Flying with tools

[John Thurston]

After having some nice tools appropriated by the TSA a couple of decades ago, I've avoided carrying anything which I wasn't willing to throw away. Can anyone describe their experience trying to fly

• in 2026
• within the USA
• with small bicycle tools in your carry-on bag

I'm talking about a compact folding tool, or a set of L-handle hex keys. Not cable cutters, long screwdrivers, or combination wrenches.

-- 
John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

[Walter Lapchynski]

Last time I flew, I kept my PNW Pebble in the case with the bike with the rest of my tools. Actually in a frame bag. No problems. I can’t see any reason to carry it in my carry on. 

Walter Lapchynski
Sales Consultant | Information Services Assistant
Green Gear Cycling dba Bike Friday
direct line +1 541-234-5126

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[John Thurston]

I expect to be making a round-trip flight by air, with the bicycle going only one-way.

I'm trying to figure out . . Will I be able to bring my tools home? Will they be liberated by the TSA if I try? Must I leave them with the bicycle?

John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

[Walter Lapchynski]

Well you only need them for the bike, right? Leave them with the bike. 

Walter Lapchynski
Sales Consultant | Information Services Assistant
Green Gear Cycling dba Bike Friday
direct line +1 541-234-5126

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[Roberta]

John,

It’s not unusual for me to send part of what typically would go in my suitcase back home through the mail. I do this to save space and also lighten up my suitcase.   If you’re flying within the United States, you could pop your tools into one of the small prepaid post office envelopes or boxes. One of the two medium sized boxes, which would be way too big for just tools, has self sticking adhesive on the ends so you don’t have to worry about procuring packing tape.

Roberta

Philadelphia

[robert clark]

I have taken my big wheel touring bikes primarily across the pond   to Amsterdam AMS or,   LHR> Dublin

 tools in the pannier in checked luggage, Not a  carry on..

Last domestic trip was to father's funeral {2001} PDX>SFO I  put a clothing stuffed duffle bag on a back pack frame

 as I was Multi Mode to and from the airport on both ends  so back pack helped on busses , etc.

 it went in the cargo hold too ...  

[caveray]

Having flown worldwide with many folding bikes (including 2 Bike Fridays) in suitcases and have worked at an International Airport (PHL) for many years I almost always put the toolkits in the suitcase but something like the folding CrankBrothers M-19 can be carried on since it has no sharp blades and doesn't exceed the width of your hand. I have also carried a Topeak folding tool in hand luggage after removing the knife blade from the set, an easy operation. If you keep the tools small but workable size with no sharp blades you can get past TSA easily. If an inspector doesn't agree, ask for a supervisor to consult with. If you follow the TSA rules there is almost always no trouble getting by. 

"TSA generally prohibits most sharp objects in carry-on bags, requiring them to be in checked luggage, properly sheathed or wrapped

. Approved exceptions for carry-on include scissors under 4 inches (from the pivot point), disposable razors/cartridges, tweezers, nail clippers, and small, specialized tools under 7 inches"

Best

Ray Scheinfeld

Philadelphia

[Larry Newman]

While not specific to John’s question, many of us fly for international trips. To meet the weight limits, I often have to place some items in my carry-on to keep the bike case under the 50# limit. 

Last April, when checking in at Narita, Tokyo, security  confiscated my headset wrench (originally supplied by Bike Friday) and the simple allen wrench. Their rule was length, 150 mm. Nothing to do with being sharp. 

Hence, while TSA was OK, security rules vary so be careful. I have checked parts of my trailer undercarriage and perhaps on 12” trailer wheel in my carry-on without trouble, but one never knows.

-- 

Larry,

PR and (formerly a NWT, Air Friday, Tandem Tuesday, and Pocket Sport)

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[Nina Sabghir CNM]

Another option would be to get an inexpensive  (oxymoron?) multi-tool and leave it with the bike.  I returned from a trip a few years ago with $500 worth of bicycle, tools and accessories missing. Despite all my efforts, the so-called flight insurance never reimbursed me. 

Nina Sabghir

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From: y...@bikefriday.com <y...@bikefriday.com> on behalf of Larry Newman <lnewm...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2026 10:02 AM
To: Bike Friday Yak! <y...@bikefriday.com>; John Thurston <y...@thurstons.us>
Cc: caveray <era...@bellatlantic.net>
Subject: Re: [yak] Flying with tools

 

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[Walter Lapchynski]

In all the times I've travelled, I've never lost anything except for a HydroFlask. I'd be devastated without my bike. Given that flight insurance didn't do the trick to cover your loss (which I'm frankly shocked and appalled about), what about a different approach: using a tracker to take responsibility for location yourself? Anyone have any experience with AirTags or anything of the sort? 

I'm actually a little dubious about AirTags themselves since they aren't actual GPS devices but instead use the network of Apple devices to maintain location. There's so many of them, it's probably a non-issue, but I could see it being problematic where network (cell, wifi) connectivity doesn't exist. Still, I understand you can set them to lost which will force more devices to update the location more regularly or something of the sort. 

A long time ago, I ordered a development board to create a bike mounted GPS tracker, but never got around to doing the actual project. The problem with the thing is that it was kind of big and bulky. I rather prefer the form factor of modern production devices like the AirTag because it's so much easier to be stealthy.

If anyone's had any actual experience, especially if it allowed them to recover their otherwise lost bike (or anything else, for that matter), I'd love to hear it.

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[John Thurston]

Yep . . though my experience is not with Apple-branded tags.

I stuff one in the saddle-bag, which then travels in the suitcase with
the bike. As Walter points out, these tags are low-power bluetooth (not
native GPS) which rely on their signal being picked up and relayed by
nearby Apple devices. They are then reported in the "Find My" app on
your own Apple device. In my experience in the USA, Apple devices are
common enough that the little tags are seen often enough for the
location information to be useful. I can see my bicycle suitcase being
moved around the airport (and tarmac). The information will be useful if
it stops moving, or if my bicycle does not appear at its destination.
I'll be able to talk my airline people and say, "The tag is in Seattle
right now. I'm in Boston. Please look in Seattle for my suitcase."

By putting the tag in the saddle bag, it stays with the bike while in
use. It won't help me if the bike is stolen (because likely the second
thing anyone will do is empty the saddle bag of valuables and throw it
on the ground). But it's something.

It is my experience that in South America, the similar tag from Samsung
(seen and relayed by Android devices) was found and updated more often
than the Apple tag. But this experience is a couple of years old, and is
of dubious value.

I'm using 'MiLi' tags rather than Apple. These tags are cheaper, have an
integrated hang loop, are not weather resistant, have shorter battery
life, and lack the near-by location ability of the Apple tags. But, my
Apple devices can't utilize the near-by location ability of the more
expensive tags, and I can buy three cheap tags for the price of one
Apple tag . . so here I am.

John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

[Nina Sabghir CNM]

True story re AirTags. Several years ago we flew to Israel with a flight change in Türkiye.  All our rolling duffle bags arrived with one exception. We filed all the appropriate papers and made daily calls to Turkish Airlines. As per the AirTag, the bag was still in Türkiye. Then about 2 1/5 days later there is an update. The bag is in Vancouver! I sent a screenshot showing the location in the airport and a picture of the bag to Turkish Airlines. Two days later, we finally had our bag. Lucky for us it was a new bag my son picked out at work (TJMaxx) and he had sent us a picture asking if it was a good choice. So we had that. But really. Vancouver?

Nina Sabghir

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From: y...@bikefriday.com <y...@bikefriday.com> on behalf of John Thurston <y...@thurstons.us>
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2026 3:21 PM

To: Bike Friday Yak! <y...@bikefriday.com>

Subject: Re: [yak] Flying with tools

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[Walter Lapchynski]

Did you have the AirTag set in lost mode?

Walter Lapchynski
Sales Consultant | Information Services Assistant
Green Gear Cycling dba Bike Friday
direct line +1 541-234-5126

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikefriday.com/d/msgid/yak/BN8PR16MB28348183CD3DF04DF21208F1AD5DA%40BN8PR16MB2834.namprd16.prod.outlook.com.

[Larry Tjeltveit]

Another true story re:  Air Tags. Several years ago, we landed at Brussels Airport and went to the luggage carousels looking for our bags. The airport there was very short staffed, and there was no indication on which of the carousels our luggage was expected. We used the Find My app to attempt to find them. Very happily, they were immediately behind us; without the Air Tags, we're not sure how long it would have taken us to find our luggage. 

Larry Tjeltveit

PS How do I initiate a message to this group? My family has two Bike Friday Family Tandems that we will be putting on the market soon via this group.

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[Andrew L]

It definitely...depends...

I once (pre-9/11 even) had your bog-stock Craftsman 15mm combination wrench (for pedals) in my carry-on, and TSA would not allow it. This person's reading of the rules was "NO tools".

What I really miss is the Victorinox Champion knife that I foolishly forgot to remove from my bum bag when coming home from a trip last year. I'd had that knife for 30+ years. :-(    (I didn't have time to go back out from security and mail it home.)

cheers,

Andrew (AirGlide)

[Roberta]

Be sure you’re signed into the group you want to post.  

In the upper left corner, click the three parallel horizontal lines, next to “Groups.”  

Then choose “+ New Conversation”

There’s a trick I found out the hard way:  don’t fill out the subject until you’re sure the body of your conversation is what you want to post. The system will not let you post out a subject. This protects you from hitting the save button too soon.

Good luck with your sale. 

Roberta 

Philadelphia 

[F6515]

I think the multi-tool looks too much like a Swiss army knife. 

I still don't understand knitting needles. Can an L-shaped Allen wrench be more dangerous?

Sent via BlackBerry Hub+ Inbox for Android

From: y...@thurstons.us Sent: April 4, 2026 3:39 PM To: y...@bikefriday.com Subject: [yak] Flying with tools

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[Kelly Finan]

GCN did a video that involved using Airtags on a stolen bike:

https://youtu.be/S0NRo0uoehw?si=t9PPvvgrmSmD5kfs

In short, it was not particularly reliable in that situation, though it did remain on the bike.

570.877.2417

www.kellyfinan.com

Note to my awesome clients: When possible, please hit "reply" rather than starting multiple email threads for the same project. This helps me to keep your project organized and streamlined. Thank you!

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[Walter Lapchynski]

Kelly, I think the issue with that one was mounting it in the frame. Metals will affect the transmission distance of the Bluetooth signal.

[Scott McMahon]

FYI:  It's not only boarding a plane where you can lose your picnic knife.  I carefully packed mine in the checked bike suitcase on the plane to Spain, but it was confiscated when I got on a High Speed Train to the other side of the country.  On the train, there is no checking of bags.  You haul them on with you.  So there's no place to put it where it wouldn't be available to me on board.  Why they worry about a knife on the train, I don't know.  Can a terrorist with a knife cause a deraillment?

Scott McMahon

[robert clark]

my last trip overseas  was 1997 so What do i know?  ... other than regret my return?