Comments on: Ironman Bike Shipping

By: Cameron

Cameron — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:04:00 +0000

Yes, pretty much – there is some serious gain once you exit the water up to T1…watch out for that!

By: Joshua

Joshua — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:46:05 +0000

Thanks Cameron, I’m pretty sure I’m going the TBT route.

I hear the biggest elevation gain at the Florida IM is on the swim, is that correct?

By: Cameron

Cameron — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:50:30 +0000

Josh – I did IM Florida in 2008 and used Tri Bike Transport to send it down there. Easiest option available. However, as I recall a friend of mine who was also doing the event had to sweet talk TBT into putting Utah on their pickup calendar. The drop off point was at the Sports Den on Foothill in SLC. Not sure exactly how many others used TBT besides myself & 2 friends but I saw there were several bikes when I dropped off my bike. You might want to contact TBT first before banking on it. If they are making a stop (or if you can get them to if they’re not) it is definitely the way to go. You’re unlikely going to get a direct flight into Panama City so the last thing you need to worry about is your bike missing any flight.

Any other shipping service (UPS, etc.) is going to require a breakdown of your bike. TBT takes your bike as is with no breakdown except for maybe your pedals coming off. The only concern you’ll need to consider will be to properly protect your bike from any possible rubbing against other bikes – frame, chainstays, fork, etc. One friend of mine did have one or two spots where his bike was rubbing up on someone else’s on the way to FL.

Best of luck – email me back if you have any other questions. It’s a great race.

By: Dave W.

Dave W. — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:09:05 +0000

You should check to see if any bike shops in that area take care of Ironman shipping. For Ironman Canada, the local bike shop in Penticton will accept bikes shipped to them and will take care of any assembly or tune-ups necessary before you arrive.

By: Te Koi

Te Koi — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:32:42 +0000

Bill nailed it. TBT is $290 and you get about the same price or less and a lot more out of it than if you went with an airline or UPS.

It’s so little hassle it’s sick!

By: Bill Allred

Bill Allred — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:33:32 +0000

Hey Josh,

I used Tri Bike Transport for Lake Placid and it was awesome. Completely painless, I would highly recommend using them. Couple of thoughts:

You don’t want to ship your bike via UPS or the airlines. They don’t know how to take care of bikes or care to learn.

You don’t want to drive to Florida. Way too draining to drive 30 hours before a race.

You can pick up your bike from TBT at least the day before, maybe 2? That’s plenty. You won’t build any additional fitness in the days before a race. Just stay loose, you’ll still have a chance to go for a spin the day before.

Good luck training for Florida.