Cyclry

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BikeFlights Makes it Easier to Ship E-Bikes

Ever needed to ship your e-bike within the contiguous United States? No, you haven’t. Stop it, you haven’t.

But if you had needed to do that thing that you haven’t done, you’d discover that the battery makes it difficult. Trust us, we know all about IATA dangerous goods labels and how lithium batteries tend to explode when a baggage handler intentionally launches your bike down a 20ft drop.

Well now BikeFlights.com has the answer. It’s a five-step process, and one of the steps is buying something from them. We’ve included their video, but we haven’t watched it, so apologies if there’s like five minutes of meatspin in the middle as part of a prank on us.

BikeFlights.com, a bicycle shipping service and bike box supplier, has just made it easier for individual cyclists and businesses to ship e-bikes within the contiguous U.S.

“As more people have purchased e-bikes, the need to buy and sell as well as travel with e-bikes has grown,” said William Alcorn, President of BikeFlights. “We’re excited to release a simple, new program for packing and shipping e-bikes safely and with more confidence.”

Shipping an e-bike is similar to shipping a standard bike with a few key exceptions. The biggest difference is that e-bikes have a battery that is dangerous if damaged. E-bikes also tend to be heavier and more difficult to pack due to their wiring, so they typically require bigger, sturdier boxes like the BikeFlights Bike Box Large.

BikeFlights’ e-bike shipping program is for shipping single e-bikes that have their battery either contained within the frame or fully installed. E-bike shipping is available via ground service within the contiguous U.S. Prior to shipping, all e-bike shippers must follow these five e-bike-specific packing instructions:

  1. Lower your e-bike’s battery charge to less than 30% to limit cell-to-cell combustion.
  2. Power off your e-bike battery, remove any keys, and ensure that the battery cannot turn “on” during transit.
  3. Protect your e-bike and its battery by using lots of extra-dense foam padding.
  4. Pack your e-bike into a large and sturdy box rated for e-bikes such as the BikeFlights Bike Box Large (BBL).
  5. Completely remove all bulk shipping hazmat markings such as the Class 9 sticker and UN3480 sticker.

BikeFlights’ new e-bike shipping program makes e-bike shipping more accessible to more people by removing the financial and time costs associated with getting hazmat certified. Previously, BikeFlights allowed complete e-bike shipments only by shippers who had a current hazmat shipping certification. Such certification is no longer required, effective immediately.