Service times & ETA

At Bicycle Couriers we strive to deliver your bike in around 2-3 days, depending on which area you are sending from and receiving to, with remote areas adding a day or two. For example: CPT JHB, our most popular route.

T+1

This is from the time that your bicycle is boxed and ready for collection. If it still needs to go to a shop to box then you need to take that into account as well (maybe a day, or boxed in the morning and collected in the afternoon — easy, just arrange beforehand, or ask us about the best bike shops around).

Simply said: same week

Our best bet in terms of customer expectations is to under-promise and over-deliver. So 3-5 days is a safe quote, ie within the same week, including boxing.

Weekdays not calendar days

We collect during weekdays. MON-FRI, office hours. Whenever we refer to number of days, it is quoted as weekdays (or workdays) — not necessarily calendar days or holidays. But it can very well happen that we collect in time before the weekend and your bike travels the long haul to be at the depot on the receiving end just after the weekend. Read on.

A typical delivery

Same week. Typically, if you drop off your bicycle to be boxed on the Monday so we can collect later that afternoon, or Tuesday (or Wednesday, depending on the area) then you should still have it ready to ride at your main center destination by the weekend.

Let’s take an example

Nico wants to send his bicycle from JHB to CPT for the weekend. He drops off his bike at Cyclelab Fourways on Sunday, for them to box on Monday morning, and Bicycle Couriers to collect on Monday afternoon.

The bike goes to the JHB depot, and then on the long haul truck to CPT overnight, arriving during the day on Tuesday, before being unloaded and sorted and set out for delivery the next day. The driver collects on Wednesday morning from the depot and delivers it to the final destination that day, with the recipient signing the POD (proof of delivery).

And Nico is happy because his bicycle was received in good time and he can cycle that weekend 🙂

Miracles can happen

Remember, PTA is 1500kms away from JHB, so the default option is not overnight. We don’t have a time machine. The 2-3 days is a healthy alternative. Contact us if you are in a sticky situation. Miracles can happen, but they do cost more. And most of our customers appreciate the very low standard rates for bicycle transport.

Same day collections

Oh yes, we love doing it quickly and have the systems in place to help you on short notice. *Please note same day collections must be booked and paid by 12pm (midday).

And because the bike goes through the depot before being loaded onto the long haul truck (after hours), it makes no difference whether the bicycle is collected at 8am or 5pm — as long as it is the same day, it will go together on the same load that evening.

What about weekends?

Need a weekend delivery? OK. By prior arrangement, you may request a Saturday delivery.  However, this was only ever required in literally a handful of cases. Not necessary, or the norm. And note that for this we may pass on the fee for your account.

Collecting from a depot

YES we can make an exception. It is possible that you can go and collect your bike at one of our depots if need be. Just ask us! We can arrange for the necessary authorisation (and paperwork) required to do so.

Silly season & busy times

There are two rather busy holidays for us bicycle couriers. The first is Easter weekend with all the April holidays. And the second is obviously when everyone heads to the beach for December. But before we het there, first there are all those events around ARGUS time…

MARCH. Not a holiday, but March is also a busy time for bicycle transport, as we host the Cape Town Cycle Tour and the ABSA Cape Epic right here at home, plus the the IRONMAN African Championships around the 1st week in April.

EASTER. The April Easter weekend has holidays before and after, so do take that into consideration when planning and booking your bicycle transport over this period.

CHRISTMAS. December holidays are our busiest time, because Santa has many many parcels to deliver before the 25th. Typically things slow down after boxing day until new year. And then we return all your bicycles back from the coast after the holidays 🙂

Done!

And there you have it. All in a days (/weeks) work. Bicycle Couriers continue to be the Simplest Solution for Shipping bikes in and around Sunny South Africa, and the Sub-Saharan Subcontinent. Now Stop with the alliteration. 

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