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Travelling with bikesJust wondering if any of u lot flew with ur bikes...
if so did you have to bleed your breaks?
who you travel with? did ur bike count as extra luggage that u pay for or what was the deal?
oh yeh how did they worry bout the dimensions of a bike bag (H+W+L) being over 62in(BA size):S
cheers:)[/u]
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Ben03
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Good questions! Am probably going to fly with me bike for the first time this year so need to know this kinda stuff as well 
I know you have to let air out of shocks etc but not sure about brakes?
Have heard KLM are best to fly with bikes as a lot of airlines have all sorts of hidden charges involed that you find out about on the spot 
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Syren Sistair
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I've flow on various carriers the past few years and have experienced great to bad service... you don't need to worry about letting stuff out of your brakes or shocks, the only thing you have to let out is the air in your tyres. I think Easyjet went nuts one day a year or so ago and said that all fluid must be bled before transport because they will burst and go all over the cargo hold. Completely rubbish, so they backtracked and everything is ok now... so what carriers...
I've flown with Easyjet to Geneva a couple of times. You have to pay extra to carry your bike in a bag (which needs to be well padded with lagging and bubblewrap), it's something like 15 pounds each way, but this only increases your max weight a bit, and anything over 21(?)kg you have to pay, something like £6 per extra kg. Some check ins are more lenient than others, e.g. we got away with carrying overweight luggage at gatwick flying out but then got stung at around £120 when we got back (we were out for 2 weeks and as I'm a girl I over packed - or so the bf said!). This only happened for one of the two trips I have done to Geneva, so it's all about luck.
I've also flown AustriaAir when I went to Leogang 2 summers ago. I booked online and it said that you had to pay extra for the bikes but you pay when you check in. Amazingly they never battered an eyelid when we checked in with bikes, they just told us where to go and we snuck off without paying for anything. This happened on the way back also - saving us £70!
The main restriction for all airlines is that no piece of luggage, whether it's hold or bike hold can exceed 32kg - that's the standard max weight for anything, above that it's classed as freight apparently.
Airlines these days are operating all sorts of rules for bike carriage - BA who have recently updated their rules now state the size of the bike bag which apparently makes it impossible to take a bike because the size limit is so small. They have also started charging and putting a stupid 21kg weight restriction on (don't quote me on that exact figure tho).They've also banned surfboards which has made a lot of surfers mad. They say that it's because of the new baggage system at T5 Heathrow but it's just an excuse.
The only airline that doesn't seem to mind is FlyZoom who only require that the bike is packed away, they don't charge and nor do they put any weight restrictions on.
Oh and don't fly Ryanair.
And also bear in mind that your insurance will cover your bike in transit as airlines often make you sign a temporary something clause which exempts them from liability if your bike gets damaged in transit.
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Ben03
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Helpfull stuff 
Would getting a cardboard bike box from a bike shop avoid some charges. (get a small box and take the whole bike apart)? Just wondered if they'd class it as different luggage.
Also is Leogang worth a trip? Have been thinking about that one for a while now.
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Syren Sistair
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I don't think it matters if it is a bike bag or bike box, they still see it as extra carriage. So putting it in a box or a bag is dependent if you want to spend money on a bag or nothing on a box! The DHB bags are good (the ones with wheels) and rated best in MBR not so long ago.
Leogang is cool, the bike park is getting better - have you seen my youtube vid? It's worth a trip, but if you're driving you should also spend time in Saalbach which is on the other side of the mountain - not the easiest to trek over to, so I would stay in Leogang for a few nights, then on to Saalbach for the rest. There are loads of other cool trails around but you need a car to access them. Let me know if you need more info as I know a few good places to stay in the Leogang
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D
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cheers for that:)
jim rang up the other day and found out that BA don't mind bikes as long as theyre in a standard bike bag, the 62 inches that are on the site are for the sport equipment:S confusing stupid site:)
but i dont think a cardboard box wud make any differnce could jsut be more hassle and less protection.
wheres leotang?
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Syren Sistair
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It's in the Salzburg area, about a 1hr 30mins drive from Salzburg airport.
I'd be careful about BA... you just don't know what check in personel are like and often pull the rules dependent on what side of the bed they have got out on! It's really confusing...
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Dango
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I've only ever flown with BA, never been charged extra for my bike (demo 8 and not a light build), have used a bag but probably a box is better and free compared to £50- £100 to buy a bag.
Don't fly Easyjet, lots of horror stories about extra costs for bikes.
Make sure you remove the discs from the wheels, and cover the stanchions with pipe lagging, put the packer things between the pads, or cable tie both pads to the caliper, I stick a piece of wood between the drop outs and and put a spare QR in to hold it in place, so that the back end stays stiff and wont get damaged
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Syren Sistair
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yeh, i agree... we even fashioned some cardboard to fit into the stanchions and rear drop outs - custom fitted snuggness what what...
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