hard bike box for road bike - best value/quality

weeve
weeve Posts: 393
edited April 2008 in Workshop
Im sure this has been posted before but struggling to find the answer using the search string.... best hard bike box for plane travel?...not completely over sized but also not so small have to remove everything to get it in.....

DHB and B&W have lower priced ones; anyone used them? anyone recommend something?.

thanks in advance

Comments

  • MegaCycle
    MegaCycle Posts: 236
    i have got one from www.bikeboxalan.co.uk

    outstanding!
  • portuguese mike
    portuguese mike Posts: 695
    After much research and heeding advice from the good burghers of this forum i too have ordered one from bikeboxalan.

    Accoridng to Alan, not only is it as bomb proof as they come, you can fit all your other bits and pieces in there like your track pump, shoes and helmet and it isn't stupidly heavy (unlike the Elite Vaison which i was looking at - 16kg :shock: ) or stupidly expensive (unlike the Sci-con Aerotech which it is apparently and improved version of).

    on top of that you can have it customised 8)
    pm
  • weeve
    weeve Posts: 393
    looks fantastic...but frankly too fantastic...its got "steal me as Im a bike which costs more than your car" all over it....Im often travelling with my bike to "less glamorous" places and I think Ill be waving goodbye to it at checkin.
    Anyone tried the B&W touring bike box...only weighs 9.5kg....?
    thanks
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    Any bike box will give that impression. Just use a big plastic bag and a cheaper bike that you can afford to lose/have broken and that should put people off! There is the Polaris pod at £179 which is a semi-rigid case, the SciCon which is the daddy and BikeBoxAlan which is a copy of the SciCon that is made in the UK and is improved on the SciCon and is the one I'd get to replace the SciCon. The advantage of these is that you only need to turn the bars round and then turn under the tt. Some cases make you remove the bars and stem. if you have an integrated seatpost you may need to remove the entire fork.
    M.Rushton
  • musto_skiff
    musto_skiff Posts: 394
    How do you fit the bike box in a hire car on arrival?
  • synchronicity
    synchronicity Posts: 1,415
    £300-400? For a big suitcase?!
    :shock: :shock: :shock:

    Yikes, that's expensive.
    vertebr.ae | precision braking & shifting
  • stu99
    stu99 Posts: 177
    I had a look at the Bikeboxalan case but eventually decided on the B&W which is slightly smaller (and cheaper). I haven't used it yet but it is well made and looks sturdy enough.

    You should be aware that the suggested weight of 9.5 kgs refers to the empty box without foam or accessories (wheel bags, crush protector etc) - the additional bits take you closer to 12.5 kgs - I'll probably opt for lighter wheel bags - the supplied ones are terrific quality but heavily padded..

    I previously ordered the Polaris Pod but returned it after realising that it had no crush protection and isn't much better than a canvas bag. I've seen airport baggage handlers pile suitcases on top of bike bags when unloading from the aircraft - It simply isn't worth the risk.
  • stu99
    stu99 Posts: 177
    You could also consider this:

    http://wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetailDeal.a ... 0Ex%20Demo

    considering that some companies would charge more than this to hire one for a week it's a good deal!
  • musto_skiff
    musto_skiff Posts: 394
    Yeah ... but as I say how do you fit this in the hire card at the other end????
  • portuguese mike
    portuguese mike Posts: 695
    stu99 wrote:
    You could also consider this:

    http://wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetailDeal.a ... 0Ex%20Demo

    considering that some companies would charge more than this to hire one for a week it's a good deal!

    On no account get one of these; there are a couple of people on the forum who have bought one only to find they can't actually get a bike in it. Which is important, very important.
    pm
  • Muzak
    Muzak Posts: 78
    portuguese mike wrote:
    After much research and heeding advice from the good burghers of this forum i too have ordered one from bikeboxalan.

    Accoridng to Alan, not only is it as bomb proof as they come, you can fit all your other bits and pieces in there like your track pump, shoes and helmet and it isn't stupidly heavy (unlike the Elite Vaison which i was looking at - 16kg :shock: ) or stupidly expensive (unlike the Sci-con Aerotech which it is apparently and improved version of).

    on top of that you can have it customised 8)

    Have you got the bikeboxalan box yet Mike and if so can you comment on it? Or any comments from someone else who has one? Thanks! M
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,550
    musto_skiff wrote:
    Yeah ... but as I say how do you fit this in the hire card at the other end????
    Put the back seat down. Or get an estate car or a people carrier.

    It's not exactly rocket science...
  • portuguese mike
    portuguese mike Posts: 695
    Have you got the bikeboxalan box yet Mike and if so can you comment on it? Or any comments from someone else who has one? Thanks! M[/quote]

    I won't get it for a few weeks yet but Megacycle has one and he seems pretty pleased with it.
    pm
  • buspassman
    buspassman Posts: 35
    I was the one who originally recommended this on an earlier thread, as a result of which I believe Megacycle bought his. As he says above, an excellent piece of kit, well worth the money.
  • musto_skiff
    musto_skiff Posts: 394
    andyp wrote:
    musto_skiff wrote:
    Yeah ... but as I say how do you fit this in the hire card at the other end????
    Put the back seat down. Or get an estate car or a people carrier.

    It's not exactly rocket science...

    I guess so but taking your bike abroard gets quite expensive; buy the box then you have to hire a car way bigger than you probably need to get the box in ... which you leave at the hotel whilst your out on the bike.

    I guess it's easier than me towing a boat 1000 miles for a world championships ....
  • Muzak
    Muzak Posts: 78
    musto_skiff wrote:
    andyp wrote:
    musto_skiff wrote:
    Yeah ... but as I say how do you fit this in the hire card at the other end????
    Put the back seat down. Or get an estate car or a people carrier.

    It's not exactly rocket science...

    I guess so but taking your bike abroard gets quite expensive; buy the box then you have to hire a car way bigger than you probably need to get the box in ... which you leave at the hotel whilst your out on the bike.

    I guess it's easier than me towing a boat 1000 miles for a world championships ....

    Brilliant :D
  • synchronicity
    synchronicity Posts: 1,415
    Well musto_skiff, I couldn't agree more & this is precisely what I'm attempting to capitalise on... the extra weight on planes isn't helping the environment either.

    I'm sure there are loads of people who (for some reason) don't even consider hiring a bike when they go for a cycling holiday. *shrugs*
    vertebr.ae | precision braking & shifting
  • nickwill
    nickwill Posts: 2,735
    synchronicity wrote:
    Well musto_skiff, I couldn't agree more & this is precisely what I'm attempting to capitalise on... the extra weight on planes isn't helping the environment either.

    I'm sure there are loads of people who (for some reason) don't even consider hiring a bike when they go for a cycling holiday. *shrugs*

    If you are doing some serious riding abroad, you want a bike that fits. You might be lucky and find a hire shop that will change the stem and any other components to get you an exact fit, but my guess is that you might struggle. In my case I have a bike that has custom geometry, so there would be no chance of getting a proper fit.
    I'm riding the Raid Pyrenean in September, and could not imagine starting this on a strange bike.
    http://lakescyclist.wordpress.com/
  • musto_skiff
    musto_skiff Posts: 394
    I guess it all depends on what you are up to ...

    I did a week in Lanzarote and hired a bike and that was fine.

    But if I was going to do some mega event/race I'd want my own bike.
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    stay well clear of the DHB/ MONOC case. It is hard ... but ...

    > you'll really struggle to get both wheels and a frame in ... it's not just me either, I went to italy last year and in our group (about 20) there were three people with this case ... all of them had a seperate bag for one of their wheels.

    > the quality if construction is good in some parts, but the fastenings are crap and a pain.

    The best box I've used in terms of solidity is the SciCon. It's a true giant and swallows and protects everything. Only weakness is the weight (and the wheels, which sometimes struggle under the vast weight of the thing).

    So the one I'm currently using is the Bikepod (got it from probikekit for about £200 ish). Very very good. Not absolutely rigid, but protects well and is much lighter than the SciCon style case.
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    i used a demo bike on two trips which was fine (I eventually bought it) and used a hire bike (De Rosa King) on another trip which saved me the transport of the bike and it was a nice bike but it had some hard use and needed a bit of tlc. Prefer my own but at a push would hire one subject to what's available/cost.
    M.Rushton
  • stjohnswell
    stjohnswell Posts: 482
    great thread, i was minutes away from buying the dhb case from wiggle. just scratched that off my list.

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