I work at a TBT drop / pickup the women’s Kona bikes came back few days ago and the Finland bikes have been back for a while.
There is a issue with the bikes from Spain long over due.

So when will we get them back - apparently they have been in NC for a long time now

There is a discussion in the Ironman Cozumel Facebook group about this. Some/lots of Finland bikes are heldup and Spain too. TBT reportly has filled bankruptcy in California recently. Sounds like a big mess!

Not personally, as I haven't shipped my bike anywhere this year with them. But hearing that there's a lot of trouble.

I cannot vouch for this, but the following was posted today on one of the triathlon groups I follow on Facebook:

TL;DR - No one who used TBT for Pontevedra, Spain has their bikes. TBT appears to be bankrupt. There is no ETA on when/if we will get our bikes back. If you used them for Cozumel, be very [/url]concerned and bring a bike transport bag/box with you to take your bike home in.
I, and many many others, used TriBike Transport to move my trusty 2-wheeled steed to Pontevedra, Spain. After returning our bikes to TBT after the race, we have not received our bikes back in America. What has been seen through various court filings in NC and CA, the freight company used is still owed $319K from, what appears to be, shipment to/from Finland for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. There was a temporary restraining order for the freight company, Horizon Entertainment, to release the bikes in NC, but they shipped the bikes to NJ and now they are in Chicago. They appear to be moving the bikes to avoid releasing the bikes to the owners and intentionally creating confusion. Some bike owners placed AirTags in their bikes, against TBT rules, and are tracking the crate. TBT wants to know who has the AirTags, but we are unsure if it is to penalize those that have them or to collaborate with them on tracking the crate. So, no one is talking.
A lawsuit was filed in CA bankruptcy court against TBT. This seems to corroborate with an email (TBT has only sent 3 emails that I can tell from my email) from them a couple days ago and included the word “restructuring”. For all intents and purposes, it appears that TBT is bankrupt.
TBT has sent 3 emails and none of them make you feel good at all about the situation. The CA filing also lists those who shipped their bikes with TBT as co-defendants. Though very unlikely to happen, there is a certain sense of concern with us bike owners that we may be on partial hook for the $319K. There is also a huge concern with the freight company selling the bikes to recoup the $319K. TBT has been terrible with communication, like as a CYA.
Also, TBT is self-insured so those of us who paid extra for insurance are SOL. Goodbye bike, goodbye money. (FYI, the base cost to ship the bike to Spain was ~$750 before additional insurance.)
If you go to TBT’s website, you will no longer see 2024 races. You may also have noticed that you have stopped receiving the previously incessant emails with $50 off. If you have a reservation with them, I would make alternate plans. If you used them for Cozumel, pray your bike arrives and consider bringing a bike bag with you to take your bike home. I hope you don’t go through what Team USA athletes are going through currently."
All reac

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I ride Felt.

Not all Kona bikes have been returned, although sounds like many have.

Mine went to Finland then to Kona now said to be on its way to Cozumel. Should I be concerned? Will the company follow thru with my ship to from Cozumel ?

from my own investigations, your cozumel bike should be fine.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I would imagine you’d eventually get your bike back but who knows how many months it will take.

If I were you I’d bring a bike bag to Cozumel and ship it home myself

Fine arriving or fine getting home? (Or both)

Any intel you can share regarding the Kona bikes that haven’t been returned?

So, I get the thought to make other plans for 2024. But my bigger concerns are having already made reservations for Oceanside, will I see that money back?

Or is it too early to really know what is going to happen?

I just read this on the same FB group and immediately came over here for more info. I’ve never done a race that required flying a bike but I do find this quite interesting.

RP

I'm in the same boat. I've paid for IM Texas and am wondering what to do about the $610 I've already paid. Guess I'm going to wait a bit and hope for the best

My guess is you will need to dispute the charge with your credit card company and ask for a chargeback.

Did you pay with a CC? Might want to call them and see what they say?

Where are you coming from to go to Texas if you don’t mind me asking? I can’t believe it’s $600 for TBT. That’s the price of a good hard case that you can use multiple times a year.

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blog

Maryland-> Texas. The price is high due to the amount of insurance I am carrying based on my bike's worth.

I have a BBA and it cost significantly more than $600. My bike is also very hard to take a part and doesn't fit easily in a BBA, hence why I prefer to use TBT. I'm likely going to order a Thule Transition case and sell my BBA

I’m also interested in the status of the Kona bikes, as I have not received my bike or gear bag yet.

OK unrelated to this thread but I am in DC and have a Thule Transition case and would love to swap it for a BBA, message me.

Kona bikes should be returned this week. The company should be good thru this month.

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

I purchased a regular BBA a while back. But purchased the new Aero Easyfit BBA last November for 535 British pounds (around $650 USD). I did pay a lot extra to have it shipped very fast from the UK for a December race). I purchased a new bike in 2022 where it was too difficult to take off the handlbars/headset so the new BBA Easyfit was great where I could leave it together. So you could get the new Easytfit BBA where you only have to take off your wheels and pedals. And it's not a that much over $600 (w/o shipping costs - they were reasonable if you don't need it asap).

I live in a rural area so Tribike Transport was not an easy option for me. No local bike shops close to me. So I have traveled with my bike in BBA many times and never any real problems. I would imagine BBA is going to see a big increase in sales if TBT is truly bankrupt and done. That is too bad for them. I am actually very surprised by this.

This is from my invoice a year ago. Shipping was over half the cost of the BBA but I did need it quickly for a race


ETA the big Fed ex cost was due to getting bike from UK to the East coast of US in a few days. If you waited a few weeks it was very reasonable

Subtotal: £535.84Shipping: £310.00 via FedEx Priority (apx. 1-3 working days) Payment method:Pay Securely By Credit or Debit CardTotal: £845.84

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Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.

Yeah, I have an XL frame, so the easy fit is actually worse for my situation since the distance between the base bar and rear chainstay is to long, even without the derailleur on, you can’t get the base bar into the “easy fit” portion of the box. It’s a super unique problem, but I bought the box after measuring my old bike (L frame) where it would fit without the derailleur on and then when I went to use it the first time with my new bike, I was super screwed.


The shipping adds over $300 to the price, you can’t say “it’s only $600 for the box” and not include actually getting it. But yeah. At its base price it’s cheaper than some other options, but not after shipping.

I'm just going to just assume my bike shows up at IMAZ this weekend from Nashville....

I paid $300 for shipping because i needed it asap (poor planning on my part). But as I remember the shipping from the UK to US was significantly less than $300 if you were willing to wait a few weeks. But it's all expensive. In the long run though it is still more economical to use a bike box and pay the airline fees as opposed to TBT (which for me wasn't an option anyways). That's if you plan to fly a few times a year.

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Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.

Last time I traveled with BBA box, United and AA didnt charge for my bike transport. It os worth to note BBA does comply with either airline requirements.