Which folding/disassemblable bicycles will fit into an airline legalsuitcase?

[SMS]

With the recent thread on United Airlines and the increase in the cost
to check a bicycle as luggage, buying a bicycle that will fit into an
airline legal suitcase seems to be making more sense.

One's I know of:

Birdy (18" wheels)

Brompton (16" wheels)

Gaerlan gt20 (20" wheels) See
"http://www.gaerlan.com/bikes/gotravel/gtfold.htm" and
"http://www.gaerlan.com/bikes/gotravel/gotravel.htm"

The Bike Friday packing case slightly exceeds the airline's 62" limit
(65.5") though it's unlikely you'd ever get dinged for this.

Similarly, there is also a larger suitcase available,
"http://gaerlan.com/bikes/jumbo.gif" which can be bought (maybe) from
"http://www.welectronics.com/luggage.shtml" (it's the Trident 33"
suitcase with no picture). Again, it exceeds the 62" size, but the
airlines almost never measure a suitcase, they just weigh them.

[PatTX]

I have taken my Bike Friday in its airline case on several flights with no
problems whatsoever--if you don't count the TSA agents taking it out once
and then trying to jam it back in. I even had photos taped to the inside
lid of the case.....There were a couple of things bent from their efforts,
but nothing crucial and nothing that couldn't be fixed in a short time.

Oh---also took it on AMTRAK with no problems or extra charges.

Pat in TX

[SMS]

PatTX wrote:
> I have taken my Bike Friday in its airline case on several flights with no
> problems whatsoever--if you don't count the TSA agents taking it out once
> and then trying to jam it back in. I even had photos taped to the inside
> lid of the case.....There were a couple of things bent from their efforts,
> but nothing crucial and nothing that couldn't be fixed in a short time.

Yeah, hopefully no airline agents will suddenly start looking for
slightly oversize suitcases in order to get more revenue. The bike
friday web site says that they know of no one that's ever gotten dinged
by that. Maybe it's better to do curb check in for domestic flights to
avoid gate agents with tape measures. I've seen them measure boxes
before, but never a suitcase. I guess they assume that there aren't a
lot of slightly oversized pieces of luggage out there.

[PatTX]

SMS wrote:
:: PatTX wrote:
::: I have taken my Bike Friday in its airline case on several flights
::: with no problems whatsoever--if you don't count the TSA agents
::: taking it out once and then trying to jam it back in. I even had
::: photos taped to the inside lid of the case.....There were a couple
::: of things bent from their efforts, but nothing crucial and nothing
::: that couldn't be fixed in a short time.
::
:: Yeah, hopefully no airline agents will suddenly start looking for
:: slightly oversize suitcases in order to get more revenue. The bike
:: friday web site says that they know of no one that's ever gotten
:: dinged by that. Maybe it's better to do curb check in for domestic
:: flights to avoid gate agents with tape measures. I've seen them
:: measure boxes before, but never a suitcase. I guess they assume that
:: there aren't a lot of slightly oversized pieces of luggage out there.

Well, this is a standard Samsonite 26" suitcase that Bike Friday has
modified. The airport people have seen jillions of them over the years.

[peter]

On Oct 20, 7:25*am, "PatTX" > wrote:
> SMS wrote:
> :: PatTX wrote:
>
> ::: I have taken my Bike Friday in its airline case on several flights
> ::: with no problems whatsoever--if you don't count the TSA agents
> ::: taking it out once and then trying to jam it back in. *I even had
> ::: photos taped to the inside lid of the case.....There were a couple
> ::: of things bent from their efforts, but nothing crucial and nothing
> ::: that couldn't be fixed in a short time.
> ::
> :: Yeah, hopefully no airline agents will suddenly start looking for
> :: slightly oversize suitcases in order to get more revenue. The bike
> :: friday web site says that they know of no one that's ever gotten
> :: dinged by that. Maybe it's better to do curb check in for domestic
> :: flights to avoid gate agents with tape measures. I've seen them
> :: measure boxes before, but never a suitcase. I guess they assume that
> :: there aren't a lot of slightly oversized pieces of luggage out there.
>
> Well, this is a standard Samsonite 26" suitcase that Bike Friday has
> modified. The airport people have seen jillions of them over the years.

Yes, I've seen both standard Samsonite and Carlton suitcases used by
Bike Friday. The only modification is that they lack the usual
interior outfitting of regular luggage and they have three small holes
drilled in the side to allow for mounting on the trailer. The size of
my Carlton suitcase is 9.5" x 29.5" x 22.5" and is therefore within
the 62" airline limit. The Samsonite case used by Bike Friday was
slightly smaller so passed by a wider margin.

No need to fear ticket agents with tape measures.

[SMS]

PatTX wrote:

> Well, this is a standard Samsonite 26" suitcase that Bike Friday has
> modified. The airport people have seen jillions of them over the years.

That's what I thought, but then I read what's on the Bike Friday web site:

"With outside dimensions of approximately 31.5 x 23 x 11 inches (80 x
58.4 x 28 cm), it may be a wee bit over some airlines' published
no-surcharge size (depending on how you measure it), neither we at Bike
Friday nor the nice folks at Samsonite have heard of any oversize
luggage fees being assessed. Check with your airline to be sure if
you're concerned."

[Jym Dyer]

>> ... this is a standard Samsonite 26" suitcase that Bike
>> Friday has modified. The airport people have seen jillions
>> of them over the years.
> The size of my Carlton suitcase is 9.5" x 29.5" x 22.5" and
> is therefore within the 62" airline limit. The Samsonite
> case used by Bike Friday was slightly smaller so passed by
> a wider margin.

=v= The difference here is between the earlier (26") Samsonites
and the newer (29") Samsonites. The Bike Friday was actually
designed to fit in the 26" model, but it's a tight fit.

=v= You can still get the old suitcases, but Bike Friday sells
the newer one on their site, presumably because customers like
more room. Also, it's an upright suitcase rather than a
roll-behind, so it's easier to lug. (I very briefly saw some
26" Samsonites retrofitted this way and wish I'd gotten one.)
<_Jym_>