to/from airports with bikes

[Adam]

Hi all,

I've been thinking about trying to get my act together to be able to bike to/from airports when I travel for work conferences. This may not be realistic, but I'm curious to hear if anyone has dialed in an airport/commuter process that works for them?

It may be more functional to just do what I do now--rent a bike on the other end and taxi to/from the airport, but thought I'd see if anyone has cracked this problem.

FWIW, the specific destination airport that I'm considering is BWI, but PDX is where I  started thinking seriously about it, they actually have decent infrastructure.

Thanks,

Adam (around 10 miles from O'Hare by mostly dirt paths)

[Ted Durant]

On Monday, June 2, 2025 at 5:58:52 PM UTC-5 Adam wrote:

I've been thinking about trying to get my act together to be able to bike to/from airports when I travel for work conferences. This may not be realistic, but I'm curious to hear if anyone has dialed in an airport/commuter process that works for them?

 I one time put my Quickbeam unboxed/unbagged on a flight to Carlsbad, CA by way of PHX from Milwaukee. The plane between PHX and Carlsbad was tiny, but they were able to manage it. I had removed the pedals, turned the handlebars sideways and attached them to the top tube, and let a bit of air out of the tires. It was a pretty easy ride from that tiny airport to the resort where I was staying, which was about a mile from the resort hosting the conference. As a bonus, one of the conference activities was a "mountain bike" ride on gravel trails and a small hill. The outfitters provided people with low end mountain bikes for the ride and were aghast that I would try the route on my Quickbeam. I assured them that the Quickbeam had been designed on paths far gnarlier than anything we would see, and I was right. 

I've never done that again, having switched to a S&S coupled Bleriot with a hard and soft cases for travel. The soft case you can carry like a backpack, but it's awkward over any kind of distance.  More recently I have been using an Orucase, which is too big to be manageable on the bike. You can fold it down to about the size of a small golf bag, but that's still awkward to carry. 

I have no idea if airlines would still take an unboxed/unbagged bike, but it worked pretty well for me that one time. One argument in favor of that approach is the baggage handlers don't treat it like just another bag. I watched it getting loaded and unloaded and they were pretty careful with it. I think a single-speed/fixed-gear bike makes that approach way more feasible - way fewer things to get damaged.

Ted Durant

MIlwaukee, WI USA

[rlti...@gmail.com]

I have seen Bromptons placed in overhead bins on airliners.  But that may force the checking in of other bags.

Robert Tilley

San Diego, CA

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 2, 2025, at 3:58 PM, Adam <adam....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Adam]

Thanks,

Those orucases look cool. Not sure how well they'd fit my 62 hillborne. Are the S&S couplers worthwhile? Anyone have other methods? I think if I got my head around the process, maybe it could be worthwhile even if to/from the airport isn't viable.

I've had several trips recently where I would have loved a real bike, maybe this is the way.

Thanks

Adam

[Ben Hannon]

I recently bought a pika packworks 29er travel bag. I packed it at home and got a ride to O'Hare with it. It comes with a shoulder strap, so you could shlep it on the L, but it doesn't have wheels.

. United counts it as a regular checked bag as long as it's under 50 lbs. I was able to fit my 58 cm toyo atlantis, a handlebar bag, my helmet, and tools and it came to 46 lbs on their scale. The bike arrived each time unscathed.

Breaking down the bike took about 15 minutes and I think it will get quicker with practice. FWIW, I was able to fit my XL fillet susie in the bag but it was a very tight squeeze. I didn't want to risk it on the inaugural trip, but will do so in the future.

Ben