Downhill bike - hard case, soft case or cardboard box?

coyote101

I have my first proper DH bike, a Large Saracen Myst in the post with Boxxer forks. I the past I have taken XC bikes abroad in hired Bikeboxalan cases in the past, but with the size of the boxxer forks ad the slack angle I fear a Large DH bike may not fit. Or do the Boxxer forks retract for travel to save space?

Other option are the obvious cardboard box it comes in - don't see the harm as long as it's well padded (bubble wrap? Newspaper?) or they have some soft cases on CRC for under £100 too - although the lack of support does worry me with these.

Anyone got any tips on how they pack their DH bikes for air travel?

Thanks. J

nferrar

Short of taking the coil out I doubt you can contract the fork? Cardboard boxes work but they take longer to pack/unpack and are more hassle to move about (no wheels), if it's a one-off trip then it's probably fine for you. If you're going to be travelling more often then look at something like an Evoc bike bag (decent protection, wheels on it and lots of room inside). Can hire an Evoc a few places to but it's a personal choice as to whether it's worth it for the convenience over a cardboard box (it would be for me but others I've traveled with are happy enough with boxes).

eric_draven

i have done quite a bit of flying with bikes trail+DH bikes,always used a soft case, pipe lagging on frame and forks,pack out your dropouts front and rear,some bags you will have to take your triple clamp forks out as some are not tall enough,i seem to remember a DHB from wiggle is quite large and not a bad price

Northwind

Check your airline- we flew with Jet2 and their 20kg weight limit meant I couldn't even pack my trailbike as heavily as I wanted to- cardboard lined bike bag was too heavy. Not happy.

bluechair84

Get a skate truck and bolt it to the bottom of the carboard box using as large-a washers as you can for support. Never tried this - but I would if I was in your position.

goytregrit

I used a cardboard box and put 2mm MDF inside it, trouble is with thus us you risk exceeding weight limit. A good option I found was packing my cranks pedals in my hand luggage as this has no weight restrictions as long as it fits the airline baggage size allowance. A wheel on back of box as mentioned above is a good idea, unless you are travelling with mates who can help you carry box.