My bicycle

I am  a graduate student moving to York for a six month research fellowship.  In the states, I rely on my bicycle for transportation and for pleasure.  I have considered buying a bicycle once I arrive in the UK, and bringing my own from home.  I am leaning towards bringing my own as I will need to purchase a travel case to bring it along with me to other places in Europe anyway. 

Does anyone have experience bringing a bicycle with them on the flight from the US to UK?    And how is travel with a bicycle via train and shorter flights (Ryan air, etc) to countries on the continent?

Thank you!

I don't have any personal experience, however a friend of mine travels with his bike on the train quite frequently...often to escape the rain (and it does rain all the time here!).  Also, he takes his bike home to Italy with him via Ryan Air twice a year and told me it's quite easy to do, however I don't know what the additional cost is.

I don't know all the ins and outs of transporting a bike but I would bring your bike.  If you rely on it that much, then absolutely bring it! 

You are in luck. York is a very bicycle-friendly city, with paths designated for bicyclists. Many people commute to work by bicycle every day.

http://www.york.gov.uk/cycling/

My mother brought my bike with her the last time she came over.  I think it cost either $80 or $100, no hassle and much cheaper than buying one here.  She took it to a bike shop and had them pack it in a box, cost about $10.

When we first came over to France from Califonia, my husband brought his bicycle.  I think we ended up buying a bicycle box from the airline at the airport, and paying around $100 in extra baggage charges. We even took it on the train with us traveling here from Charles de Gaulle.  No problemo.   

USAirways is one of the few airlines that does NOT charge to transport bicycles.  But they must be packed properly, handlebars and pedels removed, etc.  See their website for details.

Please, take your own. You'll find that bikes and parts in the UK are significantly more expensive than in the US, so stock up on spares before you go.

For shipping, you have two options. You can go to your local friendly LBS (Local Bike Shop), and asking them for a shipping box. All new bikes are deliver to the dealers in one, and most of them just crush/recycle the boxes afterwards. These are cardboard.

Alternatively, you can buy a reusable shipping box (plastic), and used that when you want to take your bike elsewhere in the future. The airline will charge you between $40 and $80 each way, even though there are plenty of boxes that now fit within the luggage size requirements. I've gone round and round with gate agents on this one, and have reverted to  removing all bike related stickers from the outside, and telling them that it is some other type of equipment. If it fits inside the luggage limits, why should we pay extra just because it happens to be a bike? Anyway, rant over, sorry.

I could go on and on, but you'll be better off just reading this, and checking out the links on the page...

http://www.wikihow.com/Ship-a-Bicycle-Cheaply