So me and the wife and heading out to Girona for a 5 weeks in September. I’m really not wanting to travel with my bike due to the route we’re taking (visiting friends etc and several different airports). So I’ve been looking at local bike hire, all of which is expensive for me wanting a high end bike for that period of time.
So I’m looking at the option of a an actual delivery service and them picking up my bike and dropping it off at my digs in Spain. I’m wondering if anyone on here has any experience/stories/advice on using such a thing?
He mentioned airports so I guess they are going by plane.
Personally I wouldn’t do it. Since the UK is outside EU you possibly face VAT and customs duty charges. The package can get lost or stolen if it’s there before you arrive and imho it’s just not worth the hassle.
If you don’t want to bring your bike to several itineraries (which I totally understand) just suck it up and pay for the rental fee. It’s so not worth it to save a few bucks compared to the headache of a lost/stolen bike or dealing with customs on stuff that’s already yours. Been there done that from outside EU (Switzerland). It’s just not worth your nerves imho.
Yeah,it’s multiple flights and we’re unsure about when we’re heading back, likely to extend our trip. Just wondering if someone has ever done this and what the outcome was.
My latest experience with shipping/ordering bikes from abroad was that the box ended up somewhere in a warehouse to wait for the next plane. Because the box was so big and the USPS doesn’t have their own planes the bike spent two months waiting for the next plane. USPS then lost the bike/box and I eventually got a refund. Don’t know the rest of the story and I hope the seller gets their bike back…
0/10 wouldn’t recommend sending your bike across borders.
In that case, I’d either get a proper bike case or a large enough bike box. The latter is better as it requires less disassembly.
Pro tip (from literal pros I met two weeks ago): strap a pair of wheels on the bottom of your bike box and permanently affix straps to it. That makes a huge difference. When I saw that (after having hauled a bike bike box without wheels two days earlier), I immediately thought
I did a trip earlier this summer in Provence, France, and due to the challenges of trying to figure out how to get one of my bikes there, I opted to rent one and evaluate that option. Obviously the advantage of this is that you don’t have to worry about potentially losing or damaging your bike.
However the disadvantages were non trivial in my opinion:
Had to find a high end bike shop that would rent something comparable.
Expense - higher end bike rental 60+ euros a day
Lack of ideal geometry and fit - shorter cranks, no power meter, etc.
All that said, the riding was fantastic and offset the above issues, and I greatly enjoyed the trip. Given the expense and logistics of renting a higher end bike I will opt to ship or travel with mine next time.
Due to the Brexit-induced difficulties, I’d do a mixed solution. Take the bike with you to wherever you go first in the EU. Then post it to Girona, or wherever, within the EU. Then, post it to where your last stop is in the EU, and take it back on the plane with you to the UK.
Another idea - due to the amount of cyclists that spend time in Girona, I wonder if there is a decent second hand market for road bikes. If you’d have the cash (or a good credit card), you could see if you could buy a used bike, and sell it again at the end of the trip? It shouldn’t really lose much value.
