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I would like to know of any cheap ways to get a bicycle from Australia to Germany. So far, I have looked at UPS, TNT and other larger logistics companies. They all seem to be 500 AUD and above for a single bike.

I am flying to Europe and could disassemble the bike and take the frame as oversized baggage. However then I am at my weight limit and I would still have to ship the 28" wheels. I thought of packing a box and ship the small parts with AusPost. However the wheels would be slightly to large for their largest box size.

Are there any cheaper ways to ship a bike from Australia to Germany?

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  • Thanks everybody for their answers. Unfortunately I found nothing worked out and I had to go to Germany without the bikes, selling them in Australia.
    – Amelse Etomer
    Commented May 27, 2012 at 4:46
  • Lufthansa will accept bicycles as-is without disassembly if they are below 32kg. The cost is around $150 USD. You just roll it up to the check in counter, and ride out of (oversize) baggage reclaim at the other end. They are only accepted this way on Lufthansa planes, not on codeshares, so this doesn't help you getting out of Australia, where they're all codeshares.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Feb 7, 2016 at 19:22

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Check with the airline you are flying with. Airlines generally have a small surcharge for taking a bike along, since people frequently travel with sporting equipment.

I looked into flying with a bike from Canada to France last year and it was only a $30 charge on the airline I was flying with (they even accepted tandems). I can't guarantee your airline will be as reasonable, but it's definitely worth looking into.

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  • I've upvoted you, because it is most reasonable to pick an airline with only small surcharges. Unfortunately I was on a return flight and with an airline that charges 1% of the first class price per kg excess bagagge with no exceptions for bicycles. On my way to Australia I had no bike.
    – Amelse Etomer
    Commented May 27, 2012 at 4:50
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I think you have already answered your own question, but I'll propose a few ideas.

For one, you will very probably need to disassemble the bike in any scenario, so you should get down to it asap. After you disassemble it, you'll at least know exactly what sizes and weights of parts you end up with.

As for transporting it: have you tried looking for a last-minute two-way ticket to Germany and back? I don't know what prices you got there, but airlines here in Europe usually sell their last-minute tickets for a very low price (read $150). This would be your best bet imo. Get a ticket like that, take the disassembled bike and no other baggage. Transport the bike and travel back to Australia. Then, simply travel to Germany when the time comes, taking only your baggage :)

I believe this is the safest, fastest and cheapest way to transport your bike.

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