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Home > Guides > Shipping a bicycle
One note first: LetterAgent sells Canada-only flat-rate Xpresspost shipping labels with a 5 kg limit, so a bicycle won't fit; treat this as general advice. Shipping a bike means getting a bike box, removing the pedals and front wheel, and padding the frame. Couriers treat boxed bikes as oversize, so expect an oversize fee on top of the base rate and buy enough insurance.
Bike boxes are long, narrow cardboard boxes sized for a disassembled bike, and the cheapest source is your local bike shop: shops receive new bikes in these boxes and usually give the empties away or sell them cheap. Ask on a weekday morning, when deliveries arrive and the boxes are plentiful. Dedicated bike-shipping boxes exist too, with sturdier cardboard and built-in fork mounts, and they are worth it for an expensive bike. Whatever you use, measure the packed box yourself before getting a quote: carriers price on the box you actually hand them, not the box the bike came in.
You do not need to strip the bike to the frame. The goal is to remove the parts that stick out and break:
| Step | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Remove the pedals | Left pedal unscrews clockwise (reverse thread); right pedal counterclockwise | Pedals are the most common source of box punctures |
| 2. Turn or remove the handlebars | Loosen the stem and rotate the bars parallel to the frame, or remove them and strap them alongside | Bars sticking sideways are what snap in transit |
| 3. Remove the front wheel | Strap it to the side of the frame with the rotor or rim protected | Cuts the box length dramatically and protects the fork |
| 4. Protect the dropouts | Push plastic axle plugs or a spare spacer into the fork and frame dropouts | Empty dropouts bend easily when the box is dropped on its end |
| 5. Guard the derailleur | Shift to the largest rear cog, or remove the derailleur and tape it inside the frame triangle | The rear derailleur is the single most damage-prone part on a shipped bike |
| 6. Pad the frame | Pipe insulation or foam on the top tube, down tube, and fork legs | Metal-on-metal contact inside the box chips paint and dents tubing |
The left-pedal reverse thread catches almost everyone the first time: remember that both pedals unscrew toward the back of the bike. And deflate the tires only slightly if at all. Ground carriers do not require deflation, and a fully flat tire lets the rim take impacts directly.
A boxed adult bike is long, and carriers charge for size as well as weight. Most couriers apply an oversize surcharge once any dimension passes their threshold, and bike boxes routinely trigger it. Dimensional weight pricing can also bite: the box is big but light, so you may be billed on the box's volume rather than its actual weight. Get the quote with your real box dimensions, not a guess, and ask specifically whether an oversize fee applies.
Insurance deserves its own thought. Standard carrier liability on a parcel is modest, and a mid-range bike exceeds it quickly. Declare the full replacement value and pay for the extra coverage. Photograph the bike from several angles before you pack it, and keep the photos: if you file a damage claim, the carrier will ask for proof of the bike's condition before shipping.
E-bikes add a battery problem. Lithium batteries are regulated as dangerous goods, and many carriers restrict or refuse them, especially by air. Some shippers remove the battery and ship it separately under the battery rules, or ship the bike without the battery entirely. If your e-bike has an integrated battery you cannot remove, check with the carrier before you pack anything: this is the part of bike shipping most likely to be refused at the counter.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.
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