As a loyal everyday companion, your bike is above all a sustainable means of transportation. It gets you from A to B quickly and is just as reliable on your commute as it is on a weekend trip. Occasionally, however, it turns from a means of transportation into a means of transport itself. For example, when you take it with you on buses and trains or plan extended bike tours on vacation. But how does bicycle transportation work in practice?
E-bikes are the perfect transport for humans in a fairly uncomplicated way. Get on, pedal, ride off. That’s it. It gets trickier when the bike itself needs to be transported — because unfortunately, they are much bulkier than we are. And comparatively heavy due to the battery.
And occasionally, you have to send a bike by post when you sell it. In this article, we’ll show you how to transport bikes easily in everyday life and how to send them correctly.
Shipping Bikes — How the Professionals Do It
Bulky goods — the standard shipping category alone, which you normally have to choose for your bike, sounds like a problem. And conjures up visions of greater expense. In practice, however, shipping your bike is much less complicated than feared.
Foremost, the right packaging is crucial. Professionals use special bike boxes that are not only robust, but also precisely tailored to the dimensions of a standard bike. In these boxes, the bike is wrapped in foam or bubble wrap to protect it from knocks and scratches. Particularly important parts such as the frame or fork should be additionally secured.
The Choice of the Perfect Transport Company
How to transport bikes by ship? When it comes to shipping, the professionals rely on logistics partners who have experience in handling bulky and sensitive goods such as bicycles. This doesn’t always have to be DHL, as there are also shipping companies that specialize in shipping bulky goods (and bicycles).
Bicycle Transportation by Car and Train
An e-bike alone offers you a decent range. You can usually reach distant destinations that would be too challenging with a conventional bike without too much effort. But even the largest battery has a finite capacity, and at some point you will have reached all the destinations in the area.
Transporting your bike by car or train, on the other hand, allows you to explore entirely new destinations. It doesn’t matter whether you’re taking it with you on an extended vacation or just for a weekend trip — you should always follow a few basic rules when transporting it.
The Bike in the Car
When talking about bicycle transportation by car, choosing the right bike rack is crucial. Because if you are not traveling in a van or bus, you need external fastening options.
You have the choice between different carrier systems. Roof racks are straightforward to fit, but change the driving characteristics of the car and usually lead to increased fuel consumption. Rear carriers are easy to load, but are not suitable for every vehicle.
The highest stability is guaranteed by systems that you attach to the trailer coupling — which must be available on your car.
Rail Transport
The focus here is on flexibility. Many trains offer special compartments or hooks for the safe bicycle transportation. Find out in advance about the bicycle transport regulations of the respective train companies and reserve a space for your bicycle if necessary.
(Inter)National Bicycle Transportation — Taking Your Bike on Buses and Trains
Fortunately, individual mobility within the EU no longer ends at national borders. So you can easily take your e-bike with you on your vacation abroad. The regulations are often similar to those in Germany, but you should still be aware of a few special features.
Long-Distance Travel by Train
The combination of rail travel and bike is an unbeatable environmentally friendly travel and vacation option. You can normally always take your bike with you on European slow trains, but currently only on selected high-speed train connections.
All you have to do is book a bike ticket and parking space reservations in advance — this applies both at home and abroad, although the fees may vary.
Traveling Abroad With a Bike and Car
How to transport bikes when taking them with you on travels abroad? This requires a certain amount of preparation and knowledge of local regulations. In particular, if bicycles are transported as an overhanging load that extends beyond the overall length of the vehicle as stated in the vehicle registration document, you will usually need special markings.
The regulations on this vary greatly in Europe and are country-specific — so find out in advance about the relevant regulations in your country of travel.
Your Bike as a Means of Transportation in Everyday Life
Our daily lives are often hectic and therefore require flexible mobility. An e-bike provides you with this in an almost perfectly usable form. It not only transports you quickly, but can also be easily navigated in confusing city traffic at any time without the hassle of searching for a parking space. So it’s no wonder that it has long been one of the most common means of transportation in some cities.
But the advantages don’t end there:
- Health promotion: by cycling regularly, you improve your cardiovascular health, strengthen your muscles and promote your general well-being.
- Environmental awareness: Compared to motorized vehicles, cycling has a significantly lower ecological footprint and helps reduce CO₂ emissions.
- Cost efficiency: With a bike, you save on the cost of gasoline, expensive parking and high maintenance expenses associated with cars.
- Flexibility and independence: A bike allows you to skillfully avoid traffic jams and offers greater flexibility in choosing your route.
- Increased mobility in urban areas: In many cities, bikes are the fastest way to get from A to B. Especially during rush hour.
5 Tips for Climate-Friendly Cycling
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. It is therefore important to update our current mobility habits with sustainable alternatives. A bike promotes perfect transport, as it not only enhances your health, but also actively contributes to reducing climate-damaging emissions.
Maximize the effect with these tips:
- Regular maintenance: A bike in top condition is more efficient and more environmentally friendly. Regular checks of tires, brakes, and chain reduce the amount of energy used when riding and extend the service life of your bike.
- Energy-efficient bikes: Innovative e-bikes such as the Stellar model from Ampler Bikes can extend your mobility and help you cover longer distances in an environmentally friendly way.
- Avoid short trips by car: Rely on the bike for short trips. Even short distances covered by bike add up in terms of their positive impact on the climate. The same applies to proper bicycle transportation on long journeys.
- Bike sharing: Don’t have your own bike at the moment? Then use sharing services in your city.
- Cycling as a daily lifestyle: Use your bike not only for your commute to work, but also for shopping, visits or other errands.
Conclusion
As a sustainable alternative to the car, the bike is impressive on several levels. Not only does it get you to your destination reliably and emission-free, but unlike a car, it can also be easily sent by post or transported by train if you ever need it at a more distant location.
And your bike is not just a loyal companion in everyday life. With suitable carrier systems or appropriate train compartments, you can easily take your bike with you on vacation.
Bicycle Transportation when ordering an Ampler bike is very easy. After your purchase, you can track the current location of your delivery at any time using shipment tracking. For maximum safety, your bike will be shipped by the specialized transport company that will coordinate the exact delivery date with you in advance.
The bike arrives in a large cardboard box and is largely assembled — all you have to do after the bike has been transported is adjust the handlebars and attach the pedals and reflectors. You can then start cycling straight away and enjoy the comfort of sustainable mobility.