I bought a Bikend Jet Pack and its awesome, its a very clever design I think, and took a Enduro bike with 160mm forks without having to remove them. I think its about the same price.

I don't have a Shiv but I do have a 2012 Speed Concept and travel quite a bit to race. I have saved thousands of dollars (national and international travel) with the Ruster Sports Hen House. I am not a wrench but I have learned to remove my fork and pack my bike in 30-45'.

I probably take slightly more time than most because I wrap my frame carefully. No damage ever to my bike.

Let me know if you have any questions!

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Blog:
http://www.FeWoman.com/

Thanks!

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Team Every Man Jack

http://www.teamemj.com

Airline "bike" fee? Really trying to avoid these!

D

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Team Every Man Jack

http://www.teamemj.com

I dont know because I dont pay them, my guess is yes as it would not meet the 100" requirement.

Im also slightly paranoid so I like the protection it offers and that has a value, that said I can also appreciate the saving the fees.

I don't have a Shiv, but I do have the Armored Hen House & have used it for a few trips domestically this year on Southwest Airlines. I have never been charged an additional fee. That case has paid for itself in the fees that I have saved.

I'm guessing the frame and wheels bags are counted as two bags? Hawaiian airlines charges $25 for the 1st, $35 for the 2cd and $100 for the third checked bags. They charge $100 for oversized bike cases. I'm assuming there is no extra room in the wheel bag for additional items so in this case the savings is not that great. Hen House frame bag= checked bag 1, Hen House wheel bag= checked 2 so that leaves me with a carry on and that's it for 2 weeks in Kona. May be best to get a larger bike case and stuff it full, add an additional checked bag and carry-on and call it a day? That would cost me $125 vs. $160 for 2 Hen House bags + ! additional bag? Is my logic off?? I'l never be traveling more than twice a year so it may just be best to keep my bike more intact. That said what are bags does everyone recommend that leaves the bike more intact- especially interested in hearing from Shiv owners... :)

D

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Team Every Man Jack

http://www.teamemj.com

I can stuff quite a bit more than my bike in the Hen House bags. Shoes, pump, wet suit, skin suit, clothes etc. I check the two Hen House bags, bring a carry on and a back pack and will have everything I need for two weeks in Kona. The only cost I have incurred on any airline I have traveled are charges for each checked bag (love Southwest Airs two bags free policy!). I have incurred no oversized bag or bike fees.

I would suggest shipping a box back with the extra stuff you accumulate during your trip. This greatly reduces packing stress on the way home especially after the inevitable post-race Mai Tais.

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Blog:
http://www.FeWoman.com/

Yes, it sounds like you travel much more than me...:) In my scenario with Hawaiian I would pay $60 for the two hen house bags with no checked bag or $100 for the bike case. Only $40 difference and the time to take the fork off etc. outweighs the $40!

D

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Team Every Man Jack

http://www.teamemj.com

So this question is a few years old, but did you ever get an answer about the Shiv in a Ruster Hen House?

I've got the S-Works model with the Magura brakes, and was wondering how much of a pain it is to take the fork off and remove the brakes for travel, and how to avoid damaging the hydraulic system. The shifting is not an issue as the Di2 is easy enough to unplug and reconnect with the tool, and the crank and RD are also easy enough to remove. I'm just not excited about the potential of damaging the hydraulic tubing in transit and arriving at a race without a front brake...

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Cheers,
Sam

I have the Scicon Aerocomfort and am happy with it. Only have to take the front wheel off and loosen the handlebars. You can get the tri version as well if you don't want to loosen the aero bars. Plenty of room inside to load up with clothing and race gear.

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Twitter@Forsey37

I packed my QR Illicito in the Armored Hen House. I had to take my forks off, but it's easy. Make sure you keep track of where all the little rings go. I put some electrical tape over mine to make sure nothing fell out of anywhere. Also may help to take pictures.
Directions said take the brakes off, but mine are weird to get off, so I didn't and it was fine. DO take your rear derailleur off! And put that thing between your rear dropouts if it will fit.
Takes me about an hour to disassemble and pack and about 35min to put back together. Some Fast Orange wipes in a ziplock and some rubber gloves make it a clean process as well. The wipes are non-gritty and can be used on your bike too. I'm a girl and greasy fingernails are just not as attractive on me. :-(

Thanks - I've done the same with an older Kestrel and a road bike, but took the brakes off of the front forks for both.
Good to hear that you've left the front brake on. This front end is a little funky, so I'll take plenty of pictures along the way.

Nails aside, I wear gloves for working on the bike, too. I also pack plastic bags to protect the carpet in the hotels as well...

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Cheers,
Sam

Update: Just finished packing the Shiv (medium) into the Ruster.
I had to strip down the bike more than I expected - had to take off the fork, both front and rear brakes, the RD, and the crank.
More than I expected, but I was going to be traveling with all the tools (except the 1/2" torque wrench), so reassembly will not be too much of a pain.

This is the third bike I've packed into that case, and crank had to come off of all of them. This was the first time I had to pull off the rear brake, but that had to do with the proximity to the top of the case (my paranoia) than not fitting.

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Cheers,
Sam

You pulled the CRANK? Why?

Yep. The height of the frame/crank/rings means that the zipper is very hard to close, and that the case "tents" up in that area. I played tetris for a bit and could not quite get the case to close well with the crank on (Yes, I've watched the videos a few times.) If you have advice or experience in fitting a 56 cm frame into the case w/ the crank still on, I'd love to hear it.

Taking off the crank is about a 30-60 second process, and I'm traveling with the tools anyways, so removing the crank and putting it into bubble wrap in the case is easy enough. I'd much rather pull a crank than take off the fork, which is part and parcel of the Ruster Hen House.

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Cheers,
Sam

I have an old P2 which is probably more like a size 58-60 and have not had any issues putting it inside the Armored Hen House. But I have to make sure it's positioned just right, crank arms have to be in the right orientation, etc. There is no tenting due to it being the armored version.

I have a large sworks shiv and have to break it down pretty far to fit. They also hype the fact that you can fit clothes, shoes, a pump, etc in the bag. I've never come close to getting a pump in there. Having said that it is still better than paying a bunch and it's really secure and padded and, most importantly, TSA doesn't open it and do a shitty job repacking.

You can never, ever utter the word bike. I've had agents fight me tooth and nail over it and even some come and measure but the bike fits normal bag dimensions. It's easiest to go to the Skycaps and tip $5 to check in. They usually don't give a rat's ass.

This is really disappointing. I was about to pull the trigger on an Armored Hen House, but I am not pulling off the crank to fly. Do you have the regular or armored version? I'm sure Small/XS/Medium Shivs would fit, but I'm not sure about my mountain bikes/fat bikes now that you post this.

Just my N=1 experience - I have a large or XL Shiv (I forgot... but I am 6'2") and mine fits into the Armored version without removing the cranks. It is a tight fit up top, i.e. I have to stretch the zipper a bit to get it to fit, but I still have ample room for my helmet, wetsuit, tools and some other minor accessories. In fact, the crank is not at all the limiting factor, nor could I see it being the limiting factor... it is more the height of the frame that almost causes a problem. I definitely could not fit a pump though.

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Strava

According to Ruster: 1. Distance between the bottom of the chainring to the top of the seat tube may not exceed 66cm 2. Direct distance between the rear dropout and the top of the head tube may not exceed 117cm

For my Shiv, the distance between the seat tube top and the bottom of the frame is ~58 cm, so w/ the crank off I have 3 inches to spare.
Putting the crank on eats up a few more of those cm (130 bcd, if that makes a difference for folks running a compact crank.)

Obviously if some people are getting bikes to fit w/o pulling the cranks, that is great. I can zip mine closed with the crank still attached, but it is tight, and I'd rather have some 'give' between the frame and the sides of the case.

All that being said, I can fit every it of gear needed for a race into the two cases except a floor pump. I can fly with just a small carry on bag and my work bag. This bag rocks, even if I am hopelessly incompetent and have to take off the crank to get my frames to fit into it...

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Cheers,
Sam