@Batman Thanks very much @Batman! I was wondering about this because I'm finally doing it, finally freaking buy a real bike and hope to do a triathlon later this year. (Things like triathlons, just like fancy bikes, are rare down here) so the only two this year are in far off cities. I need to transport my bike along with myself there.

@gideon: If you know you'll be traveling with your bike, you may want to try to look into bikes that are specifically designed to be easier to pack. A full-size folding bike or something with S&S Couplers.

@freiheit ah well, I want a more or less serious road bike that is within my budget that I can use for very long distance endurance rides (100-1000 miles) and triathlons. The travelling is only a worry because (1) I've never done a triathlon and had to take my bike away far. (2) I'm especially asking here because I live in India where things don't go like they're supposed to and people really don't know what they're supposed to.

tomorrow I'm going to visit the shop and hope to God the guy will agree to give me a box in a few months when I have to take the bike away, and like I said before, this is one of only 3 shops in this city of 18 million people where I can buy a serious road bike.