Bike travel case
#151
Senior Member
My RoadMachine with hydraulic disc inside my Post Carry Co. case. No airline fees so far and it's fully protected.
www.postcarry.co
www.postcarry.co
#152
Senior Member
My RoadMachine with hydraulic disc inside my Post Carry Co. case. No airline fees so far and it's fully protected.
www.postcarry.co
www.postcarry.co
Issue is that I live in India and getting stuff here is always a hassle.
#153
Member
What case not to use
I'm looking for a new case as well for an up coming trip from Sydney to Melbourne. I know what case i could not use ever again and that is the soft case from scicon - scicon aerocomfort.
I took my pride and joy over to Munich last year and returned home with a cracked carbon frame, broken front derailleur and 2 months of going through the insurance claims.
The scicon appealed to me initially because of the convenience. All i had to do to pack the bike from take the wheels off and place them in the side pockets. But convenience comes at a price.
Hard cases all the way from now on. Thanks for the recommendations in this thread it really helped me choose my next case.
I took my pride and joy over to Munich last year and returned home with a cracked carbon frame, broken front derailleur and 2 months of going through the insurance claims.
The scicon appealed to me initially because of the convenience. All i had to do to pack the bike from take the wheels off and place them in the side pockets. But convenience comes at a price.
Hard cases all the way from now on. Thanks for the recommendations in this thread it really helped me choose my next case.
#154
Senior Member
I'm looking for a new case as well for an up coming trip from Sydney to Melbourne. I know what case i could not use ever again and that is the soft case from scicon - scicon aerocomfort.
I took my pride and joy over to Munich last year and returned home with a cracked carbon frame, broken front derailleur and 2 months of going through the insurance claims.
The scicon appealed to me initially because of the convenience. All i had to do to pack the bike from take the wheels off and place them in the side pockets. But convenience comes at a price.
Hard cases all the way from now on. Thanks for the recommendations in this thread it really helped me choose my next case.
I took my pride and joy over to Munich last year and returned home with a cracked carbon frame, broken front derailleur and 2 months of going through the insurance claims.
The scicon appealed to me initially because of the convenience. All i had to do to pack the bike from take the wheels off and place them in the side pockets. But convenience comes at a price.
Hard cases all the way from now on. Thanks for the recommendations in this thread it really helped me choose my next case.
damaged bike. Bike manufacturers ship thousands upon thousands of bikes in nothing more than cardboard boxes.
With what the large hard cases cost to ship, doesn’t take long to pay for a bike on most airlines either.
Solid heavy duty dropout protectors are key. As are cases where the forces are distributed. The more compact the case the less likely to get jammed in the luggage transport system. The more disassembled the bike is the better protected it will be.
Check our Orucase Airport Ninja.
Alao have your own quality insurance and don’t depend on the airlines.
Generally airlines get it right. It’s far better now than it was even 10 years ago.
J.
#155
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Southern California, USA
Posts: 10,499
Bikes: 1979 Raleigh Team 753
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Sometime this last year the major airlines changed their oversize freebie for military (my kid, I pay). I am complaining about the change, not their right to do it.
Weird though. They went from std 62" to 80" is free for military. Every airline varies, so a lot of reading.
United - on orders - Up to 115.0 linear inches (292cm) L + W + H
Not on orders - 62"
"On orders" is also a tricky.
So now I got to find smaller bags the existing were fee free.
https://postcarry.co/products/transfer-case
Weird though. They went from std 62" to 80" is free for military. Every airline varies, so a lot of reading.
United - on orders - Up to 115.0 linear inches (292cm) L + W + H
Not on orders - 62"
"On orders" is also a tricky.
So now I got to find smaller bags the existing were fee free.
https://postcarry.co/products/transfer-case
#156
Senior Member
Post Carry and the Orucase Airpoet Ninja are the two that I know of that successfully exploit the 62” rule. As well, because they aren’t rectangular and both are slightly over the spec, baggage agents just pay attention to the weight (for workers comp injury reasons and fuel) and not so much the size.
J.
J.
#157
Member
Check our Orucase Airport Ninja. - thanks for the recommendation, i'll check this one out as well.
Alao have your own quality insurance and don’t depend on the airlines. - i couldn't agree with you more. Pay the extra premium for travel insurance and have the bike fully covered. It also helps to get a repair quote from your local bike shop. This i think made the difference for me. The insurance paid out the repair costs of my 6 year old bike which was equal to the purchase cost of the bike back in 2012.
Alao have your own quality insurance and don’t depend on the airlines. - i couldn't agree with you more. Pay the extra premium for travel insurance and have the bike fully covered. It also helps to get a repair quote from your local bike shop. This i think made the difference for me. The insurance paid out the repair costs of my 6 year old bike which was equal to the purchase cost of the bike back in 2012.
#158
Senior Member
Check our Orucase Airport Ninja. - thanks for the recommendation, i'll check this one out as well.
Alao have your own quality insurance and don’t depend on the airlines. - i couldn't agree with you more. Pay the extra premium for travel insurance and have the bike fully covered. It also helps to get a repair quote from your local bike shop. This i think made the difference for me. The insurance paid out the repair costs of my 6 year old bike which was equal to the purchase cost of the bike back in 2012.
Alao have your own quality insurance and don’t depend on the airlines. - i couldn't agree with you more. Pay the extra premium for travel insurance and have the bike fully covered. It also helps to get a repair quote from your local bike shop. This i think made the difference for me. The insurance paid out the repair costs of my 6 year old bike which was equal to the purchase cost of the bike back in 2012.
#160
Senior Member
A lot of the other posters have expensive bikes. I travelled with a less expensive bike, with minor disassembly, and wrapping it in clear plastic. With the clear plastic, they can see what it is, and are more likely to be careful. It was not damaged.
#161
Senior Member
#162
#163
Took advantage of PBK sale and got Scion TSA 3.0. Will see how it works out for my trip to Europe this summer. Tried out on my bike, and RD protector is such a PITA to put on. I think for a flight I'll just take it off. It's etap, so pretty easy to remove it and put it back on.
One question for traveling what pump are people using? Now days I just have floor pump and co2 one for the road.
One question for traveling what pump are people using? Now days I just have floor pump and co2 one for the road.
#164
The Silca Viaggio seems quite nice for traveling. I have a Lezyne travel pump. It has been less than impressive.
You can also hope to find one locally in Europe.
You can also hope to find one locally in Europe.
#165
I have the Birzman Tiny Tanker - same weight as the Lezyne Travel pump - https://amzn.to/2I9VpYp this is a 2lb 1/2size pump that could replace your normal floor pump. I didn't care for the pump head (the pump/twist jobby), but it's world better than the one on the Lezyne which my neighbor has. The Lezyne will remove the valve core even if you know it will try to. I put the normal lezyne pump head on mine. This size pump might be able to seat a very easy to seat tubleless tire.
At this size/weight, theres also the Topeak Transformer RX with the built in bike holder.
Smaller, there's the .5lb Topeak Road Morph https://amzn.to/3cgTDCY and the Bontrager version, the Lezyne Micro drive, and this one https://amzn.to/2VvN2OM This size pump is mostly OK for desperate situations and when you just want to add a bit more air.
Anything smaller and you'll hate life. Just ride a flat tire.
If you need to dissassemble your bike, I recommend one of these Caddy version ( https://amzn.to/2uEE7jh ) ; Buick ( https://amzn.to/2I2zsKO ); Scooter ( https://amzn.to/2PxiI2q )
Last edited by jfranci3; 02-28-20 at 08:46 AM.
#166
Senior Member
The seat mast will likely be a problem. I would suggest you contact Orucase and ask them specifically about your frame - They’ll know, they are active racers and developed theses bags specifically to handle their race bikes.
When I measure from the bottom of the bag internally to the top of the bag where I estimate the seat post top would be, it’s about 25-26”. You can remove the crank easily which would give you a few more inches so if you measure from the bottom of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat mast, that should give you some idea.
The problem is that you kind of rotate the frame around the bottom bracket to get the head tube to fit in the bag which would push the seat tube up. I lay the fork over that area in the pocket that is there for it, but you could also lay that under the down tube. Anyhow, it’s kind of a three dimensional problem so that’s why I recommend you talk to the guys at Orucase. They are quite knowledgeable and helpful. Too, the B2 might work just as well.
There is very little perceived difference between the large and the medium even when they are side by side. I had to mark them so I could tell them apart. I fit my 58cm gravel bikes in the large. My wife’s goes in the medium for her 54cm frame.
Love the bags though. Never had to pay an airline fee with them even though they are probably 5” over the airline spec and we’ve flown with them quite a bit both domestically and internationally.
Now that a number of airlines don’t charge for bikes anymore, I still wouldn’t want one of those big bike boxes. It’s a giant pain to transport them at your destination. With the Airport Ninja, we move through the airport easily and unlike traditional bike cases, they fit with no fuss in busses and even taxis. Hotels will store them without complaint in their left baggage area. Most of the traditional bike boxes would not have worked in the European hotels we’ve stayed in.
J.
#167
It looks like Orucase actually makes the larger cases to order anyway, so I'd need the specific bag. I was looking at a used one, but the owner gave me a wild number and the price didn't move where I needed it to. I ended ordering a Post Carry.
I've got a friend's unused case here the "Pro" / "Team" one sold under many names (see example below), which is actually quiet compact but looks large, feels large, has some sketchy design details, and is heavy. I wanted to see if I could get smaller than that. The PC will save 5" in length, 4" in height, 5" in width, and ~12lb - it wont feel like much though as the hard case slim down quite a bit at the top. The thing the small bags have going for them is mail-abilty - if you can get the box dimensions below 30" tall and 10" wide, the Fedex/USP charge drops from $100/ea way to $60/ea way. Those nip tucks also make possible to get the bag in a trunk (maybe) and to travel with the fam.
On the seat mast, the seat tube is only 58cm long, so it's only 2cm longer than where a traditional flat top tube geometry bike would be (eg CAAD13 58 = 56.5; Checkpoint = 58cm). It's still a wild card with the drop stay. I've got Emonda ALR that's a notch easier to pack, but the Checkpoint has more flexibility for the SD trip with gearing for the hills, fitting for slow crusing, and tires for the soft roading.
I've got a friend's unused case here the "Pro" / "Team" one sold under many names (see example below), which is actually quiet compact but looks large, feels large, has some sketchy design details, and is heavy. I wanted to see if I could get smaller than that. The PC will save 5" in length, 4" in height, 5" in width, and ~12lb - it wont feel like much though as the hard case slim down quite a bit at the top. The thing the small bags have going for them is mail-abilty - if you can get the box dimensions below 30" tall and 10" wide, the Fedex/USP charge drops from $100/ea way to $60/ea way. Those nip tucks also make possible to get the bag in a trunk (maybe) and to travel with the fam.
On the seat mast, the seat tube is only 58cm long, so it's only 2cm longer than where a traditional flat top tube geometry bike would be (eg CAAD13 58 = 56.5; Checkpoint = 58cm). It's still a wild card with the drop stay. I've got Emonda ALR that's a notch easier to pack, but the Checkpoint has more flexibility for the SD trip with gearing for the hills, fitting for slow crusing, and tires for the soft roading.
Last edited by jfranci3; 02-28-20 at 04:22 PM.
#168
I've been looking for an ideal case for both my Cannondale Quick Carbon 2 (ended up with a Thule from a Facebook sale) and my folding bike - a Tern Eclipse p20. I already have a rolling case from B&W for my full size Change Bikes folding rugged hybrid - and searched high and low for something big enough for the Tern - eventually settling on an Aophire 26 inch folding bike bag. It's decent and relatively low cost. Fits perfectly and with padding should be a no brainer for aircraft travel and never incur shipping unless I get a mean desk person.
https://www.amazon.com/Aophire-Foldi..._ap_asin_image
BUT... if like me you've looked for something tougher and big enough for a large folding bike or a disassembled regular bike - consider Car Cargo Roof Bags! I found several that are nearly perfect for the Tern's dimensions and still reasonably cheap. I had already bought the Aophire, but was shocked at how many fit my exact requirements at a reaosnable price.
This one for example could easily hold my full size and folding bikes and would simply need to be padded appropriately inside. If it had rolling wheels it would be ideal, and it might be possible to mcguyver some skate wheels onto it. I'll update if I do it.
https://www.amazon.com/MIDABAO-Water...%2C304&sr=1-39
https://www.amazon.com/Aophire-Foldi..._ap_asin_image
BUT... if like me you've looked for something tougher and big enough for a large folding bike or a disassembled regular bike - consider Car Cargo Roof Bags! I found several that are nearly perfect for the Tern's dimensions and still reasonably cheap. I had already bought the Aophire, but was shocked at how many fit my exact requirements at a reaosnable price.
This one for example could easily hold my full size and folding bikes and would simply need to be padded appropriately inside. If it had rolling wheels it would be ideal, and it might be possible to mcguyver some skate wheels onto it. I'll update if I do it.
https://www.amazon.com/MIDABAO-Water...%2C304&sr=1-39
#169
It's carbon dontcha know.
I can't find anything newer than this thread. I love the look of the Post Carry for my wife's Colnago.
But what are people with integrated one-piece cockpits using? I'm likely buying a new bike soon and it looks like there's 3 main contenders.
But what are people with integrated one-piece cockpits using? I'm likely buying a new bike soon and it looks like there's 3 main contenders.
- Evoc road bike Pro - huge and not full hard sides
- Scicon Aerocomfort 3.0 - small but reports of damaged stays due to soft case
- Bike Box Alan Tri Aero Easyfit - huge
#170
I know a lot of people like these: https://buxumbox.com/
Likes For topflightpro:
#171
Elite Fred
The only time I shipped a bike a got a box from my bike shop and it worked. I was leaving Gainesville, Florida and going to Ithaca (Cornell), NY for a two week conference. My 52/42 with a corncob was not the right gearing for going up Buffalo Street nor riding to a friend's parent's house south of Corning, The box worked.
Did both rides.
The thing that irked me the most was taking a road south from Corning and it was steep but when I got to the top the road was unpaved with HUGE loose rocks and I had to walk down.
Buffalo Street in a 42x18 was tough but doable when I was young.
Oh, this was back when we had freewheels and they had five gears.
Did both rides.
The thing that irked me the most was taking a road south from Corning and it was steep but when I got to the top the road was unpaved with HUGE loose rocks and I had to walk down.
Buffalo Street in a 42x18 was tough but doable when I was young.
Oh, this was back when we had freewheels and they had five gears.