Tips For Traveling With Your Bike
Traveling with a bike can be as easy or as difficult as you allow it to be. If there is one word of advise that is more important than all other advise, it is to be familiar with your particular travel case and how your particular bike fits in it. Do a test pack before you have to figure things out.
Most hardshell cases are large enough to provide plenty of space for everything to fit without much thought while other cases take a bit more time and packing ingenuity. The Orucase Ninja cases we use are great in that they are amazing compact when packed, which allows them to fit into smaller vehicles, avoid airlines bike fees, and even have backpack straps. These cases do require a bit more disassembly and reassembly of the bike, but with the right pre-planning, this is a non-issue.
The second word of advise is to allow plenty of time to get it packed. This is where you don't want to be rushed. I have packed bikes many, many times and it always takes longer than you think so plan ahead and just budget the extra time accordingly.
As you disassemble the bike, keep track of each tool needed, and set it aside with everything going in the case, not back into your toolbox. if you need to cut zip-ties off the bike, have new ones to pack with it along with a small cutter. All small parts such as skewers, bolts, ect should be put into a clear ziplock bag. this makes the job of the TSA agent easier as they are less likely open the bag if they can see into it. This bag can be taped or zip-tied to a frame tube or wheel to keep track of it.
Handle bars with the stem and brake/shift levers can be awkward to pack into smaller cases. Plan on removing the stem. Depending on where in the case the bars need to be positioned, shift cables my need to be undone from the derailleurs. Rim brake or mechanical disk cables may also need to be undone from the calipers in order to provide enough slack to position the bars in the case where they need to go. For hydro disks with internal cable routing, simply removing the caliper from the mount, should give the lines enough free movement to position the bars appropriately in the case.
Let the air out of the tires. Most tubeless setups should be fine and the tires should stay seated with no sealant leaking issues. If you are concerned that your setup might leak, remove the sealant and take a small bottle with you and add it when you reassemble the bike at your destination. For soft cases, always a good idea to add a few pieces of pipe insulation to the make tubes.
Shoes, pedals, and helmets are very personal fitting items and we generally recommend that you carry them in your carry-on bag. If you plan on putting all of your riding clothes into the case, we recommend keeping one set in a checked bag or in a carry on. The goal here is that should the bike, or a checked bag get lost or delayed, you have enough in your carry on to ride with for a day or so.