Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 11:33:50 -0400 From: Jim Foreman Subject: Boxing your bike To: Touring List How do you box a bike? I've been asked this question so many times that I can almost give my speech verbatim. First of all, don't take your bike to the LBS and have them do it because when you get to where you are going, you will be as uninformed about what to do as you were in the beginning. Besides, the LBS isn't going to be there to box it for your return. It's like making chicken soup, first you need a chicken. First, in this case, you need a box that fits your bicycle. Bikes aren't all the same size. Remove the front wheel, turn the forks around if possible and let your bike rest on the fork tips. Measure the overall length and from the floor to the top of the seat tube. Do this as far ahead as possible to give your LBS time to find a box that will best fit your needs. With these measurements and a ruler, head for your LBS to get a proper size box. Also ask if he will save all the packing stuff that came on the bike he took out of the box and open it without cutting off the lid. While you are at it, see if he has an old quick release front hub and skewer. Never saw an LBS that didn't have a box full of them. You also need three toeclip straps. With hub and straps in hand, head for your local home improvement store to buy a 6' section of foam rubber pipe insulation with a 1" ID and TWO rolls of heavy duty carton strapping tape. Remember that practice makes perfect. It will take you at least an hour the first time or two but I can have my bike in or out of the box in ten minutes. Try to get in some practice boxings in before the real thing. Using a permanent ink, broad tip marking pen, write your name, address and phone number on the INSIDE of the box, just below the lid. If you have a business card, tape it to the inside of the lid. Then write your name, address and phone number on the outside of the box. Also, put destination phone and address on a piece of paper and tape it to the outside of the box like a shipping tag. I know a person who flew to Spain and his bike went on a different plane. When they couldn't figure out where it was to go there, they sent it back to his home. First you remove all bags, front rack if equipped, pump, tool kits and things like that. Remove the computer and put it in your pocket. Put the bike in the big/big gears. I know you don't ride like that but you box it that way. Remove the following items and put in a single pile: Front wheel skewer, water bottle cages, seat with post and pedals. Put one roll of the carton strapping tape in this pile. Put all screws back in the holes they came out of and tighten slightly. Cut sections of the pipe insultion long enough to cover the top tube, the down tube and the seat tube and split them lengthwise on one side (if they aren't already). Cut two more pieces to cover the fork legs and install that old front hub to hold them in place. You also need an old bath size towel. Turn cranks so the left one points forward. Place the front wheel on the left side of the frame with the tire just behind the downtube shifter lug. Work the left crank in between the spokes. When the tire is resting against the frame, use two of the toe straps to attach it to the down tube and the seat tube. Remove handlebars, with stem if you have to. Many later bikes have a clamp that allows you to leave the stem in place and just remove the bars. Now here's the tricky part. Find where the handlebars will fit the best. In some cases it's around the top tube and others it's behind the forks around the down tube. If the stem is on the handlebars, it will need to be loosened and turned out of the way. When the handlebars are in a comfortable place, attach them there with that last toeclip strap. There were some black plastic things that came in the box. One goes on the end of the rear skewer to protect the rear derailleur, another for the end of the front hub where it rests against the inside of the box and one to go into the top of the seat tube. You should be able to pick the bike up as a single unit and lower it into the box with the rear tire fitting into the folded cardboard guide in one end of the box. It may take some jiggling and moving things around a bit to get it to fit but if you got the proper size box, it will go. Once the bike is all the way into the box, put the saddle and post into the space on the right side of the rear wheel. Clean your hands on the old towel. Roll the pedals, bottle cages, front skewer and TOOLS TO REASSEMBLE THE BIKE, along with that other roll of tape in the towel, secure it with tape and shove it down beside the rear wheel on the other side from the saddle. That roll of tape? It's to use when you box the bike for the return trip. All other items that you want to pack with the bike should be rolled in a towel and secured with straping tape. There is usually room to put things like this between the forks and downtube. The main thing is that you want to have nothing small left to roam around in the box. They hate darkness and try to escape through the hand holes in the box. I've never found a space for the helmet in a standard bike box. Strap the lid shut using several strips of the carton strapping tape. You can have too few but you can't have too many. Get to the airport half an hour earlier than you would if not flying with your bike. if the gate ape says anything about letting air out of the tires, just say you knew to do that and have already done so. (It's not necessary but don't tell them that) Don't forget to pack your helmet, gloves and cycling shoes; someone always does.