Bike Box

islwyn

If you had a choice, which would it be? Budget £250.

As nice as it sounds to have a BOX, space is tight in terms of storage, that's why I've listed some sturdy soft shells that fold down, but if you believe it's worth FINDING the storage space for, then fair enough! Thank you.

Thule RoundTrip Pro Bike Case
http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/item/Thule/ ... -Case/AEIW

B&W Bike Box
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/b-w-bike-box/

EVOC Bike Travel Tag
http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/item/EVOC/B ... el-Bag/NMD

Anonymous

I got a cheap £200 box last year (Bike Box Alan copy I think).
It did its job and I found having a 'storage' box useful during the trip. Would not have been the same with a bag.
Could it earn its storage place at home by being full of something?

I got it from Hargroves cycles I think. Its not the same as the £150 one they have now though.

The B&W was a consideration, but it looked too much like a suitcase for me. It was a fair bit less than £250 at the time.
Seemed a bit compact internally, and personally I like the wheels being recessed rather than just randomly placed.

Also looked at the hard case version of the Thule, but it was too big and heavy.
Be careful of weight limits if you are flying BA :shock:

If I get another one it will be a (real) BBA or Scicon AeroTech Evolution.

Dodger747

EVOC for me - had mine for a few years now and has been faultless - easy to pack, good protection, light and can be stored easily.

pblakeney

I will save you money by learning from our experience.
If you will use it a lot, go straight to the Bikeboxalan. If it will be used sparingly, hire one.

fenix

I use soft bags in Europe. You need to take longer packing the bike - pad every frametube out with pipe lagging and add extra foam and it'll be fine. So you need to find space for the bag and the foam - although obviously they will compress.

pblakeney

Fenix wrote:

I use soft bags in Europe. You need to take longer packing the bike - pad every frametube out with pipe lagging and add extra foam and it'll be fine. So you need to find space for the bag and the foam - although obviously they will compress.

I do not wish to disgaree, but I am about to.....
Pipe lagging will protect against cosmetic damage but adds no structural protection what so ever.
A cycling friend works in airport handling. He insists that he would only recommend using hard cases.

islwyn

Thank you all!

fenix

PBlakeney wrote:

Fenix wrote:

I use soft bags in Europe. You need to take longer packing the bike - pad every frametube out with pipe lagging and add extra foam and it'll be fine. So you need to find space for the bag and the foam - although obviously they will compress.

I do not wish to disgaree, but I am about to.....
Pipe lagging will protect against cosmetic damage but adds no structural protection what so ever.
A cycling friend works in airport handling. He insists that he would only recommend using hard cases.

I'm just speaking from my bike surviving plenty of flights with no damage. It's really well padded out.

My pals bike was written off in a BBA on a short trip back from France. Clearly something wasn't secured in the box and smacked into a delicate carbon seat stay. I've had another mate have his hanger break off in a hard shell box - he'd not secured it properly and it smacked against the case.

So if you do go for the BBA route - Make sure that nothing can rattle around in the case.

pblakeney

Fenix wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

Fenix wrote:

I use soft bags in Europe. You need to take longer packing the bike - pad every frametube out with pipe lagging and add extra foam and it'll be fine. So you need to find space for the bag and the foam - although obviously they will compress.

I do not wish to disgaree, but I am about to.....
Pipe lagging will protect against cosmetic damage but adds no structural protection what so ever.
A cycling friend works in airport handling. He insists that he would only recommend using hard cases.

I'm just speaking from my bike surviving plenty of flights with no damage. It's really well padded out.

My pals bike was written off in a BBA on a short trip back from France. Clearly something wasn't secured in the box and smacked into a delicate carbon seat stay. I've had another mate have his hanger break off in a hard shell box - he'd not secured it properly and it smacked against the case.

So if you do go for the BBA route - Make sure that nothing can rattle around in the case.

I've got away with it too, so far. I just think the advice from someone involved should be listened to.
Your anecdotes simply illustrate the importance of proper packing.

apreading

I have seen compelling arguments for all types:

Hard Case - most protection, just make sure you get one with something to avoid crushing, normally a rod in the centre which keeps the two sides from being pushed in. But evidence that because they are more protected, they get abused more by baggage handlers and chucked around or stacked with stuff on top because they believe they can take it.

Soft Case - well designed ones with good padding offer reasonable protection. Obviously not as good as a hard case but because they are soft they are more likely to be respected by baggage handlers and almost certainly wont have stuff stacked on top of them.

Plastic bag - the CTC sell a see through plastic bag which slips over the bike - the theory is the extreme of the above case for the soft case - because its obvious what it is and that it has no protection, the baggage handlers will respect it more. Obviously the downside is that it has NO protection, so even minor knocks can cause damage.

Honestly, whichever you choose you are taking a gamble - there are pros and cons to each. The bike box alan is one of the strongest hard cases so arguably overcomes the negatives of the hard case because it isnt just hard, its super hard. If a bike were TRULY irreplaceable, or I were doing it every month, I would likely get one of these.

If you are in the US and have to pay TSA charges then there is another thing to think of - something less obviously bike may save ALOT of money.

I got an Aerus Biospeed (for £150), which got pretty good reviews like: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/02/how- ... -bike.html and it did a good job when I flew to Italy. Didnt give me peace of mind, but I dont think anything would have, but I think I made a reasonable compromise.

pilot_pete

Bike Box Allan for me every time. My nick should give you an idea of what I do for a living.

You may well get away with a soft bag again and again, but one day you will come a cropper. If a baggage cart runs into/ over your pride and joy it will be trashed. In a hard shell box it is unlikely to get driven over - probably pushed out of the way.

If it is dropped off a baggage belt/ cart or worse still from the aircraft hold door or belt loader then it is highly likely to be damaged in a soft case but will probably be ok in a solid hard shell box if it is packed correctly.

If you are travelling short haul around Europe you will probably be flying in something like a B737 or Airbus A319/320 family type aircraft. These do not have containerised luggage therefore all the bags and bikes are piled into the holds together. If there is a shift of baggage in flight due turbulence etc then your pride and joy could get a tonne or more of bags pressing up against it. No prizes for guessing which packaging stands the best chance of protecting your steed.

Happy flighting!

PP

Anonymous

My hard case fits inside my bike bag, but its then too heavy to put anything else in apart from bike.
Is the best of both worlds though in terms of baggage handlers.

rpherts

I currently have a bike bag. It has wheels on the bottom but I had an utter nightmare wheeling it around the Gare du Nord; it simply wouldn't stay upright and kept flopping over.

Definitely buying a BikeBoxAlan. Expensive but worth it, I think.

AK_jnr

I got a box off amazon which is basically a copy of the Alan. It was about £240 in the sale and while it wont be used loads of times a year, its worth its weight in gold in my opinion.

fenix

Hopefully not this one... http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/lat ... deo-167650

AK_jnr

Haha. Cant say im overly worried if it is as having used both its construction looks identical to me.

fenix

I think the difference in that chinese one is the polymer used ? More brittle ? Just don't drop your bike off a bridge :-)