Which BIke Bag?

Parsnip49
Parsnip49 Posts: 205
edited May 2008 in Workshop
Im in the lucky position to be working out in switzerland this summer, and am going to need a bike bag of some sort for my TCR - it needs to be sturdy enough that i dont end up with a carbon paperweight...

Any reccomendations? Looked at the CRC ones, and the ones on wiggle, not really sure what im after though - im flying with BMI if it makes any difference, i guess all baggage handlers hate fragile packages equally though :/

Also, whats the deal with C02 cartridges on planes? yay or nay?

Cheers

Comments

  • Bluestoesonnose
    Bluestoesonnose Posts: 372
    I'm told there is a lady down in deepest darkest Penzance that custom makes bike bags for your bike, the touring guys seem to swear by them and they are very well priced.
    This is why!
  • itisaboutthebike
    itisaboutthebike Posts: 1,120
    Edinburgh Bike Co-Op bike bag
  • blorg
    blorg Posts: 1,169
    For carbon I think I would be considering a box like this. For the peace of mind. With alu I have just cycled to the airport and handed it over. It's the baggage handlers that do the damage, doesn't matter which airline you are flying with.
  • lugster77
    lugster77 Posts: 50
    have just got the edinburgh cycles 1 myself. it seems a HUGE case! seems decent value compared to some other hard cases out there
  • marco67
    marco67 Posts: 91
    Have a look at the Crateworks box, a work colleague has one he used when we went to Majorca recently - just wish I had seen them before I bought my soft bag.

    Find them a zoogz.co.uk
    Ciao Marco
  • bilbo.baggins
    bilbo.baggins Posts: 76
    Looking at the pictures the DHB and the Edinburgh Co-Op hard cases both look identical apart from company logos. Anyone know if they are?
    Why the name? Like the Hobbit I don't shave my legs
  • cookiemonster
    cookiemonster Posts: 668
    I went with a Pinnacle bag from Evans - heavy duty, small'ish size, light'ish with wheels bags, good padding and skate wheels on the bottom (which some bags dont have). I also got a cardboard bike box at the same time to slot down the sides of the bag - that, plus all the usual padding and sorting will hopefully do the trick.

    The boxes tend to be huge and heavy - there's a good chance you'll be over the 25kg weight limit, and you've got to deal with storage and handling the thing at either end. I guess there's pros and cons to both...

    Jon
  • blorg
    blorg Posts: 1,169
    My own experience is that when you pay the extra bike charge the bike is not weighed or counted as part of your baggage allowance.

    This is just with Ryanair and Aer Lingus, other airlines may differ, particularly the ones that don't charge for a bike seperately.

    As you say there are pros and cons to either; the boxes tend to be around the 13kg mark while the bags are around half that. I don't have either bag or box at the moment.
  • ColinJ
    ColinJ Posts: 2,218
    This subject comes up from time to time and there are always people who say that they have never had a problem using a bike bag. Maybe I'm just unlucky... :cry:

    I bought a new Bianchi, the frame and forks alone costing £1,000. I decided to take it out to the Costa Blanca to try it out. I put pipe-lagging on the frame tubes, wrapped the whole lot in bubble-wrap AND enclosed it all in a cut-down cardboard bike box but the baggage handlers still defeated my best efforts... I was sat in the plane above the baggage hold and saw the handlers throw my bike bag about 10 feet down onto a pile of suitcases. That put a nice dent in the seat tube :evil:

    I bought a Sci-con box after that. My bikes have not been damaged in 14 further flights, but the handlers managed to damage the box by dropping it on a corner one time. Better a damaged box, than a damaged bike!

    Boxes have their problems too. They are heavy. I get right up to the weight limit when I put tools, bike clothes and carbo-powder in the box. They are bulky so you might struggle to get one in a car or on a train. They also don't fit through the oversize luggage scanners at some airports - Alicante for example. I have to unpack my box every time I fly back from there so that the security guard can put the contents through the scanner.
  • andrewgturnbull
    andrewgturnbull Posts: 3,861
    Hi there.

    For me it's quite a simple choice - add up how much your bike is worth, then look up how much the airline will pay out if the baggage handlers damage it. Then think of the inconvenience of not having your bike when you're in Switzerland.

    I've only ever flown for races, where arriving with a damaged bike would be a disaster... Hence I go for a hard shell case every time. Trico Ironcase are the best in the business.

    As for co2 - I've watched some of my teammates get pulled up at the x-ray scanner and have to open everything up and remove the cartridges. Equally well I've sailed through without being stopped. It's just your luck. I don't think they are likely to rupture in flight.

    Cheers, Andy
    http://www.andyturnbull.co.uk
    http://www.stirlingtri.co.uk
  • musto_skiff
    musto_skiff Posts: 394
    andrewgturnbull wrote:
    Trico Ironcase are the best in the business.

    Looks ideal but must be a nightmare to squueze into a hire car at the other end ...
  • andrewgturnbull
    andrewgturnbull Posts: 3,861
    musto_skiff wrote:
    andrewgturnbull wrote:
    Trico Ironcase are the best in the business.

    Looks ideal but must be a nightmare to squueze into a hire car at the other end ...

    Hi there.

    It fitted in the back of a hired corsa (with the back seats down) - plus it went on the airport bus in Germany no probs.You'd need a bigger car if there were two of you with boxes though.

    Cheers, Andy
    http://www.andyturnbull.co.uk
    http://www.stirlingtri.co.uk

Categories