Whether you’re shipping a battered old BMX or a top of the range Pinarello, bike shipping can be a bit nerve-wracking. If you’re travelling with your bike for leisure or for a competition, you need to know it’s being well taken care of. And that’s why a bicycle shipping service makes sense.
Why should I get my bike delivered?
Whether you’re col bagging, riding the Etape du Tour or competing at any level, your bike is precious cargo. You need to know that the same care will be taken over shipping your ride as you’d take yourself. And you want it to be affordable and hassle-free. That’s where a specialist shipping service comes in.
Unlike budget airlines, we ensure that your bike arrives when you want it to. Just select your destination and arrival dates and we’ll do the rest. It’s peace of mind at what can be a stressful time and it means that you don’t have the hassle of taking your bike on a plane and paying those excess baggage fees.
Choose your packing
Your shipping service will send you the shipping labels but it’s up to you to pack your bike. This could be a dedicated bike box or bag or even just the cardboard box it came in, but this is your bike’s first line of defence against damage so it’s worth bearing that in mind.
The budget-friendly option is cardboard, and you can buy specialist boxes quite cheaply. If you don’t travel with your bike very often, this is probably all you need. If you’re a frequent traveller with a bike in tow, you’ll probably already own a dedicated case. Hard shells offer more protection than the soft shell kind but both will do the job when you’re shipping your bike.
Pack it up
This is hands-down the most important part of shipping your bike. However protective your case, damage can still occur if you don’t load it properly.
This means disassembling the most fragile components including the derailleur, brake callipers, seat and pedals. If you’ve never done it before, a visit to your local bike shop should help. Practice removing and replacing these components a few times before you travel so you’ll be confident enough to get your bike road ready as soon as it arrives.
Make sure you have plenty of padding to protect your frame and components and keep any tools and small parts in a small box or zipped bag. If you’re shipping using a cardboard box, pay particular attention to any areas where your bike meets the case and add an extra layer of padding.
When you’re ready to roll, print off your shipping labels and secure to the side of the packing case with strong tape. You’re good to go and can be confident that your bike will arrive at your destination safely.
How does a shipping service work?
At Luggage Mule we can ship your bike around the world, from Europe to Asia and from North America to Australia. Depending on your destination your bike could take anywhere from a few days to a week to arrive, but because we confirm an arrival date, you can rest easy in the knowledge that your bike is on its way.
Once it’s in its case and labelled with your destination, our courier will arrive for collection. And it’s the same process for the return trip; just have your bike boxed up, labelled and ready for collection by our bike courier service by 8am on the day of departure.
But can I afford it?
Using our bike shipping service really is an affordable luxury, because we use a special economy rate to save you as much money as possible. We can give you an instant online quote for shipping your bike anywhere in the world, so why not add your luggage too and make your next trip hassle-free?