It appears that the People's Republic of France have other ideas and make it very difficult if not practically unrealistic to do so. Fed Ex wanted $900 one way to ship the bike and could not even give me a guaranteed delivery date! Also the French taxman would charge me 22% duty if I shipped my own bike to myself. Crazy!! After discussions with several companies that specialize in shipping bikes around the world, the consensus was don't do it, take it with you.
That prompted me to start researching bike travel cases. Obviously I wanted something that would withstand the brutality of airport baggage handlers and protect my bike in transit. Also I wanted something that was fairly lightweight and would fold down to a compact size when not in use.
My research led me to the Biknd Helium Travel Case which I purchased from the pleasant folks at realcyclist.com The package arrived quickly via UPS and after unpacking the box, I was looking at a package about the size of a golf bag.
The attraction of the case is the air bladder that you pump up with the included pump. This bladder helps give the case structure and of course provides a vital barrier between your bike and the outside world. To load up your bike, you must first remove the wheels, pedals, seat/seatpost and rear derailleur. You must also remove your handlebars and secure them to the front forks. The base of the bag is made of rigid plastic with a metal plate bolted to it. The front forks bolt directly to this plate via a quick release skewer. The rear triangle rests on a foam pad and is secured to the bag with a strap. Once bolted in place, the frame looks like this.
The case can accommodates two sets of wheels which is very useful if you travel with both race and training wheels and the wheels attach to the case with some rigid hubs. The main concern I have is that the air bladder is between the wheels and the frame which means that the wheels could be exposed to damage from something hitting the outside of the case. User reviews say it's not an issue, we'll see.
After loading up the bike and the wheels, there is still plenty of space to stow helmets, shoes, clothes etc. Then its a simple job to zip up the case and pump up the bladder. The final package looks like this.
The case rolls easily on four wheels the front two of which rotate for easy maneuverability. one area that could use a lot of improvement is that there are very few handholds. Really how difficult would it be to sew in some straps? Other than that I really like the bag and hope it will get my bike to France in one piece. More anon.
UPDATE: Arrived in France today and I'm happy to report that the Biknd did it's job and my bike arrived safely in one piece. Still not happy about the lack on grab handles but pleased with the performance.
Did the airline count it as regular luggage or did you have to pay the special bike fee?
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