hey not tomorow (monday) but on tuesday i am going to New Zealand for 8 days (i live in OZ) and i was wondering if any of you have ever taken you unis on a plane and did you have any issues. And how did you pack it etc.
the uni in question is a trials uni
thanks
I’d take it apart to play it safe.
personally i havent done it, but this is what i would do.
take the pedals and seat with seatpost off, wrap the uni in a towel and place it inside your luggage bag, then put the pedals and seat with seat post in the bag. i dont think there should be any problems
Trials Uni’s should be pretty staightforward to pack. If you want to get fancy you can pick up a wheelbag from a bike shop but otherwise I don’t think you’ll have any issues. Just put it in a bag and put some cardboard or bubblewrap around it to protect the paint.
Just don’t bring the heavy stuff like pedals/cranks as carry on luggage- although NZ/Aus airlines are probably less strict than flying to the US or elsewhere. They don’t like people bringing puncture repair kits on the plane though (flammable glue).
Whereabouts in NZ are you going? If you make a posting on the NZ Unicycle forums www.unicycle.org.nz you might be able to meet up with some local unicyclists whilst you are here.
Ken
nahhhh taking the uni isnt gonna work due to baggage sizes/weight (and my friend wont let me take it) and it will be too much hassle.
o well next time
thanks for the replys anyway
oh come on dude
i know people have taken more than 1 unicycle with them from aussi -> nz and back and often it depends on the person who checks in your luggage whether you will be charged for being over weigh. i know for instance that andrew managed to take 2 muni’s and a trials uni form NZ in his luggage and no charge.
you should definatly try bring it if your gonna be in auckland, we’re always keen to ride
i bring my MUni in a hockey bag and put it in.
When I came home from Minnisota, I had a trials and a 2 wheeler in there
hockey bags are great
Hi,
I have taken my uni twice on a plane without any problem/extra charge (my luggage was far from weight limit though)
I put the pedals and seat+post in my bag, cause it fit very well. And for the wheel and frame it wasn’t an issue at the checking.
Once i had to sign a disclaimer in the event of any damage, but a trial uni is thought to be solid and you can be confident with that.
Don’t forget to deflate it although they might remind it to you cause they are quite used to carrying bikes.
You will want to have your tools checked too, because it is forbidden to take them aboard. I forgot some allen wrenches in my pocket once that i had to get rid of, and i was mad not to be able to rebuild my uni as soon as landed.
Manuel
I took my freestyle 20" uni on a plane two years ago (this is post-9/11) without taking it apart, departing from NYC. It wasn’t easy, but here is what you can do:
Arrive at the airport early and ask the head of your airline’s security to walk you to the security checkpoint so that you can gate-check the uni. In my case, I had to wait nearly an hour (or was it just a boring 40 mins?) before he was free, but the nice guy hesitated not one second in walking me right over to the nearby security check-in. From that point on, I could go anywhere in the airport with (and sometimes ON) my uni. It was amazing.
Coming back from Salt Lake City, I didn’t even need to ask for help. The check-in folks were only too happy to x-ray my uni and let me ride off on it. They got a kick out of it.
If all else fails, you can just put it thru like luggage. It should be ok, but it’s worth asking to gate-check it – I’ve been able to do it twice.
Protect your luggage
When I went to China this March I removed the cranks from my 20" uni and bolted on two 12" x 12" x 3/4" boards on the axles to protect my soft-sided luggage. They also kept the uni from twisting in my luggage and possibly damaging other items.
I was thinking of bring my uni to hawaii (july 20 or something), but it would be too much, and my parents won’t let me…
You’d have to get a whole 'nother suitcase for it pretty much.
ooh, just in time for me too!
i’m bringing one of my unicycles to france this summer…
so so far what i gather from this thread to put a uni on a plane is:
-take off pedals
-take off frame
-take off seat &post
-put pedals and seat in underplane luggage
-put wheel and frame in bag, check into plane early.
one idea i got from scott is to use a boogie board bag. apparently you jusdt take off the seat and pedals, and put them in the pocket, and the rest of the thing in the main pouch.
WELLLL…what i did was, found a big suitcase, took the pedals and the saddle+seatpost off…put it in the case (surrounding it with a few clothes)…checked it in…no worries :), easy as pie coverd in sugar on a warm, lazy afternoon in a garden with a slight breeze stroking the side of your face.
Your protecting a sun? I would put that in a duffle bag and hope it gets broken so i have an excuse to buy a uni thats not junk.
when i took my uni on a plane i had a bag like the one pictured here
http://www.luggagewarehouse.com/images/zoom/bru864-main.jpg
all i did was took off the pedals and seat and layed the uni in the bag with my clothes packed around it, i put the seat and pedals in a side pocket. it worked quite nicely.
you just HAD to come in and put a negative thing in this wonderfully positive conversation, didn’t you evan…
the thing is for me, i don’t want and probably can’t take a big suitcase. I’ll be moving around a lot and i’m going to be taking a backpack, so i want something that i can fold up and stuff in the pack, not something solid. so i’m gonna use that bodyboard bag with cardboard padding.
I wouldn’t be me if i didn’t.
I was looking into taking my Coker to Chicago from NY. I see it far exceeds the luggage size restrictions and so I could be charged, I think it was $70.00 each way. I know I could be lucky and the airline may not charge me, but I figure I would get it to Chicago, and then have to pay to bring it home. So I’m not going to bring it.
It’s a tough choice to visit family, friends and give up riding the Coker for a week 
. Good thing my sister has two unicycles .
Looks like it’s time to talk her into a third!
HEY Evan
i’ve got a sun and its my only uni. It’s not that crappy either. I’ve taken it off picnic tables 5 sets etc and it is fine. why not just take the extra time to protect it so you will actually have a uni to ride and cash in your pocket?
