Thorn Cycles Forum

Community => Thorn General => Topic started by: douggiefox on April 27, 2006, 11:46:46 am

Title: Air Travel
Post by: douggiefox on April 27, 2006, 11:46:46 am
Hi All

I was wondering what people's experiences are taking and packing up their Thorn cycles on aeroplanes.  How are people packing them up?  Are S&S couplings necessary?  What's the response from UK operators like Ryan Air or Easyjet?  Any ideas of additional cost for oversized luggage?

Best

DF
Title: Re: Air Travel
Post by: bike_the_planet on May 01, 2006, 10:10:40 am
quote:
Originally posted by douggiefox

Hi All

I was wondering what people's experiences are taking and packing up their Thorn cycles on aeroplanes.  How are people packing them up?  Are S&S couplings necessary?  What's the response from UK operators like Ryan Air or Easyjet?  Any ideas of additional cost for oversized luggage?

Best

DF



I have two XL Thorns (Nomad and an XTC) both fitted with S&S couplers. Either will just fit in an S&S 26"x26"x10" case (made by Samsonite).

Advantage - luggage is not oversize, bike is protected.
Disadvantage - case weighs 7kg on its own WITHOUT the bike - that eats into your luggage allowance significantly. I guess that without the couplers you'd have to get a bigger case that weighs even more. But you either end up paying excess luggage, or you pay for a broken bike frame - I'd rather risk the former. As good a value as Thorn frames are, they're not cheap!

I can't help thinking that this is where carbon fibre would really score - not in making bike frames, but solid, lightweight cycle travel luggage.

If you can travel light, put as much heavy stuff into your hand luggage as possible, then it's worth it. For me S&S couplers are brilliant. The bike is rock solid, but it can easily fit into a car boot or another small space, but it's a personal choice...

Tony, Perth WA
Title: Re: Air Travel
Post by: Fred A-M on May 16, 2006, 04:46:31 pm
Easy Jet used to let bikes on for free but they've recently revised their fares I think to charge for each item of luggage so best check.  With Ryan Air (or whatever they're now called?)  was a case of paying a pre-booking fee of approx £15 once you've booked your ticket: have had no problems with either but this wasn't with a Thorn.

I've only just discovered what S&S couplings are so on this occassion (ie this Friday flying to Seville) I'll be packing my Sports Tour into a cardboard bike box, protecting the tubes I guess, taking out insurance and crossing my fingers!
Title: Re: Air Travel
Post by: Sprocket on June 19, 2006, 02:55:34 pm
What do you do about the problem of oil seepage from a Rohloff in an aircraft hold? I dread to think what sort of response you may get from an airline if you told them that the hub was likely to leak if it wasn't kept upright!
Title: Re: Air Travel
Post by: Fred A-M on June 19, 2006, 04:28:51 pm
Being a reasonably well-seasoned bike-on-plane traveller, I'm guessing that my Rohloff/Raven Sports Tour was probably kept in anything but an upright position on out and inbound flights to Andalucia but given that it seems to be a well-documented phenomenen, no signs of any oil leakage.  That said, I was little more concerned about those reputedly fragile Raven Sports Tour tubes so didn't really check (any advice on whether I'm effectively subjecting the RST to a form of Russian Roulette by only using a cardboard bikebox appreciated), so assume that any spillage was minimal given as I didn't see any oil on the cardboard boxes.

Whilst on the subject, I've never been charged for excess luggage when taking my bike anywhere though I stress that my load has pretty much always been light-touring, 12kg of luggage, bike and cardboard box (use one of your panniers as hand luggage if you think your are going to be borderline on weight).  Always best to check ahead and "know your rights" with the relevant airline as check-in staff are sometimes a bit clueless as to what the regulations are and will start going down the excess baggage route until you make it clear that you're familiar with either their sports equipment or luggage allowance recommendations.  At the very worst, expect to have to pay an upfront payment of around £20 when booking for carrying the bike with some of the budget airlines but the national airlines tend to be free.  

The only time I've not been able to book a bike onto a plane was when trying to book with Air-France to go Cuba, when I discovered that Air France don't carry bikes to Cuba given an apparently mysterious tendency for them to go missing at Havana airport and a surfeit of related baggage compensation claims I guess.  Virgin were happy enough to take the risk though, at no extra cost though they have 3 piece limit (that includes 1 handluggage).

Title: Re: Air Travel
Post by: stutho on June 21, 2006, 09:49:17 am
Sprocket:

quote:
dread to think what sort of response you may get from an airline if you told them
[}:)]


I guess if the airlines catch on then they will be asking us to drain the hubs before they will accept them.  As it is so easy to drain (and save?) the oil and replace it at the other end it shouldn't be a problem.  

For the time being I would just keep quite about the possibility of an oil leak
Title: Re: Air Travel
Post by: daniel on July 20, 2006, 10:58:15 pm
I used to use corrugated cardboard wrapped around the main tubes and held on with insulating tape. Now I use water pipe insulation, it comes in lengths with a split down one side, and slips over the tubes easily. It is about 3/4 inch thick and provides good protection against scratches and minor bumps.
Title: Re: Air Travel
Post by: Robin Thorn on July 22, 2006, 09:47:10 am
Hi, take a look at andy's new article on our FAQ's:
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/airtravelwithbikes.html
Title: Re: Air Travel
Post by: StuntPilot on November 26, 2017, 11:05:26 am
Useful information here on flying with a touring bke ...

http://www.airline-baggage-fees.com/sports/bikes/