Recommend me an airline proof bag/box

Lady Venom

Recommend me a bike box that's going to survive the guys at LHR - i've done the cardboard box with ratchett straps round it but wouldn't do it again.

dhb Box

Da Kine

Don't have masses of cash, 250 is limit, preferably hard case unless anyone knows some pretty touch and protective soft cases.

mrushton

No such thing even if you had some rockband flight case thing. The Polaris bike pod may be within your budget. My partner uses a Planet-X bike bag that she lines with cardboard (from a bike shipping box) then wraps the bike in pipe-lag/bubble-wrap (lots). The wheel pockets have some plywood and foam in them to protect the wheels. It's worked so far and we do three or four trips a year to Europe. The baggage people seem to treat her bag better than my SciCon (and Euro handlers seem kinder than UK ones)

Lady Venom

That's not a bad idea.... I may try that. Thanks for the tip!

mrushton

Don't forget to unbolt the rear mech and put it on the inside of the chain stays

diarmid

Do not buy the edinburgh bike box - very poor quality locks

andyrr

Got a box labeled as MONOC - think it's the same as others, protected the bike fine but now one of the wheels on the base has been near ripped off and needs replaced.

Boxes offer best protection but are heavy and awkward especially for fitting into cars, bags easier to deal with - one thing I did with a bag was to line with either thin plywood or polystyreen sheeting - the latter is disposable but seemed to last 2 journey so would be fine for taking to and from a holiday destination and is obviously nice and light.

cougie

I use a Chain Reaction cycles bag - but the bike inside is pipe lagged to within an inch of its life. and the rear mech is taken off etc etc. I'd be happy to lob my bag down the stairs like that.

If you can pack the bike like that - then you only need a soft case. If its a hard box - it seems to get a worse time than something softer ? If that makes sense.

remy martin

Lady venom,

I have a roof box bike box from wiggle( http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Roof_ ... 300002584/) that has been used once to Australia and survived the trip.

I'm unlikey to ever use it again..bike holidays dont really happen after a kid. If you're based in London, I'm happy to sell it to you. PM me if you are interested.

Cheers

matterai

mrushton wrote:

The Polaris bike pod may be within your budget.

I borrowed a dhb box that looked very similar to the 2 other peoples Polaris'. They did the job fine.

neeb

I have the polaris bike pod and it works very well. It's a great compromise between the more expensive (and much heavier!) fully rigid boxes and the flimsier bike bags. Although the material is compressible, it's semi-rigid, so the surface is flush. That means nothing is going to catch or stick out, and it is hard enough to dissipate the force of sharp knocks (i.e. the whole surface bends). If you pad it out with clothes and other stuff it's pretty solid. And at a pinch you can get the bike + box to weigh not much over 15kg.

Lady Venom

In the end I went with dhb Bag. Stripped the bike down, pipe lagged the whole frame, used a spacer between my forks to stop them getting crushed, wheels in bags, and cardboard down the sides. Bag held up exceptionally well - used to 2x ratchett straps to compress it and give the handlers something decent to grab onto and the bag did 2x loads and unloads onto aircraft and still looks new AND they didn't charge me because it's not obviously a bike; so all in all a great journey! Now to enjoy 2 weeks of riding in the sun!

blorg

I have that Roof Box one now and it is very good.

I have gone through two dhb boxes with multiple problems, I would not recommend it. Friends have also had issues. This includes the box actually breaking, the locks breaking, the handle breaking and wheels breaking. To its credit while it has broken itself it has always protected the bike.

The Edinburgh Bike and MONOC cases are the same as the dhb one. As for a soft bag, you may be lucky or you may not. I wouldn't bring a carbon bike in one.

Lady Venom

See my above, bike faired well. I went from LHR - East coast, and the flew on to the West coast. I have photos of how I packed it all and it survived with not a single scratch. I also think bagage handlers tend to be less heavy handed with a soft bag than a box!

blorg

Point is you can be lucky. I know people who have travelled fine with a soft bag for many many flights but have then one day had damage. I don't hear of the same issues with hard shell cases.

sampras38

Lady Venom wrote:

Recommend me a bike box that's going to survive the guys at LHR - i've done the cardboard box with ratchett straps round it but wouldn't do it again.

dhb Box

Da Kine

Don't have masses of cash, 250 is limit, preferably hard case unless anyone knows some pretty touch and protective soft cases.

I have the dHB box you've listed and it's been fine. I used it to transport a 58" carbon to France last year from Heathrow and all went well. It's a bit of a squeeze for my frame but otherwise no problems. Some people have commented on the clips/locks being low quality but they were fine with me. It comes with locks and is on wheels. Overall, for a hardbox it's pretty good value and I'll be using again in France this year.