travelling on planes with EMTB

[Doomanic]

This whole issue is an enormous headache for some poor sod.

FTFY

 

[galaga187]

For short trips demo a bike is a good option I’m doing that for Tweedlove, cheaper than paying to take bike and no battery hassles but might turn out expensive if I buy a new bike ?

 

[hackneybloke]

yes i already thought of the business angle....discussed it with specialized....they thought it was a good idea...but not something they'd be interested in setting up. you would have to invest a lot of money buying batteries so that you had an extensive supply.....and i think ultimately more people will end up hiring the entire bike as prices drop. at the moment it's all 'new'....but it will soon be mainstream and hiring them will be popular.

 

[sonofhans]

Smaller version of Trail Watts run in parallel without the internal battery (leave it at home then you have boosted capacity for home riding too)
or Ligo Batteries could be an option but might be a bit tricky to connect to propriety systems.

 

[Gadget1952]

I bought a specialized turbo levo and then booked to fly with it to the pacific northwest for two months.....only to discover that you can't fly with a lithium ion battery over 160WH (mine is 700WH). I then called various retailers to see how clued up they were on this legislation. they're mostly not. some even admitted that they wouldn't divulge this information to prospective customers in case it put them off purchasing. that really pissed me off. i called specialized and told them i'd spent a shit load of money on one of their products but that i wouldn't be able to take it anywhere, so what was the point? at first they were indifferent.....and told me to buy a battery when i got there (£1000....and like, what was i going to do with after - throw it in the ocean?) i asked them why they hadn't any contingency planning in place for users to rent batteries from them (ditto retailers), but they kinda shrugged and said it was something they might think about in future. as a goodwill gesture (and to their credit) they agreed to supply me with a battery that i can use (gratis) when i arrive in Seattle. all i have to do is pick it up from one of their retail outlets....and then i can hit the trails. yay! i hope they (and other manufacturers) get something in place soon.....because clearly any manufacturer who offers battery hire globally is going to attract more customers. if specialized supplied me with a couple of batteries, i'd be happy to be a point of contact for anyone flying into the UK....because who doesn't want to take their bike with them?? it wouldn't cost specialized anything (a nominal rental fee could apply) and it would be great for the emtb community.....a bit like arriving in a foreign country and knowing you can score some weed from someone as soon as you land....rather than hanging around dodgy train stations and ending up with a handful of privet that cost you 50 euros. obviously i'm not going to have that problem where i'm going

Couldnt agree more. I want to fly to Europe with my Levo but having trouble anyone who advertisers battery rent. I think airlines could provide a safe way of travelling with these batteries ie: metal box?

 

[Laker123]

I’ve seen enough broken/bent derailleur hangers or other parts that to me it’s far easier to spend $100 and hire a nice new ebike in whichever county I’m going to than go through the hassle of taking a bike with me, even if you could take batteries I personally wouldn’t bother.

For anyone complaining about the airlines look up UPS flight 6, although extreme circumstance it’s the main reason we have the rules we now have, and 2 people lost there lives to make it happen. Also we all know about the galaxy note, hover boards and as already mentioned 787 problems. It’s just to much of a risk to do it.

 

[MTB Beds]

Hi, a bit late to this thread but this maybe of interest to anyone looking this up in the future, a service we just launched in Morzine and Finale Ligure, free battery rental for Specialized owners staying with us - E-Bike battery rental with MTB Beds

We also put out this Faq on travelling with your E-Bike, though looks like most of you guys have this covered already !- E-Bike Travel FAQ