Shipping horror stories?

[uk elephant]

I have shipped my bike a few times. First when moving from Norway to Wisconsin. That time I just checked it in as luggage with my suitcases. Everything arrived without any problems. Second time when moving back to Norway. This time with a shipping company together with all my other boxes of random stuff. All arrived without any problems. This last time, when moving to UK, the shipping company lost all bike boxes including the one with the bike in it.

As for packing, I just did it myself. Went to the LBS and asked for an empty bike box which they let me have for free (they always have stacks of them in the back somewhere). When moving from Wisconsin back to Norway, the LBS was right across the street. When I picked up the box, they gave me some quick instructions on how to pack the bike. I then had to go back a few more times to borrow the necessary tools (I never had much and what I had was packed up). The guy was very helpful and all was free of charge even though I had never actually bought anything in there. It never hurts to ask....

But now that my latest bike shipment got lost/stolen, I'm a bit more nervous about shipping my bike. And I'll need to ship again next year when Trek420 and I are doing the AidsRide. Hopefully the guys in my LBS here where I bought the bike will be as helpful as the guys in WI. The bigger problem will be how to get the bike moved once it's in the box.....Diffucult to cycle home from the LBS with the bike packed up.....

[Bad JuJu]

Never shipped my bike, but I know several people who have shipped theirs via UPS for one of the AIDS rides, and they reported no significant issues.

[DebW]

When I worked in a LBS, we'd unpack about a dozen bikes a day from boxes and seldom found any damage. But they came in a UPS truck with dozens of bike boxes together and we helped the driver unload, so they got treated well. One bike box among other stuff that makes several transfers might not. I used to pack my bike in a box and take it by plane twice a year from home to college (that was 1974-78). It got damaged once and the airline refused to pay since I didn't report the damage before I left the airport. Was I supposed to put the bike together and ride it around the terminal before taking it home? I rode with a slightly bent fork for the next 20 years (but there was a notch in the headset to compensate). Make sure you put a rigid spacer between the fork tips and dropouts when you pack a bike.

[Duck on Wheels]

The bigger problem will be how to get the bike moved once it's in the box.....Diffucult to cycle home from the LBS with the bike packed up.....

I recently did this when doing a smaller ride with Trek. DHL will pick up from the bike shop. I happened to have a car and drove the box out to their office, which is cheaper, but I don't think the pick-up fee is prohibitive. The bike was delivered on time and in good shape.

[Tuckervill]

Couldn't you just rent the hard case and ship it back empty to the bike shop?

Karen