Travel Case

[TLCDino]

Hey gang!

I am in the market for a travel case for my road bike. Any thoughts?

I would probably use it a couple times a year for air travel. Not to concerned with airline fees. I am more interested protecting my bike and ease of use. Hopefully I can find great protection and need to take my whole bike apart to fit it in.

Any ideas MUDmen?

 

[MANUCHAO]

If fees are not a concern and you need it for two times a year...
I would suggest try going to you LBS and getting a card board box from them...

They are plenty strong and best part is that they are free.

 

[mcewan13]

"Tri All 3" is used by most of our roadie pros.
Serfas and Trico both also make good cases.

A growing number of MTB folk w/ dual suspension rigs (pros and enthusiasts alike) are skipping the airline extortion issue by using hockey bags and disassembling the front and rear triangles. The goalie bags seem to work the best. One of our slopestyle guys did a write up on this for Pinkbike recently. Search that site for Mitch Chubey and you'll come across it.

 

[MANUCHAO]

Cool.. Im going to go and purchase a hockey bag...!!!

 

[Fast Eddy]

I would probably use it a couple times a year for air travel. Not to concerned with airline fees. I am more interested protecting my bike and ease of use. Hopefully I can find great protection and need to take my whole bike apart to fit it in.

try going to you LBS and getting a card board box from them...

They are plenty strong and best part is that they are free.

That kleenex box is good enough for your bike. Do you know what the airport gorillas are going to do with it?

Get a real box. I like Trico cases.

You do need a fair amount of disassembly. You have to, at least, be comfortable straightening and tightening your headset once you arrive, or deal with a shop every time.

If you're going to pay the airline and the shop you might as well ship it to the shop via Fedex ahead of time and have it all ready to go when you arrive.

 

[2mbb]

I've had a plastic clam-shell box I got from performance years ago when I was moving from NJ to CA. Used it twice to move two bikes back that I didn't want the movers to take (my stuff was going into storage until I found a new place to live). It got the bikes back safely (one was a carbon frame), but...

1. The box is/was huge. It doesn't fit into the trunk of a car. You will need a station wagon or SUV.
2. If you are going touring, what do you do with the box?
3. you will need a space to store the box when back at home.

There are some nice cardboard / folded plastic boxes out there that fold flat when not in use such as: Crateworks Bike Boxes and Accessories: Pro XL-C Plastic Bike Box

I think as long as you use the spreaders in the front and rear drop outs and you pad the bike well you should be OK. I'd be more concerned with a carbon bike than a metal bike, though.

I've volunteered for a few years as a bike mechanic for the aids life cycle (SF to LA) and on day zero we build up bike that have been shipped in from all over. I don't think I've run across a bike that was actually damaged (but a couple where specialized bolts were left back in the bike shop that did the packing!). One of the nicest cardboard boxes I saw was the air caddy (AirCaddy.com | Products & Accessories). It had a mount for the front fork and allows you to ship the bike with the handlebars installed on the bike (drop bars) but you do have to rotate them down. You would need to check the airlines to see if this box is considered oversize or too big.

 

[scottm]

If I could get my bike through security I could toss it in the belly no problem. I'm pretty sure TSA would not look kindly at a bike as a carry-on though.

 

[rgsiii]

I have a Pika Packworks case and it worked well for my one airline trip with my road bike. The owner was very helpful when I ordered the case.

The cost of taking a bike by plane is pretty pricey--Delta is $150 each way.

 

[Bluedog]

Look for the Sci-Con Aero comfort soft case. We have had good luck with them over the years. Pull off the wheels, the fork and rear dropout are Qr'ed in like your wheels. Not cheap but a good case.

B