The mechanic whacked the fender with a wrench a few times and handed me the bike. I pedaled the rusted, wobbly heap a few blocks down main street in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica before it broke down. I ended up returning the bike and took off on foot. It wasn’t the first time I’d been “skunked” trying to rent a decent bike while on the road. Next trip, I vowed I would bring my own two wheeler.

In February, my husband and I took a couple of travel bikes to Mexico. We both opted on bikes with full-size wheels that would look “normal” when assembled. I chose the SwissBike (www.swissbike.com)   from Montague (see photo above of the bike in fold-up mode and ready to ride), a heavy-duty mountain bike based on the Paratrooper bike originally built for U.S. paratroopers. My husband opted for the hybrid Dahon Cadenza  (www.dahon.com), which is suitable for city streets and dirt roads.

I like to travel light, so I was curious how it would be to haul a bike to Mexico. I also wondered if assembly would be a pain and how a travel bike would ride. In short, I wanted to find out if a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bike) strategy made sense.

I thought getting the bikes to Mexico would be a nuisance, so I was pleased at how easy it actually was. Shuttle service from our front door to the airport reduced logistics issues, and rolling cases made the bikes easy to maneuver through check-in. Getting through customs was simple. And the bikes fit in the taxi, too.

Neither bike was difficult to assemble; both had cleverly hinged top tubes, so folding and unfolding only required loosening or tightening a bolt.

A comfortable ride? You bet! The SwissBike was capable of withstanding a lot more abuse than I could ever give it. The Dahon was light and tough enough to handle a wide range of road surfaces simply by exchanging skinny tires for some a bit fatter.

We loved having good bikes at our destination, but we did learn a few things along the way. First, anticipate additional transportation expenses. In our case, the shuttle driver charged extra for the oversized case, and we ended up over the weight limit, too, so the airlines also charged extra. Make sure cases and weights are within airline guidelines.  Second, a little research goes a long way. Make sure your destination is bike friendly and that you’re traveling with a bike suitable for the terrain. Lastly, consider how long you’ll be away for. If you’re just going for a few days, it’s probably not worth it, but if you’re going for a week or more, get ready for some riding.