Measure the diameter of your rim. You’ll have to take the tire off. Length of your frame shouldn’t be a problem. It will be crowded if you want to put 2 weeks worth of “regular” luggage in there, especially when you include a squished up tire. I highly recommend getting something larger.
That particular bag looks pretty flimsy (the reviews concur) but you get the idea. See if you can find burlier versions (they’re hard to fine online!). They usually only last for a few trips per bag, but I used to pay only about $25 per bag. Worth it! Also don’t expect to use those little wheels as wheels, they generally suck. Beware of the bottom edges dragging on the ground; best to carry it or strap it to a piece of luggage with real wheels.
On a normal flight to a unicycle convention, I’ve packed my 24 x 3" MUni, a 24" Track uni and a 20" Freestyle uni, with tools, spares and safety gear. That’s with one extension open. That might have been overweight, but it definitely fits.
ADDITIONAL TIPS:
Put the wheel (or tire, if separated out) in a plastic bag. It slides in and out much easier, and acts as a dirt barrier
Use ziploc bags for small parts
If you remove your frame from the wheel, stick the bottom of the frame in a shoe and tie them together, or strap your leg armor around the frame to protect the legs from being squeezed or dented
For a trip to Munich this weekend. Technically, it measures 64", 2 inches larger than max, but I’m betting that’s close enough. It should be big enough to drop my trials uni in there and still pack a couple of suits for the trade show I’m going to. And if it isn’t, amazon will take it back, free:-)
Its not exactly cheap, but its protective, and I intend to take a uni on more trips in the future. I’ll post a pic when I get it.
That looks like a great piece of luggage for wheels up to 20", with plenty of extra room inside! And the 64" is not likely to be an issue. Because it looks like “normal” luggage, most baggage handlers probably wouldn’t give it a second look. Except maybe in Germany.
Hard-sided luggage is kind of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it offers protection from all angles. On the other hand, its lack of flexibility makes it vulnerable to log-jams in luggage conveyor systems and other situations where large forces get applied to it. In those situations it can take a worse beating than softer bags. In my experience, hard-sided luggage doesn’t last longer than soft-sided. Probably the best in terms of survival is a semi-rigid setup.
The most important component in quality luggage is build quality and materials. When they’re made well they will survive many, many more trips than cheap luggage. Unlike the one I linked to in my post above.
John. I took a look at that case mentioned above. It’s oversized. I am not sure I want to trust that the airline won’t tack on $100 each way for oversized luggage. I read a review that said someone returned it because of this.
With, likely. Definitely no with the tire on. And if you consider it’s only 15 x 13", the uni + bunched-up tire will probably monopolize all the space in there. Better to get a similar type bag that’s more spacious, but still within airline size limits.
They were not strict in Munich (or at least Lufthansa) for my oversize bike bag, when I was going back from Unicon 2012. It was exactly on the weight limit and they requested me to deliver it to oversize checkin, but without any additional fee.
You can see some more examples in this thread: Anyone is using carry bag for his Uni?
For Unicon 2012 I was using a bike bag as described here: Anyone is using carry bag for his Uni?
And for Elsbet and Romuni I fit my KH26 (pedals and seatpost removed) in a big military bag (70cm wide) like on the photos attached. With tyre pumped, protective gear and clothes around it survived 4 flights safely. And a backpack on the photo fits into the cabin luggage checkpoints if you push it nicely
why do airlines limit the luggage to just one?
when I came to Moab Munifest in 2009 I came from France with a suitcase AND a distinct other luggage containing my 24 muni (the total weight of both luggages not exceeding 20kg -23 kg is the limit-)
but now you cannot do that (unless you pay for additional luggage) … So I had to rent a Muni in Moab
what a pity …
With enough space for gear, and more than enough room on the other side for my work suit.
As Kahunacohen pointed out it is indeed technically 2" oversized, but I can’t manage to get a solid measurement because of the curves; in fact when I measure, I keep coming up with about 2 extra inches. Given that its name brand luggage and so close to the limit I’m willing to take my chances.
Ok, I wimped out. At the last minute I decided the risk of getting in to an argument with some anal retentive person at checkin wasn’t worth it, so I elected for the free Amazon return/refund, and stuck with the duffel:
This worked better than I thought. Once cinched down the overall dimensions were well under 62", even with a lot of other stuff in there. And, it fit very flat after I took off the crank on one side.
Alright. I already have awesome UNIbag for my 20" uni and now I need one for 29er.
Thinking about buying double wheels bag and making hard side protectors inside.
Like this one:
Hi guys,
After reading all the posts about how to transport Uni, i just had a quick question. Have any of you tried to ship the unicycle instead like through FED EX, DHL etc? This is my first travel (international) to Asia with my husband. We are planning to take our 20’ unis, but we are wondering if we should ship it so that we can have the tracking number and not worry about them getting lost or damaged in the luggage.
Any advice is appreciated.
thank you
This will naturally save a lot of airport and travel hassles. Replace those with possible shipping hassles and expense. First of all you need a reliable place to receive the package, which is sometimes a problem. Otherwise, long as you pack them well, it should be a pretty safe way to get your unicycles to your destination. A lot safer than on a plane, probably.
Hey John,
Thanks for the tip. Our flight cost is about $1200 per person. we just don’t want to be carrying extra luggage so may be we will ship the unicycles. I have my family there so it will be easier. I thought having a tracking number would be great rather than reaching there first and then having t =o wait for unicycles to make it.
I was curious about the cost to ship the unicycles (or equivalent weight/size). Should cost more than extra bags (regular size) but could be well worth the difference!
looks like an LL Bean standard duffle… to be fair, it’s in the pic. : P
Conversely, if anybody needs a 36er bag, I have one laying around not doing anything. . . Still over the size limit, but typically you can still get through without an oversized fee depending on how the person is feeling that day… wish it was volume based and not dimensions based. You can’t even carry a fishing rod without an oversized fee, even though it’s not big and packs well.
Part of the extra cost of oversized is that it needs special handling all the way to the baggage claim. It can’t go on the regular conveyor system so there is some more labor involved.
I don’t know if this is still true, but in past times I have always had good results checking my bags with the guys outside the terminal, when available. If you already have your boarding passes, and you have the option of the guys outside, they generally seem to be less strict about things. Give them a nice tip!
I’ve had my 26 on about 6 international+US/EU-domestic flights, my 24 on 4 or so and my 19" also on a few and not had any problems (actually managed to avoid any extra fees at all. ok, often have to pay for a bag but that’s the new airline policy where usually no bags are included or maybe only 1 bag – last summer fly with Iceland Air because the do 2 checked bags for free). However, it is still a worry that it might get damaged in handling as they don’t treat the bags with care. I have a large duffle bag that is right about the max luggage limit and pack it with lots of foam and bubble wrap and protectors and such.
I’ve looked into shipping a few times but never found anything affordable. I’m just remembering from my memory and from the last 3-4 years, but I think International was well over $100 per direction. Even within the US I couldn’t find anything much less than $100 for long distance (looked once Oregon-Texas and another time Puerto Rico-Texas).
Within Germany it seems reasonable if you can get it down to a small size (I think the 26 works not sure about the 29). Not actually done it, but I think it’s possible for €35. I think DHL is cheap as long as it’s small and I think Hermes will even do oversize for a decent sub-€100 price. But then this doesn’t work for outside Germany (i.e. end of the month I fly to Tenerife in the Canary Islands of Spain off the African coast).
Anyone know the lowest cost international shipping?
