For those of you that have gone through a relocation and used a traditional moving service – did you let the movers pack your bikes or did you do it yourself? I have a Slice and a CAAD10 that I’m a little wary of leaving in the hands of the movers…
EDIT update: Moved in April, packed them myself in boxes, let movers move them. No damage. YMMV.
ARE YOU INSANE?!
Do it yourself, since most movers don’t know how to properly wrap and care for a bike, let alone a nice one. I’ve had 10 moves in the last 18 years (military) and had my k-mart special mountain bikes bent in half.
Just take it with you man!
I spent some time working in the industry when I was younger for a highly respected company. If I was moving I absolutely would not let them pack my bike. At most companies the ‘training’ is a joke (and often times nil), and usually both packers and movers are incentivised to get the job done as quickly as possible.
Also be careful about insurance. Make sure you know what you’re entitled to in the event of a claim.
I will be moving in July so this is a good question.
I was planning in taking my road bike with me and leaving all the other bikes to the movers(TT, Mountain and Wife’s road).
What would you do if you fly?
I will be moving in July so this is a good question.
I was planning in taking my road bike with me and leaving all the other bikes to the movers(TT, Mountain and Wife’s road).
What would you do if you fly?
I would rent a small UHaul with the important stuff and drive.
bad bad bad idea.
Take them with you somehow. Depending on your vehicle and distance of move… uhaul trailer is not a bad idea, for your bikes and other important stuff.
When we moved to SoCal, we asked if the movers packed bikes. They said no, just wrapped them in blankets. Prior to packing we had to declare high value items and their price. Let’s just say the movers treated them like babies upon us giving them the full retail price. The one thing I didn’t want was the bikes in temporary storage, while we were in corporate housing. The movers dropped the bikes off before putting the rest of the stuff in storage. I had to carefully check each bike over and sign off on each on their log.
We also tipped the movers well in Chicago, plus my wife got them coffee, hot sandwiches, etc. for lunch (it was snowing and in the 20s when they were loading). Ironically, the only things that ended up going wrong with the move were a missing yoga mat and atlas.
I would rent a small UHaul with the important stuff and drive.
This x1000.
There aren’t really any “professional movers” as it’s often a more itinerant job. They aren’t making much money, and they do not care about your stuff.
If you have a few bikes to move, get a bike rack for your car if you don’t have one already. But if you’re moving any distance I would set aside anything you really don’t want damaged (bikes, grandma’s china cabinet, Ming dynasty vases, etc.) and take it yourself. If you can’t fit it in your car, beg borrow or rent (don’t steal!) a van or truck.
For reference I have dealt with movers fairly often professionally for the past 14 years, and I stand behind what I said about them. There are exceptions to the rule, but 99.9% of them just want to get paid. Also, beware frauds involving movers inflating fees once they have your stuff in the truck. I’m not sure how much of an issue it is in other places, but here in Ontario it’s a huge problem.
Oh… HELL NO… HELL… NO! WTF is wrong with you!
Take it to a dealer and have them break it down and pack it in a bicycle box like what it came in. When it arrives, take it to a bicycle dealer there (opportunity to establish a relationship in you new place) and have them assemble it.
If you need it right away for training… it’s an opportunity ot get a bicycle case or a basic car rack take it with you.
Take the bikes with you.
Or. Do you have a hardcase travel case? Like a Trico? Pack the bikes in them and give them to the movers. There’s no way they could break that unless they opened them.
Take other nice things with you too. Electronics. Take them with you. Give movers only the furniture kitchenware clothes etc…
Definitely do it yourself (pack or move them).
I got royally screwed by my old LBS last year. They said they could have two bikes packed for shipment ready to go the day before the movers showed up, I called them and they hadn’t even started and told me to call back the next day. I call back the next day and what do you know, they’re not done and wouldn’t be. So I was stuck letting the movers pack my bikes. Thankfully the only problem after the move was a couple of broken spokes.
If you’re looking for a shop near the beach in Oceanside, CA to pack your bike…look elsewhere.
It all depends. Will you be there to monitor their packing? If not, then for sure do as the other posters have said and either pack it in a hard travel case yourself and give it to them or take it yourself. I too have moved numerous times in the past 30+ years of being an expat. On most occasions, I have either packed it (if I was not going to be around), or monitored the situation very closely while they wrapped the bike. If you do let them pack it, surely take the wheels and pedals off and do what you can to take the stress off of all cables.
Thanks to those that responded. Renting a U-haul is not an option; we’re flying to our new location. Taking them with us when we fly is obviously difficult as we’ll also be checking a significant amount of other (non-bike) luggage.
I had a feeling the answer would be to not let the movers ‘pack’ the bikes. I got some bike shipping boxes yesterday from my LBS and was planning on disassembling and carefully packing the bikes myself (I have done this a couple times to ship bikes via UPS), but was mostly looking to see if I could avoid the effort. But I guess not 
.
YES! Let the movers pack and move the bikes. That way when you move to your new location, you’ll have the excuse to buy some new bikes.
For those of you that have gone through a relocation and used a traditional moving service – did you let the movers pack your bikes or did you do it yourself? I have a Slice and a CAAD10 that I’m a little wary of leaving in the hands of the movers…
No way.
When I moved, I told our offices services guy just how much money we were talking (replacement value) to move 4 bikes, extra wheels (including a track disc) and he didn’t bat an eye with the bike shop packing and shipping them. He just said, “Have them insured.” They set up my team LBS as a vendor and direct billed. At the other end, I paid the new LBS and submitted that with my expenses.
How far away are you moving? You could just ride and conveniently end at your new place.
For those of you that have gone through a relocation and used a traditional moving service – did you let the movers pack your bikes or did you do it yourself? I have a Slice and a CAAD10 that I’m a little wary of leaving in the hands of the movers…
Will you let your movers pack a large-screen television? Or computers? Or good artwork? If they’re competent for that stuff, then they’re competent to pack and ship bikes. If not, they’re not.
Bikes are not super-fragile dandelions - they’re moderately fragile expensive stuff like other things good movers can deal with.
Oh, and a blanket over a bike and then a bike in a moving box seems fine to me. My bike gets rougher treatment in the trunk of my car.
When we moved to SoCal, we asked if the movers packed bikes. They said no, just wrapped them in blankets. Prior to packing we had to declare high value items and their price. Let’s just say the movers treated them like babies upon us giving them the full retail price. The one thing I didn’t want was the bikes in temporary storage, while we were in corporate housing. The movers dropped the bikes off before putting the rest of the stuff in storage. I had to carefully check each bike over and sign off on each on their log.
We also tipped the movers well in Chicago, plus my wife got them coffee, hot sandwiches, etc. for lunch (it was snowing and in the 20s when they were loading). Ironically, the only things that ended up going wrong with the move were a missing yoga mat and atlas.
Well said.
How far away are you moving? You could just ride and conveniently end at your new place.
Haha. About 2000 miles. Even if I could do it (which I’m pretty sure I couldn’t), I can’t ride both bikes.
I am also in the military and move often. I pack my own bikes with me. However if you don’t have room to take them with you, most places will let you pack things yourself but just leave the box open. They will then check what is in it and the packing and then close it up and then they are responsible.