Shipping bikes abroad (to Australia)

[Purko]

My girlfriend and I are going to be spending 6 months in Tasmania starting next month and we are keen to have bikes with us.

Does anyone know the options for shipping bikes to Australia (Tas), or if it'll cost so much that we might as well just buy bikes there?

Thank you in advance

[LollyKat]

We looked into sending a bike frame to Australia and Parcelflight seemed to be the cheapest. The parcel size is limited: "Max weight 20 kg , Max size 100 x 70 x 50 cm , Max girth 300 cm". All right for a frame and the rest of the bits could perhaps go as hold luggage?

Some manufacturers here, e.g. Thorn, Kinetics, export bikes all over the world - perhaps contact them and see how they do it? You haven't left yourselves a great deal of time.

[rjb]

It may be worth considering buying new and shipping back to the uk later. This is a nice specialist touring bike builder. The Australian version of a thorn. Mine was ridden from Aus to the uk.


https://viventebikes.com/

[LollyKat]

It may be worth considering buying new and shipping back to the uk later.

Sounds like a good idea. Would there be import duties though?

[simonhill]

Are you going direct and by air?

If so you can take your bike as luggage. Plenty of airlines give 30 kgs of luggage plus carry on. A bike in a cardboard box weighs between 15 and 20 kgs.

If you have some stuff that is over this limit, you could consider posting that. A smaller bundle of stuff will be relatively cheap compared to a whole bike.

Tassy is a pretty good place to cycle, well worth having a bike with you. It is a bit (lot?) more expensive than the mainland, so if thinking of buying anything, Melbourne would almost certainly be cheaper and have better choice.

Flying is the cheapest way to get to the mainland. The ferry is much more expensive although easier if you have a bike.

Enjoy.

Edit: Oz is not the cheapest for buying stuff and with the awful state of the £ at the moment, buying a bike will probably be very expensive for you uot there. I know Aussies who buy overseas by 'mail order', so this could be an option and would solve the delivery problem.

[Postboxer]

How special/bespoke are your bikes? How much cycling do you plan on doing?

I think if I were doing it I'd be tempted just to pick up a bike off ebay, then sell it at the end of the trip, you could start looking on ebay now and have something ready to be collected when you arrive or soon after.

It's only 6 months then you'd have the cost of shipping them back too, if you come back and don't choose to stay.

[simonhill]

First time poster, hasn't come back with any extra info. I wonder if they have even read our replies?

[dolsonlelan]

Depends on how much is the shipment. If you plan to ship your bike to Australia you may take your bike on the plane, though especially when it comes to the cheap airlines it usually means paying additional fees. I suggest https://aucustomsclearance.com.au/ customs broker in Perth to help you with your taxes together with your other shipment and also it is because it's that cheap. Some transport providers can secure your bike for you if other mention above are in your listing.

[simonhill]

Here is OK to ask, but often a new post is better as it will have a pertinent title.

However....we get regular posts asking about transporting bikes abroad. To date I have yet to see any economical way of doing it, apart from taking as luggage with you on a flight. I've taken my bike to Oz a few times on a plane with me for free.

You can use an international courier company, but they are very expensive because they use linear measurement l+h+w and a bike is big. If you can have it completely stripped it would be cheaper as the frame will be the largest item. You may even be able to use standard postal service.

Some people have pimped in on a container going the right way, but that is very pot luck.

One thought is that you could try asking someone like Thorn (SJS Cycles). They ship world wide and may have some thoughts on getting returns from Oz. Also you could try asking a good bike shop in Oz to see if they have any arrangements for shipping that you could use.

[Mike_Ayling]

We looked into sending a bike frame to Australia and Parcelflight seemed to be the cheapest. The parcel size is limited: "Max weight 20 kg , Max size 100 x 70 x 50 cm , Max girth 300 cm". All right for a frame and the rest of the bits could perhaps go as hold luggage?

Some manufacturers here, e.g. Thorn, Kinetics, export bikes all over the world - perhaps contact them and see how they do it? You haven't left yourselves a great deal of time.

I have bought a Thorn tandem and a Thorn Mercury for delivery to Australia and freight was eye watering.
Why don't you want to bring the bikes with you on your flights?
There should be heaps of on line videos showing how to pack a bike for air travel

Mike

[simonhill]

I read it as the OP is in the UK and his bike in Oz.

Edit: Didn't mean original OP, but poster above who asked a new question. In my reply above, I did say this could confuse.

[eileithyia]

I think I would fly with bike and post some clothing ahead.... might be cheaper, or fly with bike and take minimal clothing... clothes can be bought once out there. Or just buy a bike once there.

[simonhill]

NBThis thread has done a reverse. New poster (5 up) wants bike Oz to UK, with him/her in UK.

[LollyKat]

We looked into sending a bike frame to Australia...

I have bought a Thorn tandem and a Thorn Mercury for delivery to Australia and freight was eye watering.
Why don't you want to bring the bikes with you on your flights?

Just to set the record straight, this was our son's bike which we sent out to him after he obtained settled status in Australia.