PlanetX Travel Bike Bag

marpick

So, off to Lanzarote next week, need to pack my roubaix into my newly acquired bag, first time packing the bag for me so all advice/tips gratefully received!

MountainMonster

Try it and see how you get on?

lostboysaint

Use my Planet X bag frequently, the latest being a Portugal trip in September. Firstly a bit more shopping!
1.Pop down the LBS and get a couple of braces for the rear dropout and the fork,
2. Down to your local DIY emporium and pick up about 10 lengths of pipe insulation and a couple of large foam squares.

Cut the foam insulation to length and fit them along every tube possible (chain stays, seat stays, down tube, head tube, seat tube etc.

Take the wheels off stick them (and skewers) into the relevant pockets, pedals off, rear mech off (although my mate who uses one never bothers). Loosen the stem, swivel through 90 degrees so that the bars can then be loosened and rotated "downward" so that they hook under the top tube. (the other alternative, which I prefer, is to take the faceplate of the stem and take the bars out and then hook them under the top tube - I worry that a stem sticking out at 90deg may puncture the bag) Tape the rear mech in some bubble wrap and then onto the (foam protected) chain stay - keeping it inside the rear triangle, otherwise it defeats the object of having taken it off to avoid damage! Cut one of the squares of foam the width of the bag and score a groove in it so that the chain ring sits in it. Lift the whole lot into the bag.

There's loads of pockets in the Planet X bag for pedals, tools, Garmin/computer and any other nonsense you want to throw in there. I tend to put all my cycling clothing in there as well (more padding, less weight in the suitcase) and have never yet got close to the weight allowance for that bag!

darkhairedlord

seems a lot of aggravation. I would just rent a bike:
No expense of buying all the bike bag, braces, insulation etc nonsense.
No trying to jam it into the car to the airport, parking costs, transporting etc.
No worrying it's going to get broken, bent, cracked, dropped, lost, stolen, etc.
No need for a hire car at the other end, storage of bike box, etc.
Yeah, cost of hire but got to be less than all of the above,
plus it's not your bike so you can ride it like you stole it!

marpick

Thanks lostboy, on the case with the shopping list!

lostboysaint

darkhairedlord wrote:

seems a lot of aggravation. I would just rent a bike:
No expense of buying all the bike bag, braces, insulation etc nonsense.
No trying to jam it into the car to the airport, parking costs, transporting etc.
No worrying it's going to get broken, bent, cracked, dropped, lost, stolen, etc.
No need for a hire car at the other end, storage of bike box, etc.
Yeah, cost of hire but got to be less than all of the above,
plus it's not your bike so you can ride it like you stole it!

Nope. Cost is negligible - the bike bag is £50, the cost to get it on the flight is normally circa £40. It takes 30 mins max to re-build and re-pack in the villa (if you want to put a monetary cost to your holiday time).

Bike hire is normally 30E+/day for something remotely decent. So two or three rides and the cost is recouped if you only charge the cost of the reusable bag to one holiday! And that doesn't take into account the quality of the bikes available to hire, how well they'll fit compared to your own, the time spent making them fit etc.etc - whether you'll ever see the same bike if you ride on non-consecutive days etc.etc.

Never had an issue with transport, perhaps that's 'cos I plan it! Again, negligible cost.

And lastly, and most pertinently, if you don't ride your own bike like you stole it anyway then you're not doing it right - and it's easier to do when you know it works for you/fits so you won't be losing the front wheel on that descent from Femes because it doesn't provide the same feel around the hairpin etc.etc. (never mind aches, stresses, pains from being in a different position).

ddraver

Best advice i can think of is - if you go own the lostboy route of covering everything up is to write on the tube what it's for i.e. top tube, seat tube, left chainstay etc

It makes repacking at the end of the holiday a lot easier

My own tip - not being overly familiar with the Planet-X bag - is to get a bike box from the LBS and put THAT inside the bag as that makes it almost as good as a hard case

whoof

Check if all your stuff fits in the car so you can get to the airport and that your tranfer at the other end will carry it from the airport to your hotel. I've known more than one person come unstuck with this.

marpick

whoof wrote:

Check if all your stuff fits in the car so you can get to the airport and that your tranfer at the other end will carry it from the airport to your hotel. I've known more than one person come unstuck with this.

Yes, great point whoof, keep it coming guys/gals, have got lagging, bag was £40 from eBay and came with some bits, drop-out spacers etc and I picked up a box from Halford as I was passing this afternoon.....

lostboysaint

You're good to go then! The lagging is only to protect the frame from things like the handlebars rubbing on it etc. The padding of the bag itself is pretty generous.

desweller

Check this out.

marpick

Wow, not enough time for that but a great case!

Thanks lostboy et al, packing tomorrow and your advice has been great.