Evoc Bike Bag or Bike Box Alan

theotherjake

Hi,

I need to buy a bag or box to fly my bike this summer, I have four flights planned. But I cannot decide which to get? BBA or Evoc...

Would the Evoc provide enough protection for my 3k carbon road bike? it certainly would be easier to fit in a rental car (Ford Grand CMax). But I don't want a single bit of damage to occur to the bike...

Jake.

lostboysaint

As someone who is quite happy to stick his carbon road bike in a Planet X bag and has flown thousands of miles without any damage whatsoever I can't help thinking you're worrying unnecessarily. Choose one, buy it, get on with your life.

colinsmith123

I went for the EVOC bike bag in the end over the Bike Box. But you should also buy the EVOC fork protector.

I went for the EVOC, simply because the bag will spend 99.99% of its life not being used and so takes up considerably less space and will fit through the hatch in to the loft for storage. Away from curious 'how much did that cost' eyes.

nferrar

I've been using an Evoc for a few years for both MTB and road bike trips and haven't suffered damage yet. A BBA will provide better protection but for me it wasn't worth the additional hassle with it. With the Evoc I also use the fork protector, put braces between both the fork and chainstay dropouts and use pipe lagging to cover sticky-out bits of the frame.

thegreatdivide

I watched from my window seat as my Bike Box Alan was hurled at force onto a loading ramp. Zero damage to box or bike. It might have been ok in an Evoc but I'm glad I went for a BBA.

Grill

My BikeBoxAlan has gone through a dozen trips in the last couple years. Most of those were too and from the States where DHS insists on opening the box to make sure that I'm not carrying a bomb and closing it like a inattentive 8 year old with superhuman strength. No damage as of yet, which is good as my last two trips with other hard cases resulted in two broken frames.

slowbike

Another happy Evoc bag owner ...

However, I did take some care over packing - focusing on the potential for crush damage - I used conduit with quick releases to space the forks and rear dropouts. Then put shoes around the shifters.

I did see our bags being loaded at Gatwick - handled with care ...

sloppyschleckonds

My last trip to abroad resulted in my BBA looking like it had been run over.
Everything inside was a mess, but no damage to the bike.

apreading

The theory is that they will handle hard cases with less care than soft ones, so the ability of BBA to withstand that level of abuse may be countered by the fact that it will more likely be subjected to that level of abuse.

There are compelling arguments for either - so just take your pick on which is more convenient for you.

theotherjake

For me a smashed bike would ruin my summer, so BBA it is.

stueys

I've a BBA and my mate has an evoc. I have to say I was impressed with the protection it gave the bike and it was smaller than the BBA, so less worries with hire cars and the 'will it fit' pondering on the flight over.

Having said that I love my BBA, I'm completely confident that the bike is protected in there in a way which I wouldn't be with the evoc. I also tend to cram all my bike gear in there around the bike which means I end up with just a small carry on for a long cycling weekend.

So for me I'm happy I went BBA, purely for the 100% peace of mind. I can see the appeal of the evoc though.

sloppyschleckonds

I saw a lot of people using the Scicon soft cases, they looked slightly more transportable as you could put it over your shoulder.

But is it really that much of a bind to transport it from your house to the airport and airport to your hotel?

gsk82

as you have felt the need to ask the question you obviously have doubts about the evoc. you'll therefore spend all your travelling time worrying about your bike and if, heaven forbid, you see someone else with an alan, you'll be worried how much damage it's going to do to your bike when a baggage mangler throws it on top of yours.

with an alan you can be totally confident it will be safe. as long as you put cable ties on the locks you know no one has been in and therefore that its fine. no need to open it up at the baggage collection to make sure its not damaged before you pass the line of no liability.

you'll need somewhere to store it though