Shipping a bike: a guide to safe shipping

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How to ship a bike ? Our offers and advice

Do you sell bikes or need to ship one for whatever reason? We explain how to do it, to benefit from a delivery service at home or in a relay point. Your parcel shipping explained to ship your bike :

How to pack a bike for shipping?

Before shipping your bike, the packaging is essential, since before completing the shipping information in our comparator, you must weigh and measure your goods once they are packed and ready to ship. It is the dimensions and weight of your packaged goods that you must enter in our comparator in order not to make a mistake and avoid additional billing from shipping companies.

NB: On average, a bike weighs 44lbs depending on the construction materials, and can measure up to 79 inches in length and about 39 inches height. These are "large" or "bulky" packages, so to get the best price we advise you to ship your bike disassembled, you will have access to more solutions to transport your bike.

 

You can choose not to disassemble your bike for shipping, but you may not have access to all carrier offers because it will be considered a large package. Even if you decide not to disassemble your bike, you can still ship it, but not all of our carriers will handle large parcels.

Alternatively, you can choose to disassemble your bike to make it more transportable and have more choice of transporters who can take it. You can disassemble the rear wheel, remove the front wheel, deflate them a little (to save some space), the bike frame, remove the handlebars, lower the saddle to the maximum, and remove the pedals.

Next, you will need to protect each item individually to prevent the pieces from colliding during shipping.

Be sure to fill in the empty spaces in your bicycle shipping boxes with bubble wrap, Styrofoam or any other type of cushioning material.

NB: we strongly recommend to our users to pack their bikes in a rigid packaging with flat and regular shapes in order to avoid any problem during the transport of your goods. 

You can find suitable packaging from companies that specialize in bicycles shipping boxes, such as cardboard boxes or rigid crates, and then seal them with tape.

Best practices for packing your bike:

Do’s :

bicycle shipping box
bicycle shipping box

Don't :

ship a box

It’s a protective cover for bicycles. Please note that it is possible that the courier will pick up your parcel and transport it anyway. However, even if the courier picks up your bike, you are exposed to an additional invoice because of the type of packaging. Not only is there a risk that our bike will be damaged during transport, but also an additional invoice may be issued by the carrier for "improper packaging": 

Very often the parcels that are subject to re-invoicing for non-compliant packaging are : 

  • Flexible, soft, non-rigid packaging
  • Non-rigid suitcases 
  • Bags used as containers and not as contents (i.e. the bag is used as a packaging for the package)
  • Packages that are too full and deform the package (convex walls, curved or bulging cardboard) 
  • Cylindrical, conical or curved packages: which do not pass on the automated lines because of their shape, and thus require additional handling

How much does it cost to ship a bike?

  15kg
38x26x10 inches
20kg
26x31x18 inches
Domestic 25,68€ 34,23€
Europe 40,59€ 69,01€
International 82,14€ 104,16€

 

Which carrier to deliver a bike?

For "small" bikes whose weight does not exceed 44 lbs you can ship with the carriers:

  • DPD
    • Maximum weight: 66 lbs
    • Maximum dimensions: length must be less than 118 inches
  • Colissimo 
    • Maximum weight: 66 lbs
    • Maximum dimensions: the largest side (L) must be less than 39 inches

For bicycles the wheels, saddle, pedals etc. have not been disassembled. Some of our transporters have the capacity to take them in charge even if we strongly recommend you to disassemble them for shipping in the best conditions. 

  • TNT
    • Maximum dimensions: length 94 x width 47 x height 71 inches
    • Maximum package weight: 154 lbs per package
  • FedEx
    • Maximum dimensions: 118 inches x 70 inches, maximum length and circumference 300 inches
    • Maximum package weight: 150 lbs per package
  • DHL 
    • Maximum dimensions: length 39 x width 47 x height 70 inches
    • Maximum package weight: 154 lbs per parcels

The guidelines for a quick delivery of your bike

  • Provide the most accurate information possible to ensure smooth delivery (give exact dimensions and weight).
  • Indicate the contents of the package as "Personal Effects" or "Goods" depending on its nature
  • Use rigid packaging with flat surfaces

Make sure to attach the shipping bill as well as the pro-forma invoices for shipments outside the European Union (See also: Customs, taxes and documents to provide)