Bike Box/Bag

rjgr

With two trips abroad due next year I have decided to buy rather than hire a bike box.

Rather convinced to go hard box rather than soft bag to benefit from better protection from airport baggage handlers but on reading reviews was swinging towards biknd helium 'blow-up' soft case with added advantage of being able to pack 2 sets of wheels!

But the Biknd does not seem to be available anywhere, anyone know if they are still in business?

Assuming not any firm recommendations? Bikebox Alan gets good reviews; apart from size and weight is appears ideal??

wellbeloved747

I had this issue last year when traveling. i started by listing some advanteges.

Fabric case; advantages:folds down,cheap disadvantages; not a lot of weight protection can tear.

hard case; advantages: strong. unbreakable. disadvantages: heavy, expensive

Me and my freind went travelling he picked up a bike box alan and had no issue what so ever. i bought the ule bike box because it was on sale. we found that on the main flight we paid about an extra £30 due to bulky size as we had carbon bike weight was not so much of an issue.

cougie

No bike box is unbreakable - at least not to airlines !

I've always used a soft shell - but packed the bike out really well. Pipe lagging and foam everywhere. I've flown plenty of times with no damage. If you pack it well enough you'd be happy to throw it down a flight of stairs.

Easier to transport at the other end with a soft bag and storage is less of a problem on holiday.

redthing

Hi All,
Received a brand new Biknd Jetpack bike bag from Cell bikes (australia) a couple of days ago.
I pretty much immediately unpacked it, and carefully following the instructions,
started a practice packing run -- not rushing, I spent about 1.5 hours getting it in the bag.

Sadly, the bag broke the first time I used it.
In addition, in the process, I found that one of the pins is missing from the hubcap cover .

The main issue is that the zip broke the first time I attempted to zip it up on one side.
The slider ran off the zip, bending very easily without any undue force.
I was taking it pretty slowly as it was the first time I used it. Maybe the zip slider was bent
before I touched it, but I do know it is very soft metal.

I'd have to say that a zipper like this on
a very expensive bike bag ($550) is a disappointment.

I have purchased this so I can make an overseas trip with the bike in early January.

I contacted them immediately -- the shop and the manufacturer.
Let's see how the warranty response goes.

The manufacturer seems to be indicating that they will send me a new zip slider -- that should be very
cheap for them. But since I have no way to replace the zip stop in a permanent and durable way, I don't feel this is very satisfactory for an expensive piece of luggage that I have to trust to look after my santa cruz bronson on overseas trips.

But, I guess they may come through with a good response, so I will fill you in on how it goes.

Oh by the way, if you have an XO1 style derailleur where the thread for the axle is actually part of the
hanger, there is no way provided for the rear of the frame to be secured to the bag if you remove the derailleur --
which is what the instructions say to do. NO thread to screw the axle into, you see.

redthing

magoo289

Canyon have offers on their soft and hard case bags

http://www.canyon.com/en/accessories/?utm_source=EN&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2014Day6#category=Z15&id=30726