Shipping with a bike shop simplifies your shipping experience. You don’t have to know how to work on your bike or already have a bike box or case. In this article, we give you tips on some ways you can work with shops to help ship your bike.
Get a Box - Bike shops will often have gently used bike boxes and packing materials available for a fee or for free, but don’t assume that every shop in the Shop Finder will have boxes all the time. Call ahead to inquire about box availability and politely request that a shop save a box and packing material for you.
Hire a Pro - Hire a mechanic at a shop to professionally pack and assemble your bike on either end of your shipment. Not only will you save time, but you can also have the shop conduct a safety check to spot any potential issues that could ruin your trip.
Some shops prefer to handle both the packing and booking of your shipment while others will ask you to book after they pack. Whomever is doing the booking is ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the order information including dimensions, weight and addresses as well as proper packing. They will also serve as BikeFlights’ primary point of contact for communications and receive labels and pickup confirmations.
Whether your or the shop is doing the booking, it’s necessary to communicate with each other about shipment details before, during and after shipping.
Looking for a bike shop? Read our related blog post about How To Find A Bike Shop