Bringing a Bike to give away....

[Dwight]

..or is it too much of a hassle.
As some of you know, my plan was to go to Cuba. I was going to bring my old mountain bike... use it while there and then give it to a friend so she could get around when I returned home.

Since I'm not going to Cuba, I'd like to do this when I come to D.R. in November. Is it worth the effort to "lug" it down there.....or is it a waste of time? If I bring it there...it's STAYING there..haha!

Appreciate your advice.

Dwight

[ricktoronto]

Some kid or teenager would love to have a bike. The airline might charge a fee to bring it, but taken apart in a one time box you might tell them hey it is for a poor kid and maybe they look the other way.

[BushBaby]

If you can persuade the airline to let you bring it down free (or low cost) & are going to be on the NORTH Coast, I know many a deserving home it could go to!! PM or e-mail me if you want me to organise that, you can then meet the child it is going to prior to returning home!! Perhaps we could use it as an incentive for the child to learn some English & write you an e-mail/letter every so often telling you what he has been up to on YOUR bike!!! ~ Grahame.

[Bartolomeo67]

... don't expect your mountain bike to last very long in young dominican hands unless the person has a real need to use it. Or in other words, they will use it as a toy rather than as something valuable.
In my 'cuban years' I did the very same thing, I took an old woman's bike on the plane to Havana to leave it there in my girlfriend's hands when I left because I also thought 'she could get around' on it to go to work etc. In fact, she hardly ever did, telling me all sorts of excuses: it was too hot to ride, the hills were too steep, her hair would be in a mess, it wasn't good for her stomach to go ride the bike to work just after she had breakfast, blah, blah, blah. Their logic just isn't the same as ours. She just kept going in the guagua which was much easier even though costing money. The bike ended up in her brothers' hands and soon things got broken and the bike wasn't used at all.
My advice: think twice about who to give it to. Have you seen many dominicans using a bike to go to work, to school or to go shopping? I haven't.
Off course it would be a nice gift for a kid, but your bike might be too high for them to ride. Maybe it's better to give it to the parents of the kids so that they have some control over it.
I did not have to pay extra to transport the bike on the plane, they told me I had to mention it when booking the flight so that the airline knew about it. It has to be transported in a bike box which you can get from bike stores. Tires must be flattened and pedals taken off and the handle turned 90° to be in the same line as the frame.
Bartolomeo67