Bike box for flying abroad

rkdj

I am travelling abroad in march 2012. Any recommendations for bike box..? Thanks

pilot_pete

Bike Box Alan is superb. I have used one on a number of occasions. They rent them out, but they wanted to charge me more this year than last (paying for the week, plus the shoulder days either side when they wanted to deliver it and have it picked up) I found a company in down south which just wanted to charge the week and used them. They couriered it up to me and back for a small fee http://bicycleboxhire.co.uk/Welcome.html.

Well worth the cost for security and peace of mind. The box is of excellent quality, hard sided with sponge linings and a metal post which stops it getting crushed.

PP

Monty Dog

BikeBoxAlan is probably the best, but they are heavy and when heavy things hit the ground / get dropped they often get bust - my mate is on his third Alan box - it's like the gift than keeps giving - because if gets smashed-up regularly.

jordan_217

I hired one of these from my club:

http://www.thebikeboxcompany.co.uk/deluxe.html

Done the job no probs. If I needed to buy one, it would be this one.

wasabi_m

Use a cardboard box from lbs.

Free, disposable and very sturdy if packaged right.

cougie

I always use a soft case now. Lighter and cheaper but if you pack the bike properly you'll have no problems.

mallorcajeff

after my 6th trip this weekend with the bike in a soft bag (7k bike) with no problems. Bubble wrap every inch and pipe lagging on every tube. Strap wheels onto frame then more packing then into a soft padded bag. no issues second hand bag £50 Giant roll of Bubble wrap off ebay better protection than a box if done right.

jonbristol

I'm pretty sure the triathlon shop in bristol rents them out...slightly cheaper than competitors too I believe. WWW.thetriathlonshop.co.UK

gwillis

I've used a few different bags and whilst bikeboxalan's are super tough they are very heavy and cumbersome. I opted for a soft bag last year by evoc. If you look around they do POP up on offer . Ive used it to transport my carbon bike and had no issues at all and its a lot lighter. What ever you decide you still need pipe lagging and bubbe wrap to keep it safe.

Another idea is to to halves with a mate ( as long as your not planning a trip together )..

One word of warning ... Print out and take with you the weight allowance for cycles especially when flying Ryan air I got fleeced at Lanzarote airport and it took ages to get the money back after the check in staff git it wrong .. mind you I refuse to fly with the money grabbing f...wits anymore

neeb

I have the Polaris bike pod EVA case and it's been great. It's a lot lighter than hard cases such as the BikeBoxAllan so I can actually get my bike, gear and all of my other luggage in it and still be under the standard luggage allowance (airlines vary about how they charge for bikes, but these days KLM for example will not charge you any extra for the bike as long as it is your single piece of luggage and within weight). It's not completely rigid, but that doesn't really matter as it's knocks and abrasions you really need to worry about and it copes with them fine. The only thing it wouldn't cope with would be something extremely heavy and/or angular being stacked on top of it, but I've used it many times with both Ti and carbon bikes and had no problems. My only criticism is that some of the fittings (rivited-on straps etc) have fallen off, but again it hasn't really affected functionality.

Dodger747

gwillis wrote:

I opted for a soft bag last year by evoc. If you look around they do POP up on offer . Ive used it to transport my carbon bike and had no issues at all and its a lot lighter. What ever you decide you still need pipe lagging and bubbe wrap to keep it safe.

I've just bought one of those for the Haute Route this year. Got it for just under £200 from Wiggle after they had an offer on it and a discount code on top. By far the cheapest I've seen. Glad to hear you've used yours a few times with no issues!

gwillis

Dodger747 wrote:

gwillis wrote:

I opted for a soft bag last year by evoc. If you look around they do POP up on offer . Ive used it to transport my carbon bike and had no issues at all and its a lot lighter. What ever you decide you still need pipe lagging and bubbe wrap to keep it safe.

I've just bought one of those for the Haute Route this year. Got it for just under £200 from Wiggle after they had an offer on it and a discount code on top. By far the cheapest I've seen. Glad to hear you've used yours a few times with no issues!

It's a great bag , I take my rear mech off and bubble wrap it up in order to keep it safe and also wrap the front stem with a sponge as well.

The underside of the bag takesca battering so I've put duck tape on the edges to keep it from getting too damaged.

Velonutter

What do you all do when you arrive at your destination airport, as I understand that many taxis refuse to take them?

Cornish-J

why would a taxi refuse to take a peice of luggage??

Velonutter

Too big to fit in the boot

neeb

I've always managed with the bike pod - if necessary it can go in the back seat if it's the sort of taxi where the driver doesn't mind you sitting in the passenger seat. At a pinch it can go upright in the back seat and you can squeeze in beside it. In Mallorca they are used to bikes so the hotel taxis are vans that can manage them. Again though, the smaller and softish, rounded profile of the bike pod means it can fit in places where bigger, hard case wouldn't.

cougie

Hard boxes can be a bugger to get in a car. We've had 2 in the back of an estate, but that was tight.
Soft bags are better. I've always been able to get my bag into any taxi at the airport. And theres always plenty of taxis to choose from - they tend to be the bigger cars at the airport.

I guess at a push you could unpack the bike and leave the bag/case in left luggage - but that would be pricey.

gwillis

Velonutter wrote:

What do you all do when you arrive at your destination airport, as I understand that many taxis refuse to take them?

Most places I've been ie Lanza and the canaries are well use to cyclists no problem

anto164

I use one of these..



Fantastic.

noaddedsugar

Too big to fit in the boot

I had to wait at Barcelona for a larger taxi to turn up. Sure it would have squeezed in the back but they weren't interested in trying as their where many others waiting.

Have an old Planet X padded bag bought for £25 on eBay (RRP about £100 when retailed) served me very well for the full susp on alps runs. Make sure you take you rotors off, irritating mistake!
And a polaris EVA for the road bike. The only problem ive heard of with the EVAs are attaching you flight labels too as the straps can break.

ian.r.mcdonald

I have a Polaris which is good- but even better (ryanair now charge £100) is the pleasure of renting.

Relaxed flight at last and the pleasure of trying another bike (but watch the brakes being on the "wrong" side)
and no looking out the window and seeing the Rourke being thrown about!!

dont think I will ever use my box again

sbbefc

Ill be flying to carcassonne this summer, ideally id like to put the bike back together at the airport and then set off to Ax les themes . My question is where do I leave the bag/box till I get back a week later? Are there storage facilities at the airport? Also should I use a bag or box?

Thanks

cougie

Email them ? accueil.carcassonne@transdev.fr