Shipping a Friday

[Nicholas]

Has anyone tried the boxes offered by Bikeflight? We are going to Japan, and our original suitcases are finally failing. Mahalo!

[John S. Allen]

Why not get replacement Samsonite suitcases?

Is there anything special about the ones that Bike Friday uses?

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 30, 2025, at 1:56 AM, Nicholas <nikko...@gmail.com> wrote:

Has anyone tried the boxes offered by Bikeflight? We are going to Japan, and our original suitcases are finally failing. Mahalo!

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[Ray Chong]

Nothing special as far as I can tell. I have/had 4 versions. They were/are all hard side clamshells with latch closure. The 2-wheeled (Samsonite) F'lite seems the most sturdy, but the 4-wheeler is almost as good and way more convenient. The 4-wheeler is a current model, called the F'lite GT Spinner 31 (inches) in the US, or Aeris Comfort 82 (cm) elsewhere.

-Ray 

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[John Thurston]

I agree that there is nothing special about the Bike Friday travel case (unless you are expecting to turn it into the body of a trailer, and then there are holes drilled so it can be mounted on the frame).

But that's not what our original author was asking. The question was, "Has anyone tried the boxes offered by Bikeflight" I assume, since they have traveled enough to wear out their original suitcases, the original author is well versed in the suitcases and how to repair and replace them. It sounds to me like the author is looking for people's experience specifically with the cardboard shipping boxes sold by BikeFlights (e.g. https://shop.bikeflights.com/products/bikeflights-bike-box-small).

I have not looked at BikeFlight boxes in ages. Presumably, one could flatten the box at the destination to simplify storage. They also seem like a way to ship your Friday (as opposed to handing it to the airline as baggage); the last time I asked, UPS said if I shipped by Friday in a suitcase they weren't responsible for the condition of the case when it arrived at its destination.

Those boxes look like interesting options, and I am interested in hearing from anyone who has used one of the these with their Friday. While the boxes are inexpensive enough that I might consider buying one of their 'Returns' just to experiment, shipping to me (only $370 !) is more than my budget will bear.

-- 
John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

[Rob MacLeod]

HI Folks,

I have used BikeFlight for 2 bikes, but they were not BF’s, but rather regular-sized.  I will add that one of them was an e-bike, hence very heavy (50+lbs) and it arrived in perfect condition all the way from Utah to Nova Scotia.  I would trust BikeFlight with any of my bikes. 

Best,

Rob

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[Nicholas]

Thanks for the input! Our original Samsonite Flite  suitcases have worn out, and we are looking for a less expensive alternative since we have a place to stash them in Japan as we use the Fridays to tool around. We are taller than average for Americans, and certainly taller than the rental bike shops would have available. (they are never going to be as fun to ride as our Fridays!) If we were to do a dedicated bike tour then the trailer pack would be a go, at our ages, we may be past that time but enjoyed the trailer when we used it. So the well designed and biodegradable boxes might be the ticket...

[Ken Preston]

Over the years I’ve travelled by air with my Crusoe several times.  If it was a one way linear trip I would build a cardboard box for it, usually out of a regular bike box from a bike shop. 

That way when I got to my destination I just discarded the box and when the bike portion of the trip was over I made another for the air flight home. 

I do have a Bike Friday nylon bike bag. I make the box the right size to fit into that. 

Cost is minimal, packing tape, utility knife and possibly cost for a ride to a bike shop. 

So far I’ve not had any damage using this method. 

Ken

On Oct 10, 2025, at 1:12 AM, Nicholas <nikko...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for the input! Our original Samsonite Flite  suitcases have worn out, and we are looking for a less expensive alternative since we have a place to stash them in Japan as we use the Fridays to tool around. We are taller than average for Americans, and certainly taller than the rental bike shops would have available. (they are never going to be as fun to ride as our Fridays!) If we were to do a dedicated bike tour then the trailer pack would be a go, at our ages, we may be past that time but enjoyed the trailer when we used it. So the well designed and biodegradable boxes might be the ticket...

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikefriday.com/d/msgid/yak/6ac78f0d-1c77-4d07-894f-2e44b7a851den%40bikefriday.com.

[robert clark]

Consider a Charity shop  search  ?  in person, with a tape measure... 

The soft sided travel cases become adequate with a few layers of cardboard in their sides..