Any experience with VBT touring? Or bringing own bike to Italy?

[bluebug32]

We're looking into a biking trip to Italy and VBT seems like a great fit price-wise. Someone suggested them a while back, but I'm curious if anyone else has experience with them? The only downside appears to be the bikes they provide. Because of this, we would prefer to bring our own bikes, since it's an eight-day trip and we've both had fit issues in the past. Has anyone traveled abroad with their own bike? Good idea/ bad idea?

[withm]

I'm jealous. I want to go too!

A couple of friends and I did their Bike & Barge trip through Belgium and Netherlands a few years ago. We requested road bikes since that is what we are used to. They asked for our heights and inseam measurements as I recall. We brought our own saddles, pedals, and shoes.

When we got there, the trip leaders had brought the requested road bikes for us, but fortunately they also brought hybrids, and they strongly recommended we use the hybrids instead of the road bikes. There was plenty of time for the leaders to fit the bikes for each ride. We had a shake down ride the first day and they were happy to help make any adjustments throughout the trip. It would probably be good to bring a multitool if you are comfortable doing this yourself. Once out on the route you may or may not have immediate access to one of the leaders.

We were glad to have taken their advice on the hybrids. We did have some short (1-3-5 miles) stretches of cobblestones nearly every day, or other obstacles, and lots of rain. They installed our pedals for us, but I don't think any of us bothered with swapping out the saddles. I don't recall any fit issues, or needing to tweak the seat or handlebars that entire trip. They also provided toe clips for anyone that wanted them.

The bikes were very good quality, clean, and well maintained. I never had any problems with shifters - which you might expect on a bike that has a different rider each week. The bikes are made for, and branded "VBT." I tried to find out who made them but could not (mostly because I wanted to buy one for myself when I got home). They provided trunk and/or handlebar bags, spare tubes and tire levers, locks, helmets, & water bottles. They do wash and disinfect the helmets at the end of each trip.

I would suggest you bring a wireless computer that you can set for miles or KM. The cue sheets were all done in km, and when we went the bikes did not have computers - which made for some wrong turns since the streets were not always marked, and the instructions would say to turn at "the park bench after the statue." Guessing how long a KM is was, well anybody's guess.

It would also be good to arrange for cell phone service while you are overseas. That way if you do have a problem, you can call your trip leader to come and help you out. When I did that, I think I paid something like $5.00 for the month of international service, which I turned off once I got home. Of course there was that one phone call when someone called me... at 3am, forgetting I was in Europe. LOL! That also made it easy to send a few photos back to my family via cell phone, or short emails.

Bringing your own bikes would be a problem if the trip does not end where you started, not to mention the hassle of finding someone to unpack, assemble, store your box, disassemble, repack, and ship it. That would just add way too much stress for my taste. Not to mention if your bike missed an airline connection. I think VBT says their insurance prohibits them from assembling or repairing personal bikes in the event you break a cable or something but you should confirm that if you go that route.

Have a wonderful time, and remember, we want pictures!




We

[deskrider]

We are going to take our tandem bike to Europe next fall but this past summer DH took his road bike to Europe as well. He was self-supported but thought it was well worth the effort to bring his own bike because he's had fit issues and back problems before and needed everything to be exactly right. I think the one thing I'd worry about bringing our own bike(s) is if the tour transports them on a van or something and they scratch or damage the bike. However, I highly doubt we'll ever be willing to go on a tour anywhere in the world where we don't take our own bike. So... talk to the company and see what their opinion is of you bringing your own bike and whether or not they allow it.

[bluebug32]

Thanks. We're actually thinking that VBT won't work for us because they strongly discourage bringing your own bike. Unfortunately the gamble of a bad bike fit is just too much for us, as we both have had trouble with ill-fitting bikes and I really need a women specific frame with the shortened TT. Trek travel does have WS bikes and Madones, but they are pretty pricey. Maybe we plan our own trip?

[bluebug32]

We are going to take our tandem bike to Europe next fall but this past summer DH took his road bike to Europe as well. He was self-supported but thought it was well worth the effort to bring his own bike because he's had fit issues and back problems before and needed everything to be exactly right. I think the one thing I'd worry about bringing our own bike(s) is if the tour transports them on a van or something and they scratch or damage the bike. However, I highly doubt we'll ever be willing to go on a tour anywhere in the world where we don't take our own bike. So... talk to the company and see what their opinion is of you bringing your own bike and whether or not they allow it.

Did he ship it or take it on the plane? Was it probably lugging a case around for the trip?

[deskrider]

Since his road bike didn't have couplers it was considered an oversized case and of course he paid a fee when he told them it was a bike. I guess there were two ways it could have worked. One is to just let them treat it as oversized luggage and pay that fee, the other was to fess up and call it a bicycle and then pay the bicycle fee (which is more) but then it gets special handling. Since it was a carbon fiber bike he wanted the special handling and there were no problems. It was a fabric type case with thick padding and everything went into the one case. I don't remember the brand of the case but it was made in Park City, Utah. I could look up the name if you want. This fall when we take our tandem it will fit in one airline legal hard suitcase and the wheels will go in an airline legal Wheel Safe Pro so there should be no extra charges at all. Of course I don't know how well that will work until next October! I think going on your own is another option but I thought we might like the social aspect of going with a group and having a van shuttle our luggage every day. Oh, I forgot to mention case storage. He rented a car and just left the case in the car. The only time he used the car was going to/from the airport or into town in the evenings for dinner.

[Bluetree]

I made two trips from the West Coast to Europe and the UK last year and I took my bikes because I am difficult to fit (my road bikes are 42 and 44cm).

For overseas travel I use British Airways because they consider bike boxes to be normal luggage and won't charge you hundreds of dollars like the other airlines. The only additional charge is for extra weight, if you decide to pack your box with lots of extra items, like... all your dirty clothes. (On BA or Iberia, you can also get frequent flyer credit for American Airlines)

I've never used that touring company but I was mostly happy I had my road bike. There were a few rainy days I wished I had a cross bike, but I don't think I would have been satisfied with a hybrid. I just swapped my normal tires for Gatorskins and was fine.

Of course, I did all my own wrenching and route planning, so unless you are comfortable doing that, it may be best to stick with what the tour guides recommend.

[tangentgirl]

For overseas travel I use British Airways because they consider bike boxes to be normal luggage and won't charge you hundreds of dollars like the other airlines.

Woah, that ROCKS!

[Bluetree]

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagsport/public/en_gb

Sporting equipment
There is no additional allowance for sporting equipment, but it can still be carried free of charge as part of your free checked baggage allowance. If it is in addition to your free checked allowance, you will need to pay extra bag charges.

This is my bike box and they allow it without problems:
http://www.sbrshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/4/0/4030009_1.jpg

[bluebug32]

We don't mind doing some research and planning our own biking vacation. We just want to have our own bikes. It would be nice to stay somewhere central and takes bike trips from there. We'll keep researching! Feel free to throw out any recommendations, trips, or interesting places to stay in Tuscany or closer to the Dolomites.

[Biciclista]

this is a good thread. My DH is planning a big bike trek through Italy in september and he really really wants to take his good bike but doesn't want to pay the cost of another bike just to get it there. British Airways.. GREAT information

[tulip]

Bike Friday. I take mine to Europe whenever I go. Fortunately, I have a high-end Bike Friday that rides like my regular road bike. It's wonderful.

[Thorn]

We don't mind doing some research and planning our own biking vacation. We just want to have our own bikes. It would be nice to stay somewhere central and takes bike trips from there. We'll keep researching! Feel free to throw out any recommendations, trips, or interesting places to stay in Tuscany or closer to the Dolomites.

You might want to check out the self-guided section of Cycle Italia's site ( http://www.cycleitalia.com/ ). The bikes that Larry rents are good--better than any one else's we've ever rented.

If both of our jobs hold out, we're toying with spluging on his Sardenga trip next year. If we do, we'll use his bikes even though we have bikes with S&S couplers -- if we can rent bikes of that quality, there is no sense taking the bike along.

[Crankin]

The reason we did our first 2 tours with Trek Travel was exactly the reason you stated. They had the exact bike I was riding at the time. I am not good with changes in mechanical things, so it was fine. But... we rode over lots of cobbles on road bikes, as well as rain in the Czech Republic and Austria. No one seemed to care, except me. Some people did rent the hybrids.
When we went to Quebec, we took our own bikes, since we drove. This year, we absolutely loved our tour company in Spain (Cycling Country), as they are a small, husband and wife owned business. But the 48 cm Orbea sucked for me. It had the same geometry as my bike as far as stand over, top tube, etc, but I couldn't reach the brakes from the drops. For someone who doesn't like descents to begin with, it was pretty miserable. We want to do their Portugal tour in 2012, but if they don't have a wsd bike with short reach levers, we will bring our own bikes. We are thinking of getting steel bikes with s and s couplers, for travel. It would be a second bike for us (or third) and would also be used at home, too.
VBT has good tours; I know someone who works for them, who has helped us lead our AMC New Members ride. But, their bikes stopped me from considering them. We are doing a tour of the Finger Lakes in NY this year, so we can have our own bikes. It's the same company that ran our Quebec tour and they are very low key. I wouldn't use them if I couldn't have my own bike, as they provide really low end Treks.

[bluebug32]

It looks like we have decided to do our own thing in Italy. Find great spots (like Lake Como, possibly San Remo or Riccione) and rent a bike there for a few days. We're researching other great riding spots/shops to rent high end bikes from. Does anyone have any recommendations?

[anakiwa]

We did a self guided tour through Cycle Italia a year and a half ago (in Tuscany) and loved it. They made all the lodging arrangements, transported gear, and gave us a route. Otherwise we were on our own. I have the same concerns about fit, so we took our own bikes (fortunately the tour started and ended at the same place so we were able to leave the boxes there- we did have to lug them around Florence some before/after). Flying with the bikes worked out fine (I would recommend hard cases- we bought one Thule and borrowed another- they worked so well we bought a second one this summer to take bikes to Colorado with us.) You also want to know what you're getting into fee wise- they all seem to change their policies regularly (when we went to Italy we took Air France- they were supposed to charge 150 dollars/euros each bike/each way depending on where you were- but someone misquoted it as $50- they honored that on the way out, and on the way back the person forgot to charge us at all, so I guess we got lucky). You also need to be able to take the bikes apart/reassemble them (my husband has gotten quite adept at it- I think he found some good instructions initially from Thule online- there might even have been a video demonstrating it). (Oh and make sure the pedal wrench goes in the bike box- we forgot this last trip and it got confiscated at security.)

[gnat23]

We took our own bikes and did our own rides in Tuscany. He flew with his in a hard-shell bike box, I shipped mine via FedEx in cardboard. We both flew back with our bikes (and he did some creative talking to convince the desk woman that it was actually a tandem bike in two boxes, so we only got charged once!)

My only addition to the conversation is this: it was nice to have my own bike there, but it was a pain to deal with. The cars are really tiny, so there was some rope involved to keep the trunk down and we couldn't leave it out of our sights anywhere. We had to lug the boxes up stairs and narrow paths to our bed and breakfasts, along with our luggage, and then they often did not have secure storage and/or space for them. My cardboard box got destroyed in the rain, so there was much tape involved to hopefully get everything back home.

If I were to do it again, I'd rent there.

-- gnat!