Moving house with a bike

[Allydoug]

Hi, Does any one have any good advice on how to move to the continent with a bike. My brother in september will have finished school and plans to work in Germany for a year. He plans on getting the Megabus from Edinburgh to Colonge (köln) and get the train from there to the south West (Stutgart area). He speaks fluent German so that isn't a problem but I was just wondering if you can post a bike, bring it on the ferry or even the Bus?
Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.
Allydoug

[[XAP]Bob]

If in doubt make it someone else's problem (post it)

Although that might cost quite a bit...

Ride over instead of all that public transport

[Allydoug]

You don't by any chance know how best to post it?

[Pyranha]

Bikes are regularly sent by post - plenty are sold by mail order. And bike shops unwrap delivered bikes and sell them unboxed. Just go into a bike shop and ask if they will give you a box; pack the bike in the box and contact your favourite courier company.

If he's happy with Megabus, it might be worth keeping an eye on the website as they're expanding services within Germany (as well as other European countries)

[Zanda]

It looks like this is choice between (a) taking a bike on a bus versus (b) dismantling it yourself, packing it into a box and mailing it to an address where you can take delivery of it a few days later. A fully assembled, unpackaged bike is fragile by definition.

[Tangled Metal]

AFAIK bike companies supply the bike almost made up in those boxes so all the purchaser needs to do is add pedals, adjust seat and turn the handlebars round to make sure they are straight. The gears, brakes, etc are set up ready to go.

If you just follow the reverse procedure, i.e. turn the bars, remove pedals, lower seat, etc then the bike should go in and reach the end destination in a reasonable state to get riding as quicjkly as your bike maintenance skills allow.

[Vorpal]

Bikes will usually go on ferries and buses. The Bus company may require that it be packed in a box or bag. He should probably check with the relevant companies.

When I last moved house, I began the journey by plane. I initially brought my bike and a suitcase. the hardest part was the last few kilometres, as I had to find a taxi that would take my bike to my temporary housing.

There packing instructions for travelling with a bike linked to this thread viewtopic.php?f=16&t=67410

Packing a bike for shipping will be similar, except the front wheel (and prehaps the rear) definitely has to be removed, and a dummy axle fitted into the forks to prevent damage.