Hey everyone,
A friend of mine who is in Bangalore,India has asked me to get him a unicycle when I go back this july. Anyway I’m deciding between these 2 options
1)Buy all the parts of the unicycle except for the spokes,tire/tube and rim and just carry the unicycle frame(and other accessories) in my duffel bag, and then get the wheel built around the hub(which I’m taking from here) and a bicycle rim (we dont get unicycles or unicycle rims in India)
2)Buy the unicycle as a whole and carry it in a cardboard box when I’m flying to India. The only thing I was worried with this option, was that, I might be charged a fee. I’m flying with Singapore airlines( Sydney to Bangalore), and I’ve read the thread which talks about Air travel, but I’m still a bit hesitant.
Anyway please let me know what you think.
Thanks in advance,
regards,
Achu
I fly SIA between Perth and Singapore each month. Last time I brought a 26" uni up with me in a cardboard box and was not charged for it. I broke the uni down to the smallest size reasonably possible.
I’ve flown with the my Coker a fair bit, in a bag and without one. I’ve never had a problem flying in or out of Singapore and India or any other country. Though once in a while, the check-in guys have given me doubtful looks but I tell them that I do it all the time and have never had a problem.
Call the airline and see what they say about oversize luggage: don’t mention the word bicycle though as that could mean an automatic charge!
Option 1 is the best idea: just get a 28 or 29" frame from unicycle.com so it’ll be sure to fit the rim he’ll fit and he’ll be sure to be able to get spares etc
Thanks a lot everyone.I did consider shipping it to India, but that works out to be quite expensive. (and I’m not sure that UDC ships to India)
Anyway,after reading the posts from Denali and EoinC, I guess I shouldn’t have too much of a hassle if i decide to carry it with me ,I’ll box it up real neat as EoinC mentioned,and yeah will call SIA too just to confirm.
Thanks again guys
Here is my 24" MUni packed into a suitcase for the flight from London Heathrow to Mumbai. It made it there and back safely - I just had to remove the pedals and seatpost.
It didn’t cost me any extra!
(Obviously I packed clothes around it tightly after the picture was taken)
Here is my 24" MUni packed into a suitcase for the flight from London Heathrow to Mumbai. It made it there and back safely - I just had to remove the pedals and seatpost.
It didn’t cost me any extra!
(Obviously I packed clothes around it tightly after the picture was taken)
For my travelling (26"), I removed the frame, seatpost and pedals, and layed them flat. I then cut a cardboard box to fit around it all, duct-taped the box, and made some duct-tape handles for carrying it.
Basically it ends up being a flat box, about the size of the wheel square, and 6" deep. It gets dwarfed by some of the house-on-castors suitcases that appear in the check-in line.
I’ve flown bikes many places around the World, and so far have only had to pay extra with Qantas (mind you, that was travelling with a large group of riders and bikes, so it was not likely to slip through with charm or grovelling).
I would say that accompanied baggage is the best option for you. I have bought motorbike parts from India that have got lost and damaged intransit, with less traceability and accountability than there is with airline baggage. I would also say that you are better off buying the complete Uni. Although anything is possible in India, the effort and time in tracking down the missing bits may be enough to make it not happen.
Another thread about flying with unicycles. For best results, look up the existing threads on flying with unicycles. For even more useful results, tell us what size unicycle we’re talking about. Apparently something larger than 20".
Back in the day (before 9/11) I flew Singapore Airlines to Singapore with a 20" Freestyle, 12" mini-uni, Schwinn Giraffe, a pair of handlebars on a seatpost, and an artistic bicycle. Most of this went in a bike bag, and the rest went in a large duffel. I’m not sure how I fit all that within the luggage allowances of that time, but I didn’t pay any extra.
Nowadays it’s all about weight. If you don’t want attention, put the unicycle in normal-looking luggage. Pad it. Leave the cranks on, lest the axle ends poke through the luggage.
Thanks a lot for the packing tips EoinC, that helps a lot. And I’ve decided that I’m going to carry the whole uni(24" Axis Unicycle by UDC) when I get back to India. As u mentioned, its not worth going there and then hunting around for parts. Just spoke to my friend and he mentioned that decent rims and pedals are hard to come by, especially in the smaller cities.
@JohnFoss: I mostly will be carrying the frame/seat etc in my duffel bag and the wheelset in a cardboard box (I’ll make sure I keep the cranks on)
I did go through the air travel thread, but this thread was mainly to help me decide whether to carry the uni as a whole or in parts.
But after your comment, and those from Denali and EoinC I feel a lot more confident about just carrying the whole uni instead of carrying just a few parts, while flying. Thanks for that
Wow, how odd. While I was in India we had a tour guide who kept using the phrase “In India, anything is possible”. I guess he wasn’t just being patriotic after all! My girflreind and I still refer to it occasonially and it always raises a smile.
I ultimately did call SIA to find out where I stand. They told me that it would be classified as sports equipment, and even if my baggage was slightly overweight, I’d be charged an excess baggage fee equivalent to 6 kgs.
Again thanks for all the replies.
