If you're ever going to bike anywhere but around home you have to transport the wheels. Not easy. It has been said that nothing is clumsier or more awkward to handle than sports equipment when not being used for its intended purpose. This is certainly true of a bicycle. There are several ways to get the bike on a plane. The simplest thing is just to check it unprotected. Some people do this. It's risky but it can work. You will more probably want to pack it in a box. Most airlines will furnish a very large bike box at the airport. You may have to suck up a bit and be a bit patient. The box is large enought that all you need to do is turn the handlebars and take off the seat and pedals. The bike baggage, paniers, tent etc, also go into the box so all you need to carry onto the plane is a handlebar bag. Why not do this? The wheels are rather vulnerable, protected as they are only by a couple of pieces of cardboard. They sometimes get "taco'd". Packed as shown below and then put in a cutdown box, the bike is much safer as the wheels are tight against the frame and the derailleurs are protected. Also, when you arrive in Paris, Berlin, Luxembourg, Vienna or wherever you may face the problem of getting the bike on a train or bus. Bike cars on European trains are much more numerous than they used to be but they can still be a hurdle. Packed as shown below the bike is baggage and can go on any train, even the TGV's. Be aware that Aer Lingus does not have boxes, you're on your own. They also handle bikes very roughly. If you're taking a bike to Ireland, you would do well to look for another carrier.

Here's the bike, ready to go into the bike box. It's in the white wrapped plastic bundle in the rear. There's actually a complete bike in there. Everything has been taken off. Click to see PACKING YOUR BIKE - THE MOVIE!! It's all going into the box along with the baggage. Wrapping and compressing the bike gives you a smaller package. You can cut the airline box just about in half and telescope it, making for a much stonger container. A further advantage of packing it this way is that it can go directly onto any train as hand baggage. No waiting for a train with a baggage car. No shipping it ahead and waiting. Just take it out of the box and leave it wrapped. Carry it with you and assemble it at your destination. With a couple of straps and your gloves as pads you can convert it into an ungainly but carryable backpack or shoulder bag. You never have to carry it far. Roll up the plastic sheet and take it with you. It makes a small roll. When the trip is over buy some more packing tape, pedal up to the train station, dismantle and wrap the bike and away you go. Essential step. Take off the bottle cages. With the cages off the wheels fit directly against the frame, which braces them and protects their trueing. Click on the picture to look closer or see it in animation down the page. Either way drop the bags in the box with the bike. Tape the box shut. Bring your own tape. Tape it really well. Bring your own packing tape. Strong. Use lots. If you find it simpler to pack the bike at home you can get a box from a bike store but it's narrower than the airline box. You may have to carry the bags separately. Once you get where you're going put the bike back together - carefully. Having left over pieces is not good. This sounds complicated but having done it the first time perforce I discovered it wasn't really so bad.We're talkingabout a half hour or so at each end.

Here is the bike, fully assembled and packed waiting impatiently beside a picnic table on the Loire River. The adventure is about to begin. In a few moments we are heading south to the sea. Next stop: the Mediterranean! Packing the bike? In the first place, don't bring any more than you absolutely have to. Whatever you bring you have to carry. If you need more there are stores. Keep it distributed between front and back. Put heavy stuff like clothes and tools, stove and sandals, etc in the front low riders. Lighter things like sleeping bag, air mattress and tent can go on the top and sides of the back rack. Ready use stuff like maps, camera and radio go in the handlebar bag. It may look a little clunky or awkward but rolling along with weight on the front wheel makes the bike very, very stable. It feels like it's running on rails.
Once you get it moving momentum carries you along, you really don't feel the extra weight. Really. The mass vs. air resistance ratio seems to give you an advantage on the downs and the straightaways. The uphills just have to be borne but even they are not so bad. Some people like to pack sleeping bag, mattress and tent into paniers but why carry the weight of another container? On a chilly dank evening a nice warm dry sleeping bag is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Want to see the "Dark Side" of bike packing? Click on the picture to the right! Below on the left, the bike stripped down and ready for wrapping. On the right the bike is wrapped and the bags are packed Click on the pictures to look closer. If you want to know what's in those little bags on the front wheel, and how to stay clean and comfortable with so little, just CLICK HERE.

Of course I don't have to do this anymore!! I'm the proud new owner of a Bike Friday Airglide below. It is an amazingly comfortable and reliable bike to ride. The miles or kilmeters just flow by. All parts are standard sizes, even the wheels and can be replaced anywhere. It also goes into a large shoulder bag in about three or four minutes, and into a suitcase in about fifteen to twenty. A hell of a lot easier than all the bike dismantling and boxing above.

How it works.

Lightweight and very responsive, even when fully loaded. The little wheels look funny but they're more efficient up to 16 MPH, about the same as standard wheels up to 33 MPH and only less efficient after that. I actually go 16 MPH rather rarely and 33? Forget it. Find out more about it by clicking on my picture below.

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