Has anyone shipped a bicycle out of Taiwan? Who did you use, and how much was it?
Thinking about shipping my bike to Aus, but don’t know where to start…
Cheers 
Did you think about the Taiwan Post Office? Would be a slow boat, but cheap. I thin for only one bike, it doesn’t make sense to go with a shipping company. You know, you could even use UPS. Whatever you decide don’t trust anyone and get a quote from UPS/DHL and the Taiwan Post office before you contact a shipping agent or let a shipping agent convince you that he is cheaper and no need to check with the post office.
Thanks, Josh. I never thought about the post office. I guess I assumed that they had size limits to what they could ship. Will ask them.
Has anyone done it before through the post office, DHL, or another shipping company? How much did it cost?
You can calculate estimated time and cost for UPS here:
wwwapps.ups.com/calTimeCost?loc=en_TW
Locations here:
ups.com/content/tw/en/contact/index.html
I don’t see it in the list above but there is also a UPS office upstairs in the world trade center (Hsinyi). Ask for Chen xiao jie… she speaks english. There are also two bike shops within walking distance from that location (just acrosss the street on Keelung) who might be able to help you out with boxes… or other ways of shipping. Good luck.
Instead of shipping it, you can check it as a piece of luggage when you fly back. I bought a bike in Taiwan a few years ago and brought it back with me to the US on my flight. Just checked it in the original box. It wasn’t even taxed. Took it to a bike shop and paid US$25 to have it assembled and tuned up.
Hey all,
as I found information here was not complete on the subject of bike shipping, here is what I found in my extensive search. I’m sending mine to Canada, so it’s a bit more complicated than say Australia.
Post office:
That was my first option, but I misunderstood the way to calculate the size of the box: for Canada, the limit is 300cm. The size of your package is obtained by adding the 2 shortest lengths, times 2, then adding the longest length. (I was doing all lengths times 2, which led me te research all other options…)
If the bike is put in 2 boxes, then it’s ok. Bike shops will do that for you, and they can also fit the boxes to be smaller.
Planes:
not all airlines allow you to carry a bike for a reasonable amount of money. (I have to take 3 planes to fly home, hence deal with restrictions of 3 airline companies) some will be free, others will charge you 300 USD… The way to measure the size of your package on a plane is the total of all 3 lengths.
Fed-ex/UPS:
I found better prices on the UPS website, but it’s still pretty damned expensive. Your bike has to be worth a lot to send it that way.
Moving/shipping companies:
These people move houses or appartments. they want to fill containers. with the price estimate they were giving me for my bike, one could buy the most expensive bike there is with a s***load of the fanciest gear with all the trimmings. not a good option.
Hope this helps some of you!
cheers,
p
i flew Cathay to Melbourne and Cathay back from Sydney to Taipei last year, with my bike as checked luggage (no other luggage). Bike was disassembled and packed in a cardboard bike box (one of those that the bike is delivered to the store in, not a much larger bike transport case), and together with clothes etc stuffed in it all came to about 18 kg.
was not charged a cent extra, even though i had to change planes at HK. any American airline, though, will rip your arms and legs off AND take the life of your first born.
YMMV.
I’m gonna bump this up and ask for an update if anyone has one. I’m still a ways out from returning to the States, but I really like my Giant commuter bike and would like to take it home when the time comes. Should I consider trying to take it as one of my pieces of luggage, just pay the extra airline fee, or try to ship it. Wondering if anyone on here has done it lately and has any new info.
6 months later. Anyone have any more recent info on shipping a bike back to the US? 
nah but at the bike show last week there were a lot of cool bike suitcases on display…
Last time I looked, hard cases were terribly expensive. Anyone knows where reasonably-priced hard bike cases can be had?
I just shipped two bikes to Canada. My bro came here for a visit and bought two bikes to send back. The guy at the shop
(Cowboy’s) yep…that’s his name, boxed it for me. He went to the post office got the dimensions and then used the box that the bikes ship from the manufacturer, cut it down a little and boxed it to spec. I got the 2 boxes dropped off at the PO. They measured it, weight it and gave me some forms to fill and pay the shipping. Cost me about $56 CAD per bike to ship to Vancouver. I shipped it on boat (you have a choice for air - obviously cost more). It would probably take about 2 months according to the guy. I didn’t really care how long it took. Probably the recipient will have to pay taxes but it is still so much more cheaper than buying the same bike in Canada. Anyway, the Canadian customs are very particular about the box size and I assume the same for other countries.
The bike shop guy told me that shipping to the US is very difficult. It is easier to ship to canada. He mentioned something about the conveyors on the US side are smaller dimensions which makes boxing a bike into one box very hard. Probably 2 boxes per bike etc. I don’t really know what the dimensions are but you can always ask the PO guys for dimensions. Just some info for anyone who wants to ship bikes back. Was actually less hassle than I thought.
G.
My daughter just took a custom built DBK bike, (packed by dear dad)to Canada about a month ago and had no probs, and she was travelling as an unaccompanied minor, too. She took it as a piece of checked luggage on Eva Airways.
Good luck