Notices
Track Cycling: Velodrome Racing and Training Area Looking to enter into the realm of track racing? Want to share your experiences and tactics for riding on a velodrome? The Track Cycling forums is for you! Come in and discuss training/racing, equipment, and current track cycling events.

Bike Bag Recommendations?

Old 04-04-19, 07:57 PM
  #1  
AmahlAmahlAmahl
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 52

Bikes: Bianchi Super Pista

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Liked 11 Times in 5 Posts
Bike Bag Recommendations?

Looking for a bike bag for my track bike that I can fly with. Any suggestions?
AmahlAmahlAmahl is offline  
Old 04-04-19, 10:19 PM
  #2  
carleton
Elitist
 
carleton's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 15,965
Mentioned: 88 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1386 Post(s)
Liked 92 Times in 77 Posts
I've owned a custom Pika Packworks bike and wheel bag before. Loved them. Sold them to a Paralympian who used them for her LOOK L96 and her Mavic Io/Comete for international travel. Pika was recommended to my by my coach at the time, she was a top international elite.

https://www.pikapackworks.com

I needed custom because the Tiemeyer seat mast is abnormally tall and too tall for a standard bag. Otherwise I would have paid less and got the standard bag. I traveled with the bag on planes a few times and even used it to ship my bike across country for moves (Atlanta to Virginia. Virginia to Atlanta. Atlanta to Portland, OR. Portland to Atlanta) all via FedEx. Everything arrived unharmed.

Not the cheapest, but Pika comes with high praise.

When I called to order my bag, the owner answered the phone. Very cool.

Also, since it doesn't look like a standard hard bike case, you can get away with saying, "It's business equipment." or "A tradeshow booth" with a straight face when checking your bags and likely pay a much smaller fee. TSA will open it later and look for banned stuff, but that's after it's been checked-in.

They did this to me once and pulled sh*t out and just randomly put it back in. After meticuliously packing for hours and opening to see a bag of randomness, I was pissed.

Last edited by carleton; 04-04-19 at 10:31 PM. Reason: Forgot the URL.
carleton is offline  
Old 04-04-19, 10:26 PM
  #3  
carleton
Elitist
 
carleton's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 15,965
Mentioned: 88 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1386 Post(s)
Liked 92 Times in 77 Posts
So, that brings up another topic.

If it's a one-time trip (e.g. moving across country) or hell, even traveling for a race and back, you could simply learn to properly pack your bike in a bike box and ship it via FedEx for cheaper than buying a bike box/bag and paying airline fees.

This is a common request at nicer bike shops. They will probably be able to quote you standard fee. And your stuff is easier being a track bike. No cables, derailleurs, brakes and brake levers, etc... that must be cared for when packing.

I've known athletes to FedEx their bikes ahead of them and have them delivered to a friend or the hotel front desk. Oddly, this may be more reliable in a race situation. I've heard more stories about bikes getting lost or delayed significantly by airlines than FedEx. A buddy from Atlanta had an airline lose his bike when he flew out to Masters Worlds in LA. He had to borrow a bike for his events.

So, if it's a one-time deal, maybe pack it yourself or pay a shop a couple of bucks to pack it for you. Then ship via FedEx. You'll come out a lot cheaper.
carleton is offline  
Old 04-05-19, 06:05 AM
  #4  
topflightpro
Senior Member
 
topflightpro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 7,567
Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1851 Post(s)
Liked 675 Times in 427 Posts
Originally Posted by carleton
So, that brings up another topic.

If it's a one-time trip (e.g. moving across country) or hell, even traveling for a race and back, you could simply learn to properly pack your bike in a bike box and ship it via FedEx for cheaper than buying a bike box/bag and paying airline fees.

This is a common request at nicer bike shops. They will probably be able to quote you standard fee. And your stuff is easier being a track bike. No cables, derailleurs, brakes and brake levers, etc... that must be cared for when packing.

I've known athletes to FedEx their bikes ahead of them and have them delivered to a friend or the hotel front desk. Oddly, this may be more reliable in a race situation. I've heard more stories about bikes getting lost or delayed significantly by airlines than FedEx. A buddy from Atlanta had an airline lose his bike when he flew out to Masters Worlds in LA. He had to borrow a bike for his events.

So, if it's a one-time deal, maybe pack it yourself or pay a shop a couple of bucks to pack it for you. Then ship via FedEx. You'll come out a lot cheaper.
Of course, there is always the issue the shipping company loses the bike, misses the shipping deadline, or the truck catches on fire: https://www.velonews.com/2018/10/new...es-burn_480408
topflightpro is offline  
Old 04-05-19, 06:12 AM
  #5  
Morelock
Senior Member
 
Morelock's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 644
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 282 Post(s)
Liked 50 Times in 37 Posts
+1 @carleton for the Pika. Very happy with mine... you can find them used every so often.
Morelock is offline  
Old 04-08-19, 08:45 AM
  #6  
AmahlAmahlAmahl
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 52

Bikes: Bianchi Super Pista

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Liked 11 Times in 5 Posts
Originally Posted by Morelock
+1 @carleton for the Pika. Very happy with mine... you can find them used every so often.
Looks like I'll save up for a Pika then. Thank you all!
AmahlAmahlAmahl is offline  
Old 04-09-19, 06:36 AM
  #7  
Dalai
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,163
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 89 Post(s)
Liked 8 Times in 6 Posts
I have flown a fair amount over the years with my bike both locally as well as internationally. My preferred bike case is still the Polaris EVA bike pod. It is the perfect compromise between weight vs protection. Especially helpful when flying to Europe and total baggage allowance is 30kg for everything!

Photo below is of my road bike packed for 4 weeks riding cols in the French Alps back in 2011.
Dalai is offline  
Old 04-22-19, 08:11 PM
  #8  
ToddTheBod
Junior Member
 
ToddTheBod's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: San Defrangeles
Posts: 24
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times in 4 Posts
I've got an Orucase Airport Ninja and it's great, although it requires a bit more disassembly than most, routinely avoiding fees is nice.
ToddTheBod is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
CXGallery
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear
4
03-14-21 07:14 PM
Jerseysbest
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear
17
07-07-16 01:47 PM
stokell
Touring
49
01-16-12 08:31 AM
geej
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear
4
01-11-11 03:44 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.