How to Ship a Recumbent Bicycle
A recumbent bicycle is an ergonomically efficient bicycle used both outdoors and indoors. A recumbent bike distributes the rider's weight evenly across the bicycle, making for a more comfortable ride. Recumbent bikes are also useful to individuals with bad backs, knees and shoulders who would otherwise be prevented from cycling. Recumbent bikes are available in a number of models, including short and long wheelbase models, as well as no-hands steering models. Although recumbent bikes make comfortable rides, they are difficult to ship.
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Things You'll Need
- Wrench
- Plastic zippered bag
- Owner's Manual
- Large cardboard box or boxes (at least 3 feet by 5 feet)
- Packing peanuts or plastic wrap
- Clear shipping tape
- Tape measure
- Permanent marker
Instructions
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Determine the weight and dimensions of the recumbent bicycle you will be shipping. The owner's manual of your recumbent bike will give you the exact specifications of the bike, including the weight and dimensions. If you have lost the owner's manual to your bike, you can access a copy of the owner's manual from the manufacturer's website. All shipping services determine the cost of shipping by the weight and/or dimensions of the product you are shipping. Therefore, knowing the weight of the item you are shipping can help you estimate the cost of shipping and the size of the boxes you will need to ship the bike. Most recumbent bicycles weigh between 50 and 150 lb.
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Disassemble the recumbent bike per disassembly instructions in the owner's manual. Put small pieces such as screws in small plastic ziplock bags. Group screws by location; for instance, if several screws are used to secure the rear wheel of the bike, place all screws that serve this purpose in one bag and label the bag "Rear Wheel". Clear labeling of component parts will make re-assembly easier.
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Count the number of component parts of the bike and measure each component part with a tape measure. Purchase enough cardboard boxes to ship the component parts of your recumbent bicycle based on the size and number of component parts. Each bicycle varies in size, so make sure to measure each component part and buy boxes that will accomodate even the largest component parts. You need not buy one box for each part; if you buy large enough boxes, several parts may fit in one box. A good rule of thumb is to buy a box large enough to fit two large component parts each, or several smaller component parts.
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Assemble each cardboard boxe, securing the bottom with packing tape, and fill with packing peanuts or packing wrap.
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Wrap each component part of the recumbent bike in plastic packing wrap or submerge in packing peanuts. If you have packing peanuts you may want to first wrap the part in clean rags or plastic wrap to avoid scratches during shipping. Snuggly fit as many parts in one box as possible, but do not fill the box to the point where it will not close with both flaps of the box fitting together. Fill empty spaces with extra plastic packing wrap or peanuts to avoid shifting during shipping.
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Seal the top of the packed boxes with clear packing tape and clearly label the return address and destination address on the package(s) to ensure that the bike makes it to its destination.
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Bring all the boxes to the shipping service of your choice. Some shipping services may come to you. From there, your boxes will be weighed and you will be charged for postage.
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Tips & Warnings
-Contact several shipping services to determine which service charges the least amount of money in shipping costs. Services vary. Ask questions beyond how much the shipping will cost, including what the arrangements for dropping off the item will be, how they expect the item to be packaged and how they track the item while it is being shipped.
-Check with your local bike shop to see if they have a recumbent bike box you can have. You can ship the entire bike in one recumbent bike box instead of several boxes you have to purchase.
Choose a tracking option so you can check the status of the shipping of your packages; packages are less likely to be lost when they are tracked. You may also consider purchasing shipping insurance so that the bike is insured should it be lost or damaged during the shipping process.
