Preparing a bike for flying.

spindrift said:

I know this is a really obvious question, sorry, but how difficult is
it for someone who would rather pay On Your Bike £7 to mend a puncture
than do it himself to get a Dawes Galaxy ready for a Ryanair flight?

They insist upon the handlebars being turned round and the pedals taken
off. I'll get loads of bubble wrap for the forks and gears but is it
pretty straightforward to whip the pedals off and then back on again at
the destination airport?

Can I use the same tool for the handlebars and pedals, or is there a
multi-purpose tool I can take with me?

Depends on the pedals and handlebars. If they have allen key slots then
you will need a 6mm allen key for the pedals. A quill stem will be a
6mm allen key, an ahead stem will be 5mm.

If the pedals have no allen key slot then you will need a 15mm pedal
spanner.

Take the pedals off, grease the threads and put them back on before you
go to the airport. Remember that the pedals screw on in opposite
directions.

...d

Thanks David, that's encouraging, I thought it would be more involved
than that and allen keys will weigh a sight less than spanners or
wrenches. I get my new Dawes Galaxy today, Ryanair are encouraging us
to fly in the face of the mad bombers:

Reg fare Adult Reg Fare £29.99 GBP
Fri, 06 Oct 06 Flight FR 372 13:10 Depart London Stansted (STN) 15:55
Arrive Biarritz (BIQ)

Web fare Adult Reg Fare € 0.01 EUR
Thu, 19 Oct 06 Flight FR 937 17:25 Depart Perpignan (PGF) 18:25 Arrive
London Stansted (STN)

David Martin wrote on 07/09/2006 10:23 +0100:

Quoted message said:

A quill stem will be a 6mm allen key,

....and a hammer

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Tony Raven said:

David Martin wrote on 07/09/2006 10:23 +0100:

Quoted message said:

A quill stem will be a 6mm allen key,

...and a hammer

Be creative - turn it upside down and use the 'street furniture' in the
check in area.

It is a lot lighter to use the planet as a hammer.

...d

David Martin said:

Tony Raven said:

David Martin wrote on 07/09/2006 10:23 +0100:

Quoted message said:

A quill stem will be a 6mm allen key,

...and a hammer

Be creative - turn it upside down and use the 'street furniture' in the
check in area.

It is a lot lighter to use the planet as a hammer.

Is this a development of Archimedes and his "give me a lever long
enough..."?

Tim

spindrift said:

They insist upon the handlebars being turned round and the pedals taken
off. I'll get loads of bubble wrap for the forks and gears but is it
pretty straightforward to whip the pedals off and then back on again at
the destination airport?

Very straightforward but allow plenty of time, and have a practice run at home well in
advance of departure date.

In article <[email hidden]>

David Martin said:

spindrift said:

I know this is a really obvious question, sorry, but how difficult is
it for someone who would rather pay On Your Bike £7 to mend a puncture
than do it himself to get a Dawes Galaxy ready for a Ryanair flight?

They insist upon the handlebars being turned round and the pedals taken
off. I'll get loads of bubble wrap for the forks and gears but is it
pretty straightforward to whip the pedals off and then back on again at
the destination airport?

Can I use the same tool for the handlebars and pedals, or is there a
multi-purpose tool I can take with me?

Depends on the pedals and handlebars. If they have allen key slots then
you will need a 6mm allen key for the pedals. A quill stem will be a
6mm allen key, an ahead stem will be 5mm.

If the pedals have no allen key slot then you will need a 15mm pedal
spanner.

Take the pedals off, grease the threads and put them back on before you
go to the airport. Remember that the pedals screw on in opposite
directions.

i.e. RH pedal RH thread so unscrews anticlockwise, LH pedal LH thread so
unscrews clockwise.

spindrift said:

I know this is a really obvious question, sorry, but how difficult is
it for someone who would rather pay On Your Bike £7 to mend a puncture
than do it himself to get a Dawes Galaxy ready for a Ryanair flight?

I don't think Ryanair flies there, so it's not a lot of use to you,
but I was amazed to see at Auckland airport when I was there a couple
of weeks ago that they have workshop-type bike suspending brackets
mounted on the wall in a special "bike assembly area" under cover
just outside the main terminal. Didn't see anyone using them, but I
thought they were a nice touch. Don't know how long they'd last
unvandalised here in the UK, mind.

--
Nobby Anderson

"spindrift" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I get the bike today so I'll practice before flying. Come to think

of

Quoted message said:

it maybe Halfords will let me have the box the bike comes in.

Don't use a bike box. If the bike looks like a box, it will be
treated like a box. It's a very big box, so it will be at the bottom
of the pile of luggage with **everything** piled on top of it. A
cardboard box provides negligible protection against that

When I used Ryanair I went to B&Q and bought a big sheet of
polythene. Half a sheet is enough to make a bag to cover a bike.
Fold the bag over the bike, and tape for and aft. The wheels stick
out, so you can wheel the bike along - use a bungee cord to keep the
front wheel straight, but still rotatable. A couple of pieces of
duct tape hold the bottom together, with the whole assembly still
being wheelable.

If it looks like a bike, it will be treated like a bike. It's fairly
easy to handle in its bag, so the baggage handlers won't make
mistakes with it. It will be leaned against piles, or put on top of
piles, not underneath them.

Put the luggage label on the bike, inside the bag.

The bag can be rolled up, to be not much larger than a rain cape, so
you can ride your bike to and from the airport, putting your bag
wherever your rain gear normally goes

I didn't lower my saddle or handlebars, which meant that the bike
only just fitted through the giant x-ray machine they have at Luton.
[Why do the want to x-ray a bike? Don't ask.] The machine tender and
I had.to hold the bike up diagonally, so it would go through, which
he didn't really appreciate. At first he protested that my bag
wasn't a proper bike bag, but I explained that it was a special
custom made bag, specially made for that particular bike, which
seemed to satisfy him

The real reason airlines demand bags or boxes is not to protect your
bike. They don't care about that. The covering is to protect other
peoples luggage form your dirt, oil and sharp places. That is, after
all, a reasonable requirement.

Jeremy Parker

Nobody Here wrote on 07/09/2006 11:58 +0100:

Quoted message said:

spindrift said:

I know this is a really obvious question, sorry, but how difficult is
it for someone who would rather pay On Your Bike £7 to mend a puncture
than do it himself to get a Dawes Galaxy ready for a Ryanair flight?

I don't think Ryanair flies there, so it's not a lot of use to you,
but I was amazed to see at Auckland airport when I was there a couple
of weeks ago that they have workshop-type bike suspending brackets
mounted on the wall in a special "bike assembly area" under cover
just outside the main terminal. Didn't see anyone using them, but I
thought they were a nice touch. Don't know how long they'd last
unvandalised here in the UK, mind.

Is that next to the mandatory cycle helmets sign that sits on the wall
of the terminal near an exit?

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

"spindrift" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know this is a really obvious question, sorry, but how difficult is
it for someone who would rather pay On Your Bike £7 to mend a puncture
than do it himself to get a Dawes Galaxy ready for a Ryanair flight?

They insist upon the handlebars being turned round and the pedals taken
off. I'll get loads of bubble wrap for the forks and gears but is it
pretty straightforward to whip the pedals off and then back on again at
the destination airport?

Can I use the same tool for the handlebars and pedals, or is there a
multi-purpose tool I can take with me?

The other thing worth doing is getting some things (not sure what the
correct word is) to brace the forks. Should be able to pick them up from
your LBS.

Just Visiting said:

"spindrift" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know this is a really obvious question, sorry, but how difficult is
it for someone who would rather pay On Your Bike £7 to mend a puncture
than do it himself to get a Dawes Galaxy ready for a Ryanair flight?

They insist upon the handlebars being turned round and the pedals taken
off. I'll get loads of bubble wrap for the forks and gears but is it
pretty straightforward to whip the pedals off and then back on again at
the destination airport?

Can I use the same tool for the handlebars and pedals, or is there a
multi-purpose tool I can take with me?

The other thing worth doing is getting some things (not sure what the
correct word is) to brace the forks. Should be able to pick them up from
your LBS.

We had a bad experience with Easyjet last year. We used bike bags which
involve taking both wheels out of the frame and putting them in
"pockets" inside the bag. On the way home (thankfully - as opposed to
on the way TO our holiday) we found that one set of forks had been
"compressed" and, on another bike, the rear end had had the same treatment.

The solution? (Other than a new set of forks and a new bike!) Bike
shops receive new bikes with a plastic "spacer" in the front forks which
they throw away so just ask. For the back wheel, buy/borrow a cheap and
cheerful/old spindle.

Hope this helps!

Steve

On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 19:18:34 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Nobody Here wrote on 07/09/2006 11:58 +0100:

Quoted message said:

spindrift said:

I know this is a really obvious question, sorry, but how difficult is
it for someone who would rather pay On Your Bike £7 to mend a puncture
than do it himself to get a Dawes Galaxy ready for a Ryanair flight?

I don't think Ryanair flies there, so it's not a lot of use to you,
but I was amazed to see at Auckland airport when I was there a couple
of weeks ago that they have workshop-type bike suspending brackets
mounted on the wall in a special "bike assembly area" under cover
just outside the main terminal. Didn't see anyone using them, but I
thought they were a nice touch. Don't know how long they'd last
unvandalised here in the UK, mind.

Is that next to the mandatory cycle helmets sign that sits on the wall
of the terminal near an exit?

Never been there; lemme guess - the airport shops sell cycle helmets
at prices that belie the inate worth of an inch of polystyrene foam
and a few gewgaws attached thereon.

All these lowcost airlines now charge £15 ish per bike per journey- might be
cheaper and less hassle hiring bikes!

--
Regards,
Stu Devereux.
Fax no. 08701339568
(Outside UK fax 448701339568)
E-mail. [email hidden]
"Fred Bloggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just Visiting said:

"spindrift" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know this is a really obvious question, sorry, but how difficult is
it for someone who would rather pay On Your Bike £7 to mend a puncture
than do it himself to get a Dawes Galaxy ready for a Ryanair flight?

They insist upon the handlebars being turned round and the pedals taken
off. I'll get loads of bubble wrap for the forks and gears but is it
pretty straightforward to whip the pedals off and then back on again at
the destination airport?

Can I use the same tool for the handlebars and pedals, or is there a
multi-purpose tool I can take with me?

The other thing worth doing is getting some things (not sure what the
correct word is) to brace the forks. Should be able to pick them up

from

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

your LBS.

We had a bad experience with Easyjet last year. We used bike bags which
involve taking both wheels out of the frame and putting them in
"pockets" inside the bag. On the way home (thankfully - as opposed to
on the way TO our holiday) we found that one set of forks had been
"compressed" and, on another bike, the rear end had had the same

treatment.

Quoted message said:

The solution? (Other than a new set of forks and a new bike!) Bike
shops receive new bikes with a plastic "spacer" in the front forks which
they throw away so just ask. For the back wheel, buy/borrow a cheap and
cheerful/old spindle.

Hope this helps!

Steve

[email hidden] wrote on 07/09/2006 20:54 +0100:

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 19:18:34 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is that next to the mandatory cycle helmets sign that sits on the wall
of the terminal near an exit?

Never been there; lemme guess - the airport shops sell cycle helmets
at prices that belie the inate worth of an inch of polystyrene foam
and a few gewgaws attached thereon.

Not that I've seen but the sign is for real

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Thanks for all this.

I'll splint the forks, bubble wrap the gears and spindles and turn the
bars and remove the pedals. I'll have a few practice runs first. I
don't spose anyone knows if Ryanair insist upon the rear wheel being
removed?