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
And a serrated long kitchen knife for cutting cardboard
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.
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
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)
Then the whole mess goes in a heavy garbage sack cocoon... this helps protect the frame from other things in the box...
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?)
Wheels get a insualtion block on the axle to keep them from rubbing on stuff or poking out the box
Screws either go back in the hole they came out of or in a zip lock bag that gets taped to a major part
Protect lights or breakables with extra padding
Put all the small parts in a small box inside the big box... keeps everything protected and from damaging another part
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
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
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!!
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!!
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
And a serrated long kitchen knife for cutting cardboard
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.
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
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)
Then the whole mess goes in a heavy garbage sack cocoon... this helps protect the frame from other things in the box...
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?)
Wheels get a insualtion block on the axle to keep them from rubbing on stuff or poking out the box
Screws either go back in the hole they came out of or in a zip lock bag that gets taped to a major part
Protect lights or breakables with extra padding
Put all the small parts in a small box inside the big box... keeps everything protected and from damaging another part
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
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
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!!
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!!
