Thunder_Tree

Can anyone recommend suitcases that fit 20-in folding bikes that are currently being sold? There are quite a few great recommendations in old threads here, but all of those suitcases seem to be out of production.

Pinigis 

Well, that is going to depend upon what your really looking for. The Samsonite f'lite 31 is popular, and still readily available, but it is an oversized bag and you do run the risk of paying an additional $175 oversized bag fee. But, this would require the gate agent to make the monumental effort to measure your bag.

What bike are you trying to pack?

2_i 

F'lite in 31" size is now the standard travel suitcase for myself and my family, on occasions becoming a container for the 20" BF NWT. In spite of multiple carriers and ends of the world, its size was never challenged. While it is still in the pipeline in the market, some of the offerings are pretty expensive. It should cost under $200. Of course there may be some very cheap offerings too, that need to be checked as potentially fraudulent.

Thunder_Tree

I'm trying to pack a Dahon Mariner D7.

Thunder_Tree

It appears that the F'Lite is being phased out. It's no longer stocked on most sites, and Amazon US only offers it for $400. (And it's not available in my country at all).

CliffordK

You can sometimes find the Samsonite Oyster in second hand stores, or on E-Bay.

2_i 

What country are you in? We bought our first F'Lite in Europe, where they were pretty common. In the US, these cases seemed to be available only from on-line vendors. When I needed to get replacement parts at some point, I needed to get them from UK.

Schwinnsta

You could look into a Zizzo suitcase. According to their website, a Zizzo will fit without disassembly. It is quite likely to be oversize per US airline regulations, but as a Brompton owner who has flown with oversize suitcases, they never check for size. Right now they are half price. As a Zizzo owner myself, I am tempted, but I have a Brompton with a compatible suitcase already.

Pinigis 

Yes, definitely oversized....actually HUGE. It is 77.2" (L+W+H) vs. the 62" limit applied by most airlines. I don't know that you are going to sneak that one past the gate agent.

Hinge

If I recall correctly, the Oyster suitcases are quite narrow. Maybe around 8" or 9" internally which makes it tough to fit your average 20" folder, but maybe it's possible.


I didn't know the the Zizzo suitcase existed. It looks great. $150 seems pretty reasonable. I wonder how rigid the whole thing is. I think you would still want to put some kind of post through the center (pvc pipe for example) to prevent crushing.

The ability to pack the bike without major disassembly sounds VERY appealing. The last thing you want to do when traveling is spend your first and last days unpacking and packing your bike! Depending on how cautious you are, packing a bike into a Flite 31 can be a rather time consuming process. I know others do it fairly quickly, but It takes me forever, but I definitely go completely overboard on padding everything and I disassemble the bike quite a bit.

Aside from the size, the other concern I would have is that the case itself is 23.5 lbs. Lots of 20" folders are in the 25 lb ballpark. This would put you quite close to the 50 lb airline limit with no room for extra stuff.

Food for thought

CliffordK

The Oyster suitcases have an odd taper to them. They were the suitcase of choice for the Bike Friday perhaps 20 years ago. It is a tight fit. I haven't seen any official instructions, but I usually pull both wheels, remove the pedals, and split the handlebars, then start packing. I can get the whole bike in the suitcase. Technically the trailer frame and wheels are also supposed to fit inside with the bicycle, but I've never quite gotten it that tightly packed.

Hinge

Wow, that's good to know. I see them all the time going for next to nothing. I should get one and see if I can fit a bike in there.

2_i 

I should throw in the ergonomics of a suitcase. A suitcase with 4 spinner wheels is very easy to handle on flat, reasonably smooth surfaces. An old-style 2-wheel suitcase such as Oyster is a drag under the same circumstances. Of course, when the surfaces are coarse and consistent rolling is not possible, both suitcase types become a similar drag.

kwantani

https://euromini.zendesk.com/hc/en-u...fly-somewhere-

Pinigis 

it depends upon the bike.

tcs

https://usa.dahon.com/products/foldi...case-20-wheels

Note: there are two sizes. This is the bigger one ↑ This is the smaller one ↓

pinholecam

Thanks for the share.
I am just packing my daughter's bike for a trip and this is good reference.
I need to rework on how I DIY her bag box to be this small or a bit bigger. (current one is too big, w/o removing tires )

staehpj1

I have the samsonite oyster. I found it at a thrift store for $7 after much searching. It is quite tricky to fit my helios in it. I am not sure if I'd have figure out how to fit it all in unless I'd found directions from someone who had worked it out. It is enough of a pain to get in the case that I worry about TSA getting it back in if they ever unpack it. To that end I pack detailed packing instructions in the case with a bold note indicating what they are. I still worry so I include my cell number.

Many domestic US airlines no longer charge oversize fees for bikes. They fly as one of your regular bags with no extra fee. For many folks that may eliminate the need for worry about case size. It may even eliminate the need to take a folding bike at all if baggage fees are a major factor in that decision. I choose airlines that offer free oversize baggage for bikes even when not flying with one.

MAK

You don't give your location nor have you identified the bike. My suggestion is to look for a Marshall's, T.J. Max, Home Goods, Sierra Trading Post, all the same mother company, and take your bike in and try out their selections. All four have large luggage departments that constantly change and they are essentially outlet stores with reduced prices. They also often feature close outs so they sometimes have hard to find models. There is one other related company, but the name escapes me at the moment.

staehpj1

One of the key things with my Helios was to twist the fork to get one fork leg between the rear dropouts.

Here are the directions I included in the case when I loaned my Helios to a friend who took it to Spain:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/0...f=true&sd=true

This works for the Helios and the Samsonite Oyster. The entire bike fits in the case. Packing is a bit of a pain, but it all fits. It may work of other models, or not. You'll need to try it and see.