How To Ship a Bike (Please read and contribute)

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
619
Reaction score
26
Location
Seattle
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ok first off this is not meant to be a lecture or a mandate, I just wanted to give a "newbie" an idea of what it takes to give a bike a fighting chance to make it across the country with UPS or FedEx trying to massh it to bits.. I also want people to share there tips and tricks. There are a lot of variables that go into shipping anything, the most important thing is to care and use the gray matter God gave you a bit. A few basics though.... Anything over 75lbs must be double boxed.. If its not and it is damaged the carrier will not honor the insurance. For that matter If you dont box it really well, don't bother with insurance, they wont pay it anyway. Use an appropriate box. Boxes are hard to come by and are not always perfect for you needs, but you can cut or change a box as needed... If you can get a stack of "fragile" "handle with care" or better yet "Glass" stickers to put on your bike boxes ... anything helps!!

Ok....

A few things will help... a good tape gun and Packing tape ( I like the 3" wide ) Strapping tape, A roll of shrink wrap

4321030812_4c1d9b8043.jpg


And a serrated long kitchen knife for cutting cardboard
4320298189_1dd6d2de3a.jpg




For a bike, the appropriate box is...... A Bike Box! Most bike shops save a few and will either sell or give them to you. If you cant find a bike box use the closest thing you can.
4321029032_2f5ef85d7c.jpg


So lets cut to the chase... I'll assume you can all tear down a bike :roll: :roll:
I will say that its my experience that the farther you take the bike down, the better it will fit in a box and the better the chance it will survive the trip..

after getting the bike broke down first thing I do is shrink wrap anything that needs extra protection, in this case this is a very pretty like new bike and I want to protect the tank and chaingaurd I make a point to wrap some around the chainstay prior to wadding up the chain and then wrap the chain up in its own little pouch of shrink wrap kind of floating between the chainstays

4321028644_5d3cb01f8b.jpg


For a tank bike I'll take a flat rate box, closed up one side and slit the bottom so it will slide down the down tube... using shrink wrap, not tape I'll secure it to the frame. Also you need to put something in between the rear drop outs, if something gets dropped or stacked on the box you dont want the frame to crush. I use pink insulation here but a chunk of wood or folded over cardboard is fine.. And shrink wrap to hold it (shrink wrap only sticks to itself, it does not leave residue or sticky gunk behind on the frame when you take it off)



4321029182_370dc7b149.jpg



4320295993_7a88372777.jpg


Then the whole mess goes in a heavy garbage sack cocoon... this helps protect the frame from other things in the box...

4321030610_e4abf6e740.jpg

All the individual parts get shrink wrap or folded in cardboard... Fenders get wrapped individually and then together This not only gives a protective layer, it keeps them from damaging something else as well (loose metal things bounching around in a box against a painted thing is bad bad bad mmm kay?)

4321028836_2ce927510b.jpg



4321030420_f48956917c.jpg



Wheels get a insualtion block on the axle to keep them from rubbing on stuff or poking out the box
4320296211_c128679e5e.jpg

Screws either go back in the hole they came out of or in a zip lock bag that gets taped to a major part
4320296719_c2f2c12e4e.jpg


4320296493_ff8654066c.jpg

Protect lights or breakables with extra padding
4321030270_40506a7cc6.jpg

Put all the small parts in a small box inside the big box... keeps everything protected and from damaging another part
4320297699_b65973d30f.jpg


When you put everything in the box.. Put one wheel in, then the frame/ other wheel in together with the axle between the seatstay and chainstay then all the other parts in where they fit

Use lots of tape, its cheap insurance... you don't want the box popping open half way to where its going...Strapping tape is important It is super strong and will hold the box together... If its heavy or big use several straps of strapping tape in each direction to reinforce the cardboard

4321031642_fa94937fa6.jpg

I dont have a computer where I box stuff so I weigh it, measure it and make sure I can tell what it is and who gets it... then i snap a pic with my camera phone so when I get home I can make up a label.. That way when I bring the label back I know it get it on the right box

Buy your self a can of cardboard colored spray paint and paint over any old labels especially bar codes, they can cause major mess ups during shipping... you can ruin a box by trying to remove labels, painting them is quick and easy
4320297909_797dc04385.jpg

4321031308_71024fe12e.jpg


Its a lot of work to do this..... I figure on 1-2 hours to get a bike ready to ship... I spent about 16 hours this weekend running down boxes and boxing stuff... If you are not willing to do a good job then dont offer to ship stuff or If you dont plan on packing something well say so in the for sale ad.... Many times I will say something like "crammed in a flat rate box" or "Stuffed in a box, no packaging" If I dont think the item warrants taking the time to do it right. Just make sure the person spending money is not surprised by what they get.. There is nothing worse that waiting two weeks to get a bike you have been dreaming about only to see it was tossed in a box carelessly and was destroyed in shipping!!


4321031838_cbcced06d8.jpg


There is no completely "safe" or perfect way to ship stuff... even the best protected stuff sometimes gets trashed... but you have to do what you can to protect it ok??
So you old timers share your tips and tricks... and you new guys and gals listen up!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Happy shipping!!
 
Wait a minute, I'm confused, I thought you were out of the bike business, something about being way too busy, bla bla bla....
Good to see your still around. Later Travis
 
hey tex did u get pee wee's bike fixed? i know he was talking about bringing it down to autorama in sacto ca. sorry to totally highjack the thread nice work packing that bike
 
Im Broke Travis.... Gotta sell some toys, I lost more money last year than I made in the last 5....

So what do you have to say about the subject of shipping bikes?
 
Larry, Nice writeup. My wife gets mad when her Saran Wrap disappears.

Gonna stick this in the How To Manual.
 
Larry, Great Job, Best I've seen. Sorry for the financial problems, hope things go better this year
 
I agree, good packaging is a must if you want a bike to survive as freight. I used to work for UPS. (ducks for cover :p ) When I loaded bikes on trailers at UPS they got loaded one of two ways. On the floor against the wall, stood on it's edge like it is supposed to be, or laying flat up on top of all the other parcels. If it's shipped on the floor, it will for sure have a lot of weight on top of it. Make sure there are no voids in the box that will collapse with weight on top of it. Much better it it's loaded laying flat on top with nothing laying on top of it. Instead of the wooden block between the stays I use a piece of all-thread and 4 nuts and washers. Costs more than a block of wood but makes the rear end impervious to crushing and won't move or fall out.

About your stranded nylon tape...all UPS counters seem to have different rules but my local UPS won't accept packages with stranded nylon tape. Only clear (or brown) packaging tape. I don't know why because the stranded nylon is really good stuff. Simple minds need lots of rules. Gary
 
When I ship a bike, I don't use a bike box. I use 1x12's to build a box frame. I then secure the frame and forks to the inside of the box frame using small blocks. Small parts get a box inside the box, and the wheels fit where they will. Once I am happy that everything is secure (I can pick up the box frame and shake it around without the bike shifting around) then I take some big sheets of cardboard and fill in the sides. I have shipped a couple bikes this way and it cost about $20 for the materials and $30 for the actual shipping.
 
udallcustombikes said:
When I ship a bike, I don't use a bike box. I use 1x12's to build a box frame. I then secure the frame and forks to the inside of the box frame using small blocks. Small parts get a box inside the box, and the wheels fit where they will. Once I am happy that everything is secure (I can pick up the box frame and shake it around without the bike shifting around) then I take some big sheets of cardboard and fill in the sides. I have shipped a couple bikes this way and it cost about $20 for the materials and $30 for the actual shipping.


I like it, I have shipped motorcycles and other machinery in basically the same way....
 
Another good technique is to use foam pipe insulators and zip ties from Home Depot for the frame.

I've had the best results though taking sheets of cardboard and wedging them in between parts in the bike box and strapping it all together with zip ties.

The main concern is that nothing can rub together while in the bike box and that whatever is in the bike box is one solid mass that doesn't move at all when you shake the box.
 
Larry you pretty much covered all the key areas and I really didn't have much to add other than possibly one thing I do especially when flying with a bike is to wrap small parts in bubble wrap, then shrink wrap and then if you can fit them inside the spokes of the wheels. That keeps them from shifting and gives the wheels a bit more strength. Also don't forget to deflate the tires before a flight, altitude does weird things to tires and rubber that are under pressure. Other than that I think you covered it really well.

On a different note I just bought myself a new Miller Dynasty 350 yesterday and I can't wait to make something soon! Larry I'm sorry for your financial situation, I hope things turn around for you! Hey you know you could always start teaching what you know...for a price.

Later Travis
 
IronSpadeCycles said:
Hey you know you could always start teaching what you know...for a price.

Later Travis

Thats a scary thought Travis.... I think the world is better off with only one person knowing what I know...

Nor do I think anyone in there right mind would pay me to screw them all up like that :mrgreen:
 
I shipped one of my Spaceliners to NJ via Fed Ex and from there it is off to Poland via a cargo ship. Thats right POLAND (the country). I agree with what everyone is saying about being careful to pack it properly. But ONE thing that is an absolute MUST. You HAVE to be SURE that the bike is secured properkly INSIDE the box because all of the packaging you do will go to total SH** if the bike shifts around inside the box. It will eventually move around enough to cause some type of damge! Ok,Ill get off my soapbox now. Ill get some pictures of the bike and the box once it arrives in Poland.
 
UUGGGG!!!! One more thing.... take pictures of things prior to shipping them... This bike and its brother both got shipped to the same location.. both in bike boxes.... UPS is now trying to back bill me for an additional $150 ( original shipping cost $52) because they say the boxes where oversize... they where just as big as the measurements I put in the shipping software and a standard bike box... I dont expect to win this fight but at least I have pictures of the boxes prior to shipping...
 
I just got the Monark Super Deluxe I bought from Larry, and I must say that spot-on packing really makes a difference! I've always shipped bikes FedEx, they weren't as picky if the sides of the box pooched out a little. -Adam
 
I cant believe it but UPS backed down and said they would refund the extra money they took!
 
I recently started sourcing free packing paper from the local newspaper. They have free "end rolls" of blank paper, the rolls are about 4 feet tall and have anywhere from 20 - 80 feet of paper left on them. Not enough to be useful for printing newspapers, but perfect for packing bike boxes. It's a lot of paper and it's nice and compact. And you can fill up all the extra spaces in the shipping box and keep stuff from shifting around.

Cheers, Geoff
 
Back
Top