[CR]Sending a bike in a standard cardboard box,- Size, cost, & packing

(Example: Production Builders:Cinelli)

From: "Mr Joe McKishen" <mckishen1@verizon.net>
To: "e a" <moschika@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 06:40:03 -0500
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Sending a bike in a standard cardboard box,- Size, cost, & packing

I ship quite a few bikes from here every year, and up until the latest FedEx price increase, the most any had been from NJ to CA has been $35, with the new rates, it's gone up to $43.34. The largest bike box I can send and stay within that rate is 55x7x30" with a max weight of 50 pounds. This rate runs the same for just about anything from a wheelset to a complete bike. The overall size is what affects the cost the most, weight has little bearing on the total. So far, I have not had a bike that I couldn't ship coast to coast for under $50, excluding tandems and those with an exceptionally tall frame. In those cases, it's often cost effective to further disassemble the bike to be able to make a more compact package. I had shipped a few very large frame bikes overseas, and in order to get the package down to the required size, I had to remove the crankset, both wheels, bars, and saddle, and I used two small bike boxes, one for the frame, one for the wheels and other parts, and bound the two boxes together as one, which kept me under the max length required.

The first time I had to ship a bike, I hated the packing mess, but once you figure out the system, and what dimensions you have to stay within, it's not all that bad, just remember, lots of padding, lots, of tape, weight isn't a factor when using FedEx, UPS, or DHL, but it is with the Post Office. When I pack a bike, I assume the worst when I comes to handling, keep in mind that it will pass though many hands, with many different attitudes on it's way. While I have never had a problem with FedEx, I still assume that the box may get tossed about a bit. I usually go to the local appliance store to get some of those large chunks of white Styrofoam to cut and place around the frame to make the box more crush resistant. Any place that sells large appliances should have plenty of this foam. If I don't have foam, I place several cardboard tubes crossways in the box. I also double or triple any area that may punch through the box, like near the rear axle, tip of the fork, or the seat post area of at the top. The goal is to be sure the bike cannot move within the box, nor punch through the box if dropped or rough handled. The job of the packing is to absorb any impact and thus protect the contents.

For example, I had a UPS delivery the other day, and while the driver was digging around in the truck looking for all 4 of my packages, he was standing on two bike boxes which were laying on their sides in the aisle of the truck, so I could imagine what they were going to look like when they arrived where ever they were headed. The entire truck looked like it was loaded with a funnel from the top, no order, no stacking method, just tossed in any which way. I had 4 boxes, he found each of them at opposite corners of the truck. The driver was irate, in a hurry, and had no regard as to the condition of any of the boxes he was trampling on. With their track record here, I was surprised that the driver had even backed up to the door, usually the packages just get tossed out the door. I can half understand the drivers situation, if they would load the truck with some regard to the route and the order in which packages will have to be unloaded, the driver wouldn't have nearly as much aggravation. So far with FedEx, I have been lucky, the local drivers are all careful, very polite, and seem very organized.

Joe McKishen
Vineland, NJ
USA