Cyclefiend

Has anyone traveled by air with the new (2019) Trek Madone Disk? The significant level of integration has me concerned regarding how to deal with the handlebars (particularly the hydraulic lines). Also, what kind of bag/box works best with this bike? I am planning a trip to Europe and want to take this bike with me.

GlennR

Maybe call Trek? I found them very helpful the 2 times I called them.

Beach Bob

There are some bike cases now that don't require dismantling of bikes; just take the wheels off and you're good to go. Would definitely be what I'd look at (Scion Aerocomfort 2 and 3 for example).

dalava

All the new "integrated" cockpit for hydraulic disc is PITA to pack for travel. One of the best cases I saw recently is BikeBoxAlan's new tri bike aero fit box. Even though it's built for easy transporting tri bike with the basebar and aerobars intacted, it would be just as suitable for road bike so you don't have to take the handlebars off the steerer tube. Most other cases will require you to take off the handlebars.

In general, a few things to remember:
1. never ever disconnect the hydraulic line from either at the shifter or the brake caliper
2. regardless the amount of slack you have when the bike was built, if you have to take off the handlebar, the chances are that you WILL need to disconnect the brake calipers from the fork/chainstay to have more room in the hydraulic cable. Gear cable or Di2 wires should have enough slack already (if not, the bike wasn't built properly)
3. it's best to put a disc brake pad spacer into the brake caliper during transport

RShantz

FWIW I have the same bike. And I have a buxum box. I was thinking of taking my bike on a trip and the LBS said it was going to be next to impossible if I didn't want to completely disconnect the brakes/cables. The LBS answer is what I had already determined but I wanted a second opinion.

The buxum requires you remove the bars and reposition them - like most boxes require you to do. The problem is that there's not enough play in the brake lines to really move the bars very far. I use etap so I didn't even have to worry about the shifter cables.

dalava

I build my own bikes. When I route the hydraulic hoses internally, I jam as much the hose as I can into the aero handlebar (for front) and frame (for rear) just for this purpose. Usually the aero handlebars are wide enough to give you a couple of inches of extra slack for the front, and the rear is never a problem because I can probably add extra 5 inches of slack.

Dean V

Personally I would take a more basic bike for such a trip.
Easier to pack.
Easier to repair in the field if required.

datlas 

You could ask @trekmogul.