Australia_bound?

I've heard customs can be strict when trying to get items that have been outside. Any soil is a no no. Have 2 bikes we're taking and have jet washed them this morning, is proving to be very difficult is getting every grain of dirt off them.
I understand if customs pick up an issue they charge to clean it? Any ideas on how much this charge would be for a bike. Want to know just incase I miss a few spots.

desperatehousewife

We brought 7 bikes with us, jetwashed them like you, they all got through no problems and one was quite rusty, so I'm sure yours will be fine if you've cleaned them.

Can't help with the charges but i do know that if something needs cleaned then you'll be contacted and given the option to pay to have it cleaned or destroyed.

good luck...all the jetwashing is worth it in the end!

muckypup

degreaser will get all dirt off ,but wear gloves to protect your hands

Australia_bound?

Can anyone update on possible charges please?
Thanks for those who replied

datamile

Saw a thread that said - $575 + GST to steam clean 2 bikes.

Typically depending on work load they are going to open 3 or 4 things. Whether they charge you appears to be totally random. You could clean 4 bikes the same, and get charged for one.

They are looking for anything organic so will open shoes boxes (mud ) , christmas trees ( fake pine cones ) , bikes, pressed flowers, camping stuff etc. I think we only got the xmas boxes openned.

Its pretty rare to get charged, but its also pretty random. Best to mark on the shipping list, and on the items themselves that they are cleaned, if possible make it smell of cleaning fuild etc.

Effie1970

13 yrs ago our bike got cleaned by customs and cost us $175 to have cleaned - which was only the tyres... ex hubby had gone out on the bike just prior to the removalists arriving and while it was pretty clean it had been out in the mud

Wendy66

We brought 3 bikes, although to be fair they are 'roadrace' and 'timetrial' bikes as hubby is heavily into the sport, all off them got opened, two of them came in our shipment and one came over with our luggage as he couldn't be parted from his bike that long all were opened as I mentioned but all passed, but they were spotless.

He has about 3 transit loads worth of tools as well, which he cleaned but tbh it's not the rust I'd worry about it's dirt they don't like so long as you can get that off. Try scrubbing with 'hot' soapy water, leaving to moisten dirt and then jet washing it and repeat - a lot of the tools were 'clean' but many had rust on and every box was opened that had tools in.

We brought over a few dog cages as well, and they were all opened as well so if anyone has pets make sure that stuff is clean. We carried the collars/leads/bowls through customs with our luggage as we needed them for the dogs after quarantine, we declared them and they checked they were clean and then took them off for a quick 'steralise' (ie, a squirty bottle one of them had under the counter).

Australia_bound?

My word bikes not worth that much. Seems an awful lot of money for son's bmx and OH's mountain bike.... Can anyone confirm this?

steve_chal

I can only comment on my experience, I moved over here in August and figured that as the airline had an additional sporting goods allowance I would bring my mountain bike and use it to get around for a while before I bought a car.
I pressure washed the bike, took about an hour. I never managed to shift most of the rust, but on advice I took the tyres off and cleaned and soaked them overnight in Jayes fluid.
Boxed the bike up and got on the plane. At customs this end they opened the box sufficiently to inspect the tyres, smelt that they were disinfected and waved me on my way.
Total cost £3.50 Jayes fluid, 2 hours of effort. but again that was coming through the airport rather than in a container. I can't see that they will have any different regulations though.

Brisben

Bikes are cheap as chips here, sell em and buy new ones. Brand new full suspension mountain bike with disk brakes and 21 speed, all for a sum of $100 or 50 quid, brand new in the box, warranty and all.

Save your money and get them once you arrive.

Australia_bound?

Have decided on shipping sons as is like new condition and OH's is an old one that is too much hassle to bother with.

Many thanks for all the replies

nevsy

I shipped a few over in my container.I washed them down with soap and water disinfected the wheels and then sprayed the whole lot with spray oil.There were still a few soil marks on the tyres but I had listed in my inventory what had been done to the wheels and there no problems.

Good Luck

andreak

We also bought over bikes and just to make sure they didn't get picked on we removed the tyres before shipping and just bought new tyres over here. As they are in contact with the ground they are the hardest to get all dirt etc removed so didnt bother with them. Obviously if you have new tyres I wouldn't remove them but if they are old just take them off. They sell them over here no probs.

deryans

if by bikes you mean standard Mtb or sub 1000 gbp road bike, then I'd probably not bother shipping them.

but.......

If you have something Vintage , say a 7-8 speed classic road bike, or for example a custom built (condor) road frame with a 10 speed campag record group on say mavic cosmics, which is say 3-4 years old, then you **would** not be able to get anything like that here in Oz for less than 7 maybe 8K

Pro-bikes, even the 2006,7 8 and 9 models are considerably cheaper in the UK and Europe.

Never jet wash directly the bottom bracket(where the pedal crank meets the frame, or the headset (the front fork attachment) as these are designed to be sealed and are not water proof from a direct jet, you'll have to get a bike shop or strip them down yourself and re-grease.


soap , water, toothbrush and plastic scrub pads are well sufficient for quarrantine (note it's not customs) and degrease and lube the chain

Just make sure there is no dirt on the bikes!

lapin_windstar

Customs aren't interested in dirt, it's mud they're worried about. My commuters were covered in odious road grime and packed in clear plastic bags. Customs ripped them open, checked frame and tyres, (presumably) saw nothing organic/soily and let them through.

But yes, they are remarkably diligent.

Edit: OK, yes, true, it's AQIS, not customs.

There is no full-sus bike with disc brakes for $100 that isn't utter, utter shite. A rigid bike at the same price point is going to be an order of magnitude lighter and have better components.