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If you are flying out from the UK, chances are you'll be leaving your pride and joy in the hands of the Gods at some point (well, the airport baggage handlers at least). We cant stress enough how important it is to spend some time making your bike "plane-safe" before departure. This will reduce the chance of damage to your bike to an absolute minimum. However, be warned that simply slinging your bike into a bag or box, unprotected, is not a good idea - you might find that its in more peices than it was when you set off, at the other end! You wont need much other than a bit of your own time, some old rags, padding or bubble wrap, and perhaps some zip-ties or strong tape.
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Its worth noting that your bike was not designed to be ridden without its wheels on (!) although this is how you'll be transporting it on the plane. Its not surprising then, that without its wheels to protect it, some parts of the bike become more vunerable to damage. Its these parts in particular that you can do something about to protect.
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Firstly, remove your rear deurallier. This is probably the most vunerable part in transit, and is likely to get snapped off if you leave it on the frame. We normally zip-tie it between the chainstays, for extra protection.
Remove your deurallier hanger, too, if you can. On most frames, the locating bolts aren't there to support the bracket to the frame - that is the job of the rear wheel axle. At the very least, its designed to be a weak, sacrificial part. If it gets bent in transit, you might not even notice, but your gear shifting will be adversely affected.
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Brace both your front forks and rear chainstays (where the wheel axle / quick release skewer normally runs through). This is a very important step, as your frame is vunerable without braces. Your local bike shop may be able to supply special plastic braces that snap into place (they use them when they take delivery of new bikes, mail order). However, any piece of wood, stiff plastic tube, old tent frame, drainpipe, or similar will do the job. Just cut it to length and gaffer tape or zip-tie it in securely. If you have a hollow brace, you can fix it securely by using the quick-release skewers from your wheels
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Strap your brake levers to the handlebars - that way they arent sticking out, just asking to get caught on something and bent. If you have hydraulic disc brakes, you'll have to wedge something between the brake pads (a scrap of cardboard works fine) to prevent them from popping out (if they do pop out, you are in trouble - and will probably need a complete brake bleed and new pads to replace the fluid-contaminated ones you've just created).
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You also might want to remove your handlebars, although we dont think this will necessarily provide better protection for anything, though it might make your bike easier to carry. If you do take them off, tape or zip-tie them to a solid part of your frame to prevent the cables getting tangled up during transit.
Check the positioning of your wheels relative to your frame once in the bag - if it looks like sharp edges are going to rub, then rearrange them or at least put some padding in between. We prefer to have the cassette facing outwards - better it is contacting the fabric of your bag than the paintwork of your frame or the sleeve of your rear air shock.
Finally, zip-tie or tape any loose cables, chain etc so there's nothing to get snagged.
Do all of the above, and your bike should arrive in great condition, ready for the awesome week of riding ahead of it. Oh, and remember to bring enough tape and zip-ties to re-package for your journey home.
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