Following up on this thread, I heard back from Alan.
Hi Iain
I have enough experience to have a good idea from your personal Hight, what size your bike you will be using.
If you are 5 foot 11 or less the probability is that all you take off are wheels and pedals. 5 to 10 minutes to pack.
If you are 6 foot ish ? Depending on the geometry you have set. You may have to also lower or remove the seat post. Or remove Rear mech (1 Allen key bolt) 10 to 15 minutes to pack.
If you are really tall you may have to reduce the length of your Tri Bars.
Alan
So, to me that sounds like basically all frame sizes fit - the only possible travel adjustments might be lowering the seat and/or tucking the aero bars in a bit. All easy fixes, certainly much more so than re-attaching the cockpit.
I just got my BikeBox Alan Aero Easyfit. Its amazing!!!
I have a XL Speed Concept (58 frame). I just needed to take of my rear derailer (probably would regardless) and my saddle for it to fit in the box. Super simple and convenient to use. Plus solid peace of mind having it in a hard case.
One question though maybe someone can help. When I’m traveling to a race with a full carbon disc wheel, how do you put the wheel in? Obviously, you take out the crush poles (they said the box will be just fine without them) but how do you strap the wheel in since you can’t put the straps around the rim?
Hi Bertrand - I would love to hear your thoughts after you have used the EasyFit. I am tossing up between the EasyFit and the regular Bike Box Alan. Did you own the latter before you got the EasyFit? My main concern with the EasyFit is that it’s much wider at the bottom, making transport difficult, specifically, loading it into a taxi, etc. The EasyFit has a fixed anti-crush pole that makes it attractive as I fly to the US regularly. Thanks in advance.
What does it weigh when packed with your bike inside? It looks awesome but I’m not sure if it would be under 50 lbs (cutoff for my bike flying free). TIA!
Yes, I did have the standard box before switching to the EasyFit. The standard box was more than fine for my Aeroad (XS) but I had to take out the base bar on my Speedmax and play with the brake cables to make it it. Not only was it taking a lot of time to pack the Speedmax but it never felt optimal as a long term solution.
I used the EasyFit last weekend and the packing went flowless. On my size S, I just had to take the wheels and pedals off - a 15/20min packing job.
Now you are right that the box is much larger and it may make transportation a tad more challenging. I however felt as if moving it on the ground was easier (the build quality feels a bit higher) but it is a pain when it comes to loading it in a car or walking up tight stairs/corners. Overall I still feel that the ease of packing makes it all worth it though.
Thank you for your reply. I have 56cm road bikes which I believe should fit in the regular box. I just called Bike Box Alan and they advised that I can glue the anti-crush pole with some silicone glue so that, hopefully, will keep TSA at bay. Incidentally, the Bike Box Alan staff were very helpful. Thanks, again, for your comments. I will go with the Stealth.
Safest way is to take the disc as carry-on. Yes it does fit in the overhead lockers. I have travelled to many countries and never had a problem. Just keep it a bit out of sight at check-in and you will be good to go. The beauty of doing this is that then you can use the anti crush pole. I do not like the idea of shipping the bikebox without the pole.
I bought this box, and just packed it for the first time, here’s what I see so far!
The “bad”
It is big; Quite a bit bigger than the standard BikeBoxAlan case as seen below; That thing will no fit in a sedan as far as I can tell; Need a small SUV or minivan;
A bit worried with the airport shuttle, but it does fit inside the 115" linear limit that Delta Airline has (but not by much!)
It is not light; I did not weight, but their site says 28 lbs I think; With some airlines like Delta now removing “bike fees” and treating bike cases as regular luggage allowance, acceptable weight is 50ish lbs instead of 70; In my case, just the bike and a few rags went to 55 lbs; So I took the pedals, rear derailleur, the rags and the skewers in my regular luggage; Bike case is now ~51 lbs.
The GOOD!
Compared to the standard case, the “anti-crush pole” is now a 2 piece item, you do not have to worry TSA will align the one-piece post correctly between the spokes during inspection. (Bad: not disc friendly… BBA says you do not necessarily need the post in case you travel w a disc, just add more padding)
That’s a game changer for packing/unpacking my Medium Speed Concept; I have the low far stem, and “normal” extensions (no Mantis or extra long setup) and all I have to do is:
remove wheels
remove pedals
remove rear derailleur (to be on safe side)
remove the “speed fin” (the aero rear brake cover under the BB… could fit with it, but too tight for my taste).
I did not have to touch the cockpit (huge relief!) or even the seatpost!
Here’s the bike and how it fit in the box.
I guess you could strap as is, but I like to be on the safe side, especially since that frame was custom painted last winter, so I put a bit of padding and protection after that picture, including some foam at the bottom to protect the big chain ring…
I bought this box, and just packed it for the first time, here’s what I see so far!
The “bad”
It is big; Quite a bit bigger than the standard BikeBoxAlan case as seen below; That thing will no fit in a sedan as far as I can tell; Need a small SUV or minivan;
A bit worried with the airport shuttle, but it does fit inside the 115" linear limit that Delta Airline has (but not by much!)
It is not light; I did not weight, but their site says 28 lbs I think; With some airlines like Delta now removing “bike fees” and treating bike cases as regular luggage allowance, acceptable weight is 50ish lbs instead of 70; In my case, just the bike and a few rags went to 55 lbs; So I took the pedals, rear derailleur, the rags and the skewers in my regular luggage; Bike case is now ~51 lbs.
The GOOD!
Compared to the standard case, the “anti-crush pole” is now a 2 piece item, you do not have to worry TSA will align the one-piece post correctly between the spokes during inspection. (Bad: not disc friendly… BBA says you do not necessarily need the post in case you travel w a disc, just add more padding)
That’s a game changer for packing/unpacking my Medium Speed Concept; I have the low far stem, and “normal” extensions (no Mantis or extra long setup) and all I have to do is:
remove wheels
remove pedals
remove rear derailleur (to be on safe side)
remove the “speed fin” (the aero rear brake cover under the BB… could fit with it, but too tight for my taste).
I did not have to touch the cockpit (huge relief!) or even the seatpost!
Here’s the bike and how it fit in the box.
I guess you could strap as is, but I like to be on the safe side, especially since that frame was custom painted last winter, so I put a bit of padding and protection after that picture, including some foam at the bottom to protect the big chain ring…
Thanks for sharing. Mine showed up today, looking forward to a trial fit (Small Shiv, so should fit well.) I have a disc so I need to figure out a good secure solution with that wheel.
Initial fit test… just tossed the bike in there, pedals and chain/RD still on it and it fits. So all I need to do to travel is pull off the wheels and pedals… plus the RD just to be safe. Sweet box!
I have a P5 Disc Size 56, and I have travelled with it Germany to the USA. Bike box and bike inside arrived without a hitch. Once I figured out how to pack it, it fitted no problem. But had to take seatpost/saddle out, and removed rear derailler to make it fit without ramming it into the box. But this is also down to my front end fit, which I could have lowered, but as the bar extension are pretty long on mine, and I m unable to move the front extension inwards any further. But it works overall. Had a scicon aerocomfort before, and that worked just as well, but at least with the Bikebox I have peace of mind. The box also works really well with roadbikes, as I have travelled with a Tarmac Size 56 in it as well. Same procedure as the P5disc.
Did take a picture originally when I packed it, but can’t find it on my phone. And not able to take a picture, as my P5 Disc is currently in Santa Monica, and the bike case is back with me in Munich, Germany as I don’t my Tarmac home with me. Left my P5 Disc there after Malibu Long Course and Classic Distance Race in September, and am doing Indian Wells 70.3 in December, and did not need the P5 back home…weather is just to awful to contemplate cycling outside.
