes which have been poorly packed get damaged, but they seem more like self inflicted injuries rather than handler assault victims!
So, lets get on with it – after all, most of us would rather arrive at our destination to discover our suitcase split open by customs and our underpants have been eaten by drugs dogs than have any damage to our pride and joy....
Step 1
Assemble all of the bits you are going to need to pack your steed away safely:
- Bike Bag (these are cheap and long lasting, and much less hassle than a box)
- Wheel bags (normally come with the bike bag)
- Some sheets of cardboard
- Various packing materials like bubble wrap, Pipe lagging, tape etc
- Tube protectors (get these from the local bike shop – they are used in new bike packaging)
- Frame spacers and protectors (either get plastic ones from the bike shop, or you can use posh ones like PRO manufacture)
- Brake caliper spacers
Step 2
Put your bike somewhere you can work on it easily – we’re using a nice workstand, but anywhere stable is fine, so long as it won’t fall over, or keep moving all the time! Be conscious of the phenomenon of “fridge suck”, whereby the most intricate and irreplaceable parts will inexorably be drawn under large immovable objects when you drop them...like fridges, washing machines, buses, Aunt Hettie, etc. Seriously, be careful not to lose anything or leave things behind....there’s nothing more annoying than arriving in the Alps to discover that you left your quick releases in the back garden.
Step 3
Remove your wheels – front and rear – we’ll sort these out first.
Step 4
Next, remove the quick releases – reassemble them as soon as you take them out so you don’t lose any springs or other small parts.
Step 5
One of the more fiddly steps is removal of the brake discs – in fact we know many people don’t bother doing this, which we think is a mistake. Discs are fragile things and sometimes it can be tricky to source a spare if you damage one on holiday. Simply ensure that the heads are free of dirt (otherwise you might round them off) and remove the bolts, usually with a Torx key. On Shimano centrelock rotors you need a special tool, which is the same one as you use to remove the cassette.
Once removed stash the discs in an internal pocket in your bike bag. We’d recommend taking some threadlock with you on holiday for reassembly to stop the bolts coming loose when riding. This costs a couple of pounds from any DIY store or Halfords.
Step 6
Pop the quick release skewers and discs into their special pockets, or if your wheelbags haven’t got these use an internal pocket in the bag.
Next, consider deflating your tyres a little. Most airlines ask you to completely deflate them – we really aren’t sure why this is, as airplane holds are pressurized these days – and a totally deflated tyre won’t protect your rims from damage!
We usually drop the pressure to about 50% of normal as a good compromise. Of course, if you run a tubeless system you can’t deflate your tyres too much – the airline won’t thank you for spreading sticky, goopy sealant around the inside of the hold! We asked an Easyjet official at Bristol airport about this, and they said that if there is no inner tube they aren’t too worried about letting tyres down....strange rules.
Once you have finished prepping the wheels get them into their bags for protection, and set them aside for the time being – we’ll come back to them later.
Step 7
One of the most aggravating things that can happen in transit is your brake levers getting squeezed, thereby pushing the pistons out in the calliper. This can lead to anything from a noticeable increase of colourful metaphors in your language (as Mr Spock once said) to a loss of brake fluid...and trust us, that won’t do your frame any good as it sloshes onto your paint/ toes/ eyes/ cat. Fortunately, all you need are some cheap (often free with your bike) plastic spacers to slip into the callipers front and rear.
Don’t worry if they aren’t the right brand – we’re using Hayes spacers on Hope brakes here – or you can also use a piece of artistically crafted cardboard!
Step 8
Remove your pedals – hopefully you won’t have done these up far too tight last time, and you greased the treads of course? No? Oh dear – please try not to spread your knuckle flesh on your chainset if they are stuck! If the threads are dry when they come out put a little layer of grease on them now, ready for reassembly when you unpack.
Step 9
Remove the chain – another step many people don’t do – and this one isn’t essential – but if you are like us then this stops the chain taking the paint off your frame as it bounces around in the bag. If you have a SRAM powerlink or similar this takes all of 20 seconds to do – simply gently squeeze the opposing plates together and it should slide apart. Should, we said should, okay? Don’t blame us if the practical doesn’t match up to the theoretical! If it’s tight try a little light lube to free it up. Matron.
Then pop the chain in a clean plastic bag so that dirt and muck doesn’t stick to it. We’ve used an Asda bag here, as we like their post-modernistic styling, and the weight of plastic they use is perfect for this application. Plus it was the only one we had lying around at the time.
Put the pedals and chain into a pocket inside the bike bag where they won’t move around.
Step 10
Insert the spacers into the dropouts in the frame and fork – we like these big, chunky ones as they stop the bike coming into contact with the floor of the bag. These prevent the dropouts getting crushed or bent in transit – all bike shops have these kicking around in the bin – they are usually glad to get rid of them!
Look at the state of that rear mech’s carbon plate....still works perfectly mind you..!
Step 11
Remove the rear mech – if you are one of those people who can’t be bothered...well...you really ought to – it takes a few seconds to loosen the allen key which bolts it to the frame – and there’s no need to remove the cable. They are fragile and expensive, plus quite exposed if left in situ.
Wrap the mech in bubble wrap, and then mount it inside the rear triangle using packing tape – it will then be well out of the way of harm.
Step 12 – Lets Wrap.
If you love your bike,
You’d be wise to wrap it tight,
All you needz some sleeves,
Coz damage makes you aggrieved,
Plastic tubes or carboard sleeves,
Pipe lagging,
These things you need,
Wrap it good, wrap it tight,
Wrap it,
Wrap it real good....uh-huh...break it down....
Oh, jeez, I must be tired...apologies for my appalling pun-tastic “wrapping” thing there. You would not believe how long I have been writing this for! No, not the Wrap Rap...this blog. I’m not making any sense am I? Oh dear, here comes the nurse....shhhh, be quiet, or she’ll put things in my food to make me be “calm” again......
Step 13
Normality resumes! Right, even if you don’t wrap your frame tubes (some people don’t worry about them getting scraped) we’d highly recommend packing suspension components like shocks and forks carefully. Damage to the stanchions - the inner sections - can create costly problems such as oil leaks, accelerated seal wear – or in extreme cases complete replacement. Not cheap. Get them packaged!
Step 14
Next remove the handlebars – either by removing the bars from the stem clamp, or by removing the stem from the steerer tube. We always prefer the latter – removing the bars seems less scary, but it can be a pain in the backside getting your bars centred and at the right angle – whereas reassembling the stem takes seconds.
First remove the top cap bolt – make a note of how many spacers were above and below the stem for reassembly.
Next remove the stem by loosening the clamp bolts.
Once the bars have been removed put the spaces and top cap back on the steerer tube for safekeeping.
Afterwards wrap the bars in more bubble wrap. The bars can either be affixed to the side of the frame - or some bags, like this DHB one, have an internal side pocket which they fit into when you put the bike in the bag.
Step 15
Use a little packaging material and secure this to the bottom of the chainset so the rings don’t get damaged – either pipe lagging or an old jiffy envelope is perfect for doing this.
Step 16
You should now have everything wrapped up and looking tidy! Time to slip the frame into the bag carefully...
Step 17
Your bike should now be in the bag – we leave the seatpost fully up, as you can see. This holds the bag in shape nicely for moving it around without it being all saggy and annoying.
Step 18
As an extra precaution you can also add a sheet of cardboard either side of the bike for more protection.
Step 19
Where did you put the wheelbags? Find them, and slip them down beside the bike. Some people prefer to put a wheel either side for extra padding – but this can make the bag very wide, so if you do decide to do this remember to put them at opposite ends.
Step 20
Got some spare lagging or bubblewrap? Chuck it in – but don’t go crazy and fill every last inch with packaging – this can weigh a lot, just use a bit to give it extra shape.
Step 21
Zip it up, you are all ready to go!! Don’t forget to add luggage labels to help you get reunited if something goes wrong and either you or the bike end up somewhere you weren’t expecting!
If you are lucky enough to be travelling with a company that offers a fully equipped mobile workshop, with custom internal bike racking, your bike bag will be lovingly handled to the airport...oh, hang on, there’s only one company who does that....and they also have a Cytec qualified mechanic who’ll help you get it reassembled for free at your destination too!!
We hope that this has been helpful – some people get very stressed about it- but packing a bike doesn’t have to be a pain. If you need any further help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Singletrack Safari!
Happy Trails!
