Originally Posted by
seajaye
I've heard mixed reviews about the S&S hard cases. Yes, packed correctly, they're the best, blah blah blah, but the latches will get ripped off and beat up, etc. But are they actually the gold-standard?.
Knock on wood, my S&S case has never had any problems.
TSA has done a number on bike parts, opening things up and then mashing them flat (leads to scratches, kinked cables and cracked cable splitter, wheels that are out of true coming out of the case but which relax back into true, damage to shifters). As a result of their security theater, the case has two bulges where the wheel axles have been pressed against the hard case sides. I've thought about trying to iron them back into shape, but so far it ain't broke, so I don't need to fix it.
I'll note that I've got the interior case struts and frame padding which does a pretty good job of protecting what it covers. They were part of Bilenky's package. But there's inevitably gaps, and Murphy's Law insures loose tools, wheels, and chain bits find the gaps and chip the paint anyhow.