I am taking a trip to NY this thanksgiving, and i plan on taking my unicycle. The thing is, how do i transport it? In a box? Just the way it is? I have to take a plane, and with the security, what is the best way?
Surely lots of people had to do this for unicon.
Scott
For Unicon I just packed my 2 24" unis in a large suitcase. I pulled the cranks but left the pedals on the cranks . I also had to remove the seatpost. Not much of a problem with quick release. One of them (the muni) had a 3" tire that needed a little coaxing to fit but I was eventually able to close the suitcase.
I wanted to bring the Coker but I could not figure a way to get it on the plane without paying the exorbitant fees they want for a “cycle”. If memory serves, Southwest told me it would be $40US each way (that was nearly as much as the discounted fare I got). Maybe next time I’ll just book an adult seat for the coker and let one of my kids “share” the seat.
-mg
For Unicon I just packed my 2 24" unis in a large suitcase. I pulled the cranks but left the pedals on the cranks . I also had to remove the seatpost. Not much of a problem with quick release. One of them (the muni) had a 3" tire that needed a little coaxing to fit but I was eventually able to close the suitcase.
I wanted to bring the Coker but I could not figure a way to get it on the plane without paying the exorbitant fees they want for a “cycle”. If memory serves, Southwest told me it would be $40US each way (that was nearly as much as the discounted fare I got). Maybe next time I’ll just book an adult seat for the coker and let one of my kids “share” the seat.
-mg
When I went to visit my sister in Cali, I put my 20 inch in my suitcase with my clothes and stuff. Next time I’ll take it in it’s own box or bag. I was half a pound under the 70 Lb limit.
Daniel
We took five unicycles with us to UNICON and returned with six. The two 20" freestyles and the two Montys we packed in suitcases. My 24"wouldn’t fit into a suitcase so we packed it into a plain box about the size in which the uni was originally shipped. There was a lot of discussion about traveling with unis on planes before UNICON and one of the pieces of advice we took to heart was not to admit that we had a “cycle” of any kind. The check-in attendant checked our luggage with no questions but he did ask what was in the box. I told him “performance equipment” which he wrote on the tag before sticking the tag on the box. No more questions after that.
We ended up purchasing another 24" while at UNICON and also bought a nice suitcase at a yardsale for $1. So it all worked out well for us.
Bruce
Re: How do you transport your uni?
> I am taking a trip to NY this thanksgiving, and i plan on taking my
> unicycle. The thing is, how do i transport it? In a box? Just the way it
> is? I have to take a plane, and with the security, what is the best
> way?
> Surely lots of people had to do this for unicon.
> Scott
Butch up and ride there. 
I would reiterate, don’t use the word “cycle”. Invariably if you have packed a unicycle into a box the airport staff will ask you what’s in the box. If you mention the word cycle (even as in uni-cycle) they will slap an extra $50 fee on for carrying a bike. I had this happen even when I’d carefully constructed my cardboard box to be under the maximum allowed luggage constraints.
For 20" unicycles you can often fit them in a large suitcase (I’ve managed to get two 20" unis in the same suitcase). A larger unicycle will usually need to go into a box.
What I do now is to get a cardboard bike box from a local bike shop and then cut it down so it us just under the maximum allowable luggage size. I then tape over every mention of the word bicycle and any pictures which may suggest I’m carrying a cycle. When asked what’s in the box “performance equipment” is a good answer because it is honest but won’t land you with an extra charge.
To pack my unis into a tight space I usually remove the seat, take off the frame, remove the pedals and let the air out of the tyre.
Note is is better to leave the crank arms on the axle as taking them off doesn’t change the width of your unicycle and leaving them on means less chance of putting a hole in your box or suitcase.
I packed a 20" in a suitcase with all of my clothes for an 8 day trip. The pedals came off and the cranks stayed on. The frame came off and the seatpost came out of the frame. That means I only had to carry an open end 10mm and open end 15mm wrench with me for assembly. I put each piece into its own plastic bag to protect my clothes from dirt and grease. Then the clothes can be packed around the parts. The wheel required 2 plastic grocery bags. I left it fully inflated. I checked the suitcase with the airline. No questions asked. It was easy.
Keep in mind different airlines will have different policies for size and weight.
I flew American to Unicon this summer with my 26" muni. I found their dimension restrictions on their web page. (Officially, you can carry a bike without fees as long as it fits within their size and weight restrictions - but, you never know). I went to the local Mailboxes etc.-like shop and had them make a box to my specific dimensions. It’s a big uni, so the box ended up being 1/2" below AA’s size limit. I paid something like $40 for the box, but this was a double-walled cardboard box that will last me the rest of my life. Any time I go anywhere with my uni, I’ve got the box situation covered.
As far as telling them what is in the box, I had a wierd close-call. When leaving seattle, the curb-side luggage check guy asked me what was in the box. I said “unicycle parts”. He said something about bicycle fees that I couldn’t quite understand. Then he mentioned that he works on tips. I knew where this was going. I gave him my lunch money and that was the end of that. The funny part is, my mother, who works for AA, was upset and told me that those guys do NOT work on tips. Whatever, says I.
Finally, everybody I talked to advised me to deflate the tire, which I did. I don’t know if its a big deal, but I figured it would be better to do it just in case.
Deflating the tire to make extra room or to make the uni fit in the box makes perfect sense. Deflating the tire to protect against rupture from lower atmospheric pressure at high altitudes is unnecessary. On a flight at 30,000 ft in a completely depressurized aircraft the effective pressure in your tire will increase by 10 psi.
I use a hard shell wheel case from
<http://www.triall3sports.com/bike.html>
The specific model I have is the Clam Shell Wheel Safe. It’s basically a $200 solution to a $40 problem, but what the hey. I don’t have to worry about the box getting ripped by the luggage handlers. The uni stays protected. And I don’t have to worry about making my own cardboard box and bringing duct tape with me to patch up the box.
With clever and careful packing I can fit two unicycles in the Wheel Safe box. I don’t like putting two unicycles in the same box because they have a habit of damaging each other when packed that way, but sometimes you just gotta do what you need to do.
The Wheel Safe box is overkill. A cardboard box cut to fit within the airline size regulations is good way to go. Or buy more unicycles from unicycle.com and keep the boxes that they ship the unicycles in. 
Be careful with some of the “jumbo” size suitcases. Those suitcases are actually over the size restrictions to fly free. The airlines have been cracking down on those since the airlines are hurting for revenue lately. Those big suitcases that get you 3 inches of extra room end up costing you dearly when you end up paying for oversized baggage.
I wish you a much longer life than can be survived by any cardboard box on the airlines! Your box sounds like a good one, but it will only survive a finite number of flights.
A cardboard box may do for an emergency here or there, but it might not even survive for the trip home. Luggage takes quite a beating, mostly in the automated conveyor systems at the airports. If you have the time to plan ahead, I highly recommend using anything other than a cardboard box.
I’ve done a lot of flying with unicycles, and usually with more than one. And so far (knock knock), I’ve never had to pay any fees.
Not that I object to paying a reasonable fee for reasonable services. A bicycle is fairly large, and can take up a large space, requiring extra work to accommodate and protect it. But who’s to say my luggage doesn’t contain something more fragile than a bike wheel? Why should I have to pay for a wheel and not for my Stuben vase? So I don’t officially travel with unicycles. Ever.
I have found a type of luggage that’s very good at holding unicycles. Since I usually fly with more than one, and only the largest of suitcases fits a 24" wheel, and I usually travel heavy, I can’t just stuff them in with my regular luggage. More likely, I have to stuff extra luggage in with my unicycles.
So I go to one of the luggage vendors at my local flea market. There I am lucky to find a selection of the type of bag I use. Unfortunately I don’t know the name of this type of bag and I was unable to find a picture of one in about 10 minutes’ searching on Google. Oh well.
It has a flat bottom with wheels, about 16" x 12" on the big ones. Soft sides, and two zippered expanders, which will open the bag up to almost 4’ tall. The main thing about this bag is that it’s big enough for a 26" MUni tire, and tall enough to fit unicycles without even taking the seat off, if you so choose.
I can get three unicycles into one of these bags, though not all with large wheels. I usually break down the cycles as much as possible, and don’t open all the expansion zippers unless I have to. The smaller your luggage is, the less likely it is to be subject to unusual forces in transit.
Always bring garbage bags when you travel. Put a garbage bag over each wheel. This does two things. It allows the grippy rubber wheel to slide easily in and out of tight spaces, and it keeps the dirt from a possibly unclean tire off everything else. Bring spare bags for the trip home, in case the originals got ripped up. They don’t weigh anything…
As has been mentioned, never take the cranks off, because you’ll be left with axles that will poke through your luggage. You don’t need to let the air out of your tires unless you run them at extreme pressures, though letting the air out makes them fit into slightly smaller spaces. I put the pedals in ziploc bags, along with any other small parts left over.
I always bring tools and a pump. Especially when traveling internationally. You don’t have to, but then you don’t get to ride until you find someone with the necessary tools and pump. I prefer being self-sufficient (which leads to traveling heavy).
One of the nice things about a piece of normal luggage is that you usually don’t get asked what’s in there. But if you do, it ain’t anything with the word “cycle” in it. Sports equipment, show props, circus equipment, exercise equipment, all are truthful enough.
Lastly, I use pieces of a camping pad. This is a piece of lightweight foam rubber you normally put under a sleeping bag for camping. I cut it in 3 or 4 squares, and put these between the cycles and to pad them against the outsides of the bag. Eventually even a crank arm will bust through strong nylon fabric. Been there.
Always assume your luggage will be treated with the utmost disrespect. If your box or other container can’t survive being dropped from a height of at least 3’ onto its corner, don’t expect it to be in one piece when you reach your destination. Remember, many flights involve changing planes at least once, which doubles the airlines’ wear and tear on the luggage.
Travel happy,
Correction: About 26" x 12" on the big versions of the luggage I use, not 16 x 12!
This really is a good topic, I really struggled witht this prior to UNICON.
My concern was atmospheric pressure, not space. In the absence of the your valuable knowledge, I decided to take the “just in case” route. I really didn’t want to risk being the guy whose luggage exploded. Now I know, I don’t need to bother. Thanks.
I’m pretty confident the box will last me the rest of my life. It probably wouldn’t last YOU the rest of either of our lives. Considering I’m lucky to see the the world outside of DC and Virginia more than once a year and you travel with your unicycle professionally. A double-walled cardboard box built to size is a strong box indeed - to an extent. I completely trust it for the little bit of traveling I manage to do.
I agree. It’s definitely a good thing for you to bring a pump. That way, people like me will have somebody to borrow a pump from.
Re: How do you transport your uni?
I really fretted about this before Unicon but in the end it was
a piece of cake.
The key thing is that American Airlines allow a bike box as part of
your standard luggage. They mention that you must buy an AA
bike box, but this was not an issue in practice.
I went to a local bike shop and they gave me a box (in fact, they
took the brand new bike out to make one available, which I thought
generous). I dismantled two unis and packed them in the box with
some waste bubble-wrap from the office. I chucked my pads and
tools, etc. in there too.
No problems at all while travelling, but there was a raised eyebrow or
two at the X-ray thingy.
Anold the Aardvark
The problem with being the Witchfinder
General is that you have to keep finding
witches, or you’re out of a job.
- Colin McClernon
John, really good advice there.
One thing that I do is I made a huge evelope using bubble wrap and a layer of duct tape on both sides. I simply slide the uni in the envelope and then put it in a huge (yet, of airline legal size), zippered bag. This near bullet-proof envelope protects everything from the uni and the uni too. This works well even for my 24X3 MUni wheel. I just take off the pedals and the seat/seat post from the frame. Assembly is then a snap!
I echo the suggestion to not mention the dreded word “cycle” to any ticket/baggage person. This has cost me dearly in the past and even after paying the additional charges my custom b**e would still get trashed/bent and even with the additional charges you have to sign away any rights regarding damage. I love Bruce’s suggestion - “performance.”
Tommy
I’m going to be travelling to the UK with (hopefully) a uni in my backpack this Christmas, and I have one last question regarding air travel with a unicycle…er, I mean “performance equipment”:
Do you insure your baggage specially when you are travelling with an expensive uni inside, or do you just hope the airline won’t lose your luggage? I suppose the airline would reimburse you for the lost bag and contents (she says naively), but I wonder how they would treat a lost stowaway unicycle?
Thanks,
andrea
Thanks everybody for all these ideas! I will surely use one of them. I wonder how it is getting around New York City on a unicycle?!!?!?!?!?!?!?
Hey,
I don’t travel a lot, but my 26" DM has been air transported to Boston, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and back to Texas… more than once. It used to travel inside a clear bag the airline gave me at check-in. I always remove the pedals and place my wrist guards around/on the crank arms, and lower the seat. Now, it travels in the bag I got from unicycle.com.
I always tell the check-in folks upon asking (Continental/US) that the “strange bag” does not contain a large banjo -it’s a unicycle (don’t you take yours where ever you go?) I am often asked for a demonstration. And I’ve never been charged extra. (I’m sure the day will come.)
I put the pedals in plastic bags but have trouble getting my (extra large) helmet into my luggage -I tend to travel light. My pedal and allen wrench fit into my camel back. (They will not allow you to carry on any tools.)
I think it’s great you’re taking it with you. It’s nice to travel with a friend. Look up David Stone who lives/rides in N.Y…
Jer
A unicycle is a great way to get around in NYC. Cars suck, taxis are expensive, subways are smelly.
On a 24" unicycle, which I used to use when I went into the city, it becomes a giant obstacle course of pedestrians and whatever else is out there. Make sure you leave enough room for people to make unpredictable moves!