Anyone fly with the wheels and frame packed separately

Yeah. I built a two crate system for Hawai'i trips.

sanjuro said:

I have flown with my bike several times, and I find the big bike box a huge pain as well as a guaranteed extra charge.

I am thinking about separating the wheels and the rest of the bike and pack it down. I will probably take the fork off as well to keep it really tight.

Anyone fly with the wheels and frame packed separately?

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Yes, I have, many times. When I was racing a lot, I would use wheel boxes (get’m from a bike shop)… I would take my linkage apart and pack frame/swing arm/linkage/fork in one wheel box, and wheelset/hardware in the other wheel box. (prepped in shipping foam for protection)

This worked very well for my 4x bike, but requires an extra box if for dh (fork)

Also, if you find just the right box (dimension wise), sometimes it will go through as your normal suitcase allowance.

Added bonus you might get away with not having to the pay the extra bike fee if you throw a few shirts or something in there with the stuff and say something like "its some bike parts and some clothes".

i have done this 2x to whistler last summer. Frame, fork, and pads went into the suitcase. I wraped the pads around the frame and stantions so there would be no damage. I put the rest into the wheel box with tires full of sealant and still on. That wheel box was full, shoes, camelback, bars, stem, pedals, tubes, any thing that wouldnt fit in the other beacuse of the 50lb limit. Worked great, i even made a duct tape handle on the box. I got asked what was in the box only 2x. They asked what it was and i said wheel. Oh sorry sir that will be an...... no its only wheels. Oh ok, 25$ please. I was happy to pay that amount

edit: it was a medium sunday.

erastusboy said:

Added bonus you might get away with not having to the pay the extra bike fee if you throw a few shirts or something in there with the stuff and say something like "its some bike parts and some clothes".

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The correct phrase is "clothing and personal effects". No extra charge.

search for threads/posts by bcd. the man has a system.