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Bike travel case

Old 10-15-17, 12:23 AM
  #101  
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Originally Posted by mattm
I like the "BikND" Jetpack I ended up getting, since it's a soft-shell but with a frame, and inflated donuts on both sides to protect the wheels. Not sure about #1, but I'm pretty confident with it around #2 & #3. There's a video of it being dropped from a 2nd story and the bike is fine.
packing is everything.

i have a pretty solid amount of confidence my bike would be ok in any soft pack -- if it landed on the side. if you dropped it from 2 stories and it landed on the HT, not so much -- but i haven't seen a case where that would not have an unpleasant outcome.

the reason i did not choose the biknd is that a few friends had them and they each had problems with the bladder losing air; they reached their destination and several times the wheels were totally exposed. neither suffered damage, but it is troubling.

each to his own.

Originally Posted by mattm


And in the 4-5 times I've used it, TSA has opened it up but they don't need to unpack anything since it's pretty open inside and they can get in to it from both sides.
TSA have told me they need to see/feel the seams of the bag. those cases that affix the parts (or require minimal disassembly) are super nice for that.

any case that REQUIRES stuff to be put in in one specific way or all bets are off represents a liability.

Originally Posted by mattm
The downside of course is that it's bigger, hard to get away with the "it's not a bike" thing. Even if you convince them it's "art" it's still obviously oversized. At least it comes in under 50 lbs when packed, so you don't get dinged twice.
not sure if it has changed, but it used to have "BIK(nd") right there. you're getting hit with the cost immediately. if you travel back and forth to europe that is a huge fee on most airlines.

50# is still pretty damn heavy. a 15# bike + orucase stuffed with clothing is like 25, 30. 50 and bulky is an issue if you need to take it on a train to the city center, or do connections, or fit in a european car. in fact, you might not get one of those bags that requires little/no disassembly on a train in europe.

obviously not an issue for every traveler/destination.

Originally Posted by mattm
The trick is to fly out of smaller airports - 3 out of 4 times at Mobile Regional they just check it like normal baggage, no questions asked. At SFO, ATL, SJC it's a little trickier. Sometimes you can talk them down a bit from the bigger fees though.
"it depends."

i've been in small airports (where the gate agents can see you walk in) and have heard them say "here's a guy with a bike" (when i used a Pika) as soon as the doors slid open.

Originally Posted by mattm
I'm just amazed every time I travel with the carbon-everything bike and it comes out on the other end unscathed.
at one point you were amazed that you would ever race a carbon-everything bike.

when they break, they're easy and cheap to repair, too.
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Old 10-15-17, 01:34 AM
  #102  
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Yeah it still says "BIK" in big white letters, and yeah it's heavy as ****.

Super hard for this weak cyclist to haul it around an airport and get in to a rental car, I couldn't imagine lugging it further than that. The most annoying thing about it is that it only has two wheels, so you have to drag it around, holding up one end. Not the end of the world, but annoying. I should really put some smaller wheels on it, but they'd probably just snap off.
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Old 10-15-17, 01:40 AM
  #103  
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Originally Posted by deepakvrao
What size does your Orucase measure up to?

Looking at switching from Pika to this.

Mailed them and they said that the standard was 69", and the 62 has less protection. My wife's is a small bike [50cm], and mine is a 54. What would you suggest?

I really dont want to have to buy the Oru and then still get caught on the sizing, but I dont want to scrounge on the protection either.
Phew, travel is tiring! Anyways, me and my girlfriend both have a regular orucase back when we got them they only had one size which I think is the regular (69 inch). We also both have bikes the same sizes are you and your wife's. They have held up really well and I don't know if a 54 frame would fit in a smaller case.does that help? If I was to order the case again I would get the same size, mine is like 3 years old.
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Old 10-15-17, 02:07 AM
  #104  
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Originally Posted by dz_nuzz
Phew, travel is tiring! Anyways, me and my girlfriend both have a regular orucase back when we got them they only had one size which I think is the regular (69 inch). We also both have bikes the same sizes are you and your wife's. They have held up really well and I don't know if a 54 frame would fit in a smaller case.does that help? If I was to order the case again I would get the same size, mine is like 3 years old.

Thanks. It does help. If at all possible, and the bags are easy for you to access, could you measure them for me? Would really apreciate it.
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Old 10-15-17, 07:01 AM
  #105  
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Originally Posted by deepakvrao
Thanks. It does help. If at all possible, and the bags are easy for you to access, could you measure them for me? Would really apreciate it.
Maybe when I get back from my trip. If I remember correctly it comes out to about 69 dimensional inches when fully packed.
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Old 10-15-17, 01:34 PM
  #106  
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Any experience with the EVOC cases? They look cool, and I've got a 'friend' sponsored by evoc that raves about them. But hard to get a good opinion out of someone like that .
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Old 10-15-17, 03:12 PM
  #107  
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Originally Posted by Ttoc6
Any experience with the EVOC cases? They look cool, and I've got a 'friend' sponsored by evoc that raves about them. But hard to get a good opinion out of someone like that .
advice about EVOC is to follow the advice in this thread.
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Old 10-15-17, 05:10 PM
  #108  
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Need to read back . I've got til christmas to figure it out.
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Old 10-15-17, 05:46 PM
  #109  
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Originally Posted by Ttoc6
Need to read back . I've got til christmas to figure it out.
summary if you are too lazy:
* if you travel a bunch and need a compact setup likely to avoid fees altogether, gavi BFF or orucase.
* if you only travel on alaska and bikes fly for $25 regardless of size, you may want to get another case that minimizes disassembly. (disassembly is concerted 12-15', or a very casual 25' for an orucase but is minutes for the ones where you pretty much remove wheels and bolt it to a frame.)
* consider size of the case packed and even when folded up. if you are traveling internationally and/or in situations where you need to fit it into a small car, a hotel room, transferring from metro to train to bus, etc., you may want to consider the smaller case.

i find the smaller cases are always easier to deal with, even if i'm just going from car to airport counter. inconspicuous never hurts, and something slung casually over one shoulder doesn't attract anyone's attention like wheeling in a giant bag.

also, not really discussed in this thread:
* if you ever think you might travel with your TT bike, the gavi and orucase handle that. the other solutions may not, as they don't all accommodate a bike with extensions. You may be able to remove them, but that's disassembly.
* this thread assumes road bikes. if you want to travel with a MTB, they're not likely to work with any of the small cases. that situation gets a little trickier.

good luck with the decision!
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Old 10-16-17, 01:14 PM
  #110  
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Some cases like the TriAll3 will take two bikes - and that won't pass as checked luggage.

Some cases like the one above are high risk in smaller planes with potential other bikes going.

In 2015 the team flew from the Truckee nationals to Europe. I booked a bunch of the kids out of Sac as the plane out of Reno was suspect. It was a small local prop. There was a concern about cargo opening and number of other bikes. I don't know which it was but Reno rider got to Belgium a day late.

Last edited by Doge; 10-16-17 at 01:26 PM.
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Old 10-16-17, 11:16 PM
  #111  
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Originally Posted by dz_nuzz
Maybe when I get back from my trip. If I remember correctly it comes out to about 69 dimensional inches when fully packed.

Thanks. Another question. In a given sized orucase, if I remove the crank, will it help a bike fit easier?
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Old 10-17-17, 05:41 AM
  #112  
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another benefit of the smaller no fee bags is the backpack straps (i'm assuming they all have these?) which makes getting around airports/your destination city infinitely easier than lugging a giant bike bag around. i don't really fly enough to justify one but if i had to buy another bike bag it would definitely be one of those.
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Old 10-17-17, 06:47 AM
  #113  
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Originally Posted by deepakvrao
Thanks. Another question. In a given sized orucase, if I remove the crank, will it help a bike fit easier?
I don't think so, the crank doesn't have much of an impact on the fit into the bag. It's more about the top tube and seat tube length, in my opinion.
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Old 10-17-17, 08:28 PM
  #114  
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Originally Posted by deepakvrao
Thanks. Another question. In a given sized orucase, if I remove the crank, will it help a bike fit easier?
Not really. Leaving the crank on doesn't really make a difference.
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Old 10-17-17, 10:13 PM
  #115  
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Originally Posted by deepakvrao
Thanks. Another question. In a given sized orucase, if I remove the crank, will it help a bike fit easier?
no.

Originally Posted by mike868y
another benefit of the smaller no fee bags is the backpack straps (i'm assuming they all have these?) which makes getting around airports/your destination city infinitely easier than lugging a giant bike bag around. i don't really fly enough to justify one but if i had to buy another bike bag it would definitely be one of those.
Orucase has them; Gavi BFF does not.

Each has pros and cons.

One problem with the backpack straps is there is no way to tuck them in. They can snag on an airline conveyer belt. Hasn't happened to me, but I've seen it happen with other luggage.
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Old 10-17-17, 10:16 PM
  #116  
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With the smaller cases, don't you need more tools (like a torque wrench) in order to put the cranks back on?
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Old 10-18-17, 09:21 PM
  #117  
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Originally Posted by mattm
With the smaller cases, don't you need more tools (like a torque wrench) in order to put the cranks back on?
i have a smaller case and (a) i have never taken a crank off to travel with a bike and (b) even so... no.

torque wrenches can be valuable (but i've also seen people not know how to properly use one and destroy parts... "but i used a torque wrench!!"); they are not essential. after enough time a person can get used to calibrate their hands. in fact, that is often better as you can get a more subtle feel for what is going (e.g., if something is cross-threading or providing more resistance than it should).

for most cranks, the right answer is "really tight."

i find that people don't often understand the common specs for bolts (Nm), but if you look up a value in ft-lbs or in-lbs they get it.

ex: 6 Nm doesn't mean much, but 4.5 ft-lbs does. (4.5 pounds of downward force with a 12" lever/wrench.) or, if you have a 4" allen wrench, that 4.5 ft lbs is 13.5 pounds @ 4".

that 40 Nm crankset needs ~50# @ ~6".

most of us have a general feel for pounds.
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Old 10-19-17, 01:11 AM
  #118  
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Originally Posted by tetonrider
i have a smaller case and (a) i have never taken a crank off to travel with a bike and (b) even so... no.

torque wrenches can be valuable (but i've also seen people not know how to properly use one and destroy parts... "but i used a torque wrench!!"); they are not essential. after enough time a person can get used to calibrate their hands. in fact, that is often better as you can get a more subtle feel for what is going (e.g., if something is cross-threading or providing more resistance than it should).

for most cranks, the right answer is "really tight."

i find that people don't often understand the common specs for bolts (Nm), but if you look up a value in ft-lbs or in-lbs they get it.

ex: 6 Nm doesn't mean much, but 4.5 ft-lbs does. (4.5 pounds of downward force with a 12" lever/wrench.) or, if you have a 4" allen wrench, that 4.5 ft lbs is 13.5 pounds @ 4".

that 40 Nm crankset needs ~50# @ ~6".

most of us have a general feel for pounds.
That makes so much sense. Thanks.

Except, that some of us have a feel for kgs ;-) but this is a good point.
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Old 10-19-17, 02:31 PM
  #119  
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Originally Posted by tetonrider
i have a smaller case and (a) i have never taken a crank off to travel with a bike and (b) even so... no.

torque wrenches can be valuable (but i've also seen people not know how to properly use one and destroy parts... "but i used a torque wrench!!"); they are not essential. after enough time a person can get used to calibrate their hands. in fact, that is often better as you can get a more subtle feel for what is going (e.g., if something is cross-threading or providing more resistance than it should).

for most cranks, the right answer is "really tight."

i find that people don't often understand the common specs for bolts (Nm), but if you look up a value in ft-lbs or in-lbs they get it.

ex: 6 Nm doesn't mean much, but 4.5 ft-lbs does. (4.5 pounds of downward force with a 12" lever/wrench.) or, if you have a 4" allen wrench, that 4.5 ft lbs is 13.5 pounds @ 4".

that 40 Nm crankset needs ~50# @ ~6".

most of us have a general feel for pounds.
I don't have enough confidence/feel to eyeball torque. And I'm sure as **** not going to do an all-out sprint if I'm wondering "gee I hope this crank isn't gonna fall off"

Not saying you're not right, but I prefer to have it exactly right rather than guess.

Anyway, good to know you don't have to take off the cranks anyway - I thought you did for the smaller cases?
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Old 10-19-17, 05:01 PM
  #120  
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Originally Posted by mattm
I don't have enough confidence/feel to eyeball torque. And I'm sure as **** not going to do an all-out sprint if I'm wondering "gee I hope this crank isn't gonna fall off"

Not saying you're not right, but I prefer to have it exactly right rather than guess.

Anyway, good to know you don't have to take off the cranks anyway - I thought you did for the smaller cases?
if one is not a confident mechanic, then it is best to recognize that and entrust it to someone else. that said, a torque wrench is an investment (as long a person invests the time to learn how to use it--sometimes it is WORSE than no torque wrench).

i've never seen a crank interface that is not metal (even w/ carbon arms, the fixing bolts are metal-to-metal). maybe there's some boutique thing that you would never use. it's basically impossible to crank one of those bolts too tight by hand.

the thing that i felt when first learning to do all my own wrenching is that none of this stuff is hard at all, the cost of the tool is quite often the cost of the service, and there's never any waiting to get work done. most importantly (for me), if you drop off your bike there's a chance you get someone working on it who cares less about your bike than you do. if you are the rider that will suffer the consequences if your bike falls apart during a sprint or mountain descent, that increases the chances that you will take more care, check every bolt, etc.

that mechanic? we want to believe they are better than us, but maybe your bike got offloaded to the HS kid who worked on it 5 minutes before closing, or after his smoke break. there are plenty of amazing shops and mechanics, but that's not always who you or i might get when we walk in.

and, again, no -- neither the orucase nor gavi require removal of cranks. there's a bit of confusion some people have because one of the websites for the two shows a photo of a frame with no crank in the bag, but that is simply because the frame was new.

PS crank not falling off is a really freaking low bar for a mechanic. it's super hard to mess up, though i have seen it happen to two people. (one of them was a material fatigue issue from someone who is super thrifty and pushed something way too far; the other is a complete idiot w/r/t those things.) i don't know anything about your mechanical skills and i would sprint on a crankset that you put together if i gave you 10 seconds of instruction and saw you paying attention.
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Old 10-26-17, 10:09 AM
  #121  
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My approach to tightening strength is: muscle failure.

If I don't cry when trying to remove it later, then I didn't try hard enough.
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Old 10-26-17, 07:28 PM
  #122  
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Tighten till you hear a crack and back off half a turn. One more reason to stick with aluminum.
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Old 10-26-17, 11:12 PM
  #123  
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Originally Posted by Ttoc6
Tighten till you hear a crack and back off half a turn. One more reason to stick with aluminum.
lead. lead is best.
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Old 10-27-17, 04:05 AM
  #124  
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I saw Gavi recently. He's a young guy (to me) but he's gone grey since having a kid. I suspect he needs you guys to use his bike bag.
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Old 10-27-17, 01:42 PM
  #125  
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Originally Posted by gsteinb
I saw Gavi recently. He's a young guy (to me) but he's gone grey since having a kid. I suspect he needs you guys to use his bike bag.
he's a hustler and has a dialed process for taking and fulfilling orders.

i like the Orucase a bit better (i.e., i have both but use the Orucase if traveling with just one bike), but i had to work really hard to PLACE an order.

that said, the bag is great -- just that at least at that time (a few years ago) they were hard to pin down.
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