UKC

I need to send a child's bike by post.

Any recommendations / companies to avoid like the plague?

In reply to Tim Davies:

Paisley Freight is pretty good; their website caters for all kinds of weird objects.

Pack the bike well; there is no courier whose monkeys will not throw the package or drop it off the back of a truck. Many of them act as agents for TNT who damaged a bike that I sold on Ebay by driving a sharp object like a fork truck tine through the carton. Annoyingly, the buyer's wife signed for it "in good condition" causing me one hell of a headache so be sure to warn your consignee not to be harassed by the driver but to inspect the package and sign for it as "damaged" if in any doubt, so as to have a comeback against the courier.

In reply to Tim Davies:

Have a look at: Parcel2Go, its a web site which will compare quotes from all the leading courier companies.

In reply to Tim Davies:

Sit start with your left hand on the saddle, heel hook the top tube, rock over and then mantle up onto the handlebars.

In reply to Tim Davies:

One cycle company puts logos of flat screen TV's on the outside of its packaging, which apparently greatly reduced damages.

In reply to wilkesley:


Does no-one notice that the package is, well, kind of bike shaped?!

In reply to kathrync:

Packed bikes ready to be assembled at the bike shop are sort of flatscreen TV shaped.

In reply to The New NickB:

The last one I had definitely looked like a bike - but it does have drop-bars and they were the giveaway because they stuck out.