What's The Easiest and Cheapest Way to Get My Bike to Portland, Oregon?

Has anyone tried shipping a bicycle cross-country? What's the best way?

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Permalink Reply by Jared on April 27, 2015 at 1:33pm

Are you going with it?

Amtrak is probably the answer if you're willing to take 2+ days to get there.

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Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on April 27, 2015 at 5:12pm

I like this better. If they'd let us roll it on the train instead of boxing it, that would be awesome.

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Permalink Reply by Jaik S. on April 27, 2015 at 2:25pm

Most bike shops offer shipping services...I think they run around $85-$120.

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Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on April 27, 2015 at 5:06pm

Hacksaw.

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Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on April 27, 2015 at 5:10pm

Pick up a bike box from your local bike shop with all the packaging material in it from when they unpacked a new bike. Make sure to pack it properly - bear in mind this will take most of your Saturday or Sunday to get done. Take it to UPS or FedEx and ship it.

If you're not much of a bike mechanic and are insecure with tools, take it to your local shop and have them do it. This will cost $$$, since you'll have to get someone to reassemble it on the other end. C'est la vie.

This is why I have a folding bike as well as a mountain and a touring bike. Folding bikes are easy to ship.

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Permalink Reply by MagMileMarauder on April 27, 2015 at 5:47pm

The nicest way by far is taking the (Amtrak's) Empire Builder, which takes off at Union Station, and will be a beautiful ride through Glacier National Park in Montana, more mountains in Idaho, flats and mountain forests. In Spokane it splits into two trains, one goes to Seattle, the other one to Portland for $174 if you buy now. Of course you need to box it, but that should be done fairly easy. Remove pedals, rear dérailleur, wheels, racks, fenders, and handlebar stem. You can get a free box at a bike shop. There are instructional Youtube videos on how to do this if you have never worked on your bike. If you need to get there fast, Southwest lets you carry a boxed bike under 50lbs included in the airfare.