You want the BikeBox Alan Triathlon EasiFit. Minimal disassembly, including not having to lower the seat even if you're ~190cm. There are enough stories of broken bikes in soft cases that you should go with a hard case.

Premier Bike would be my second choice. Requires seatpost removal and fits narrower bars, but takes up less space in a car.

ooooh! New rabbit hole to go down. Thank you for the recommendation! I wish this was in the US...

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

AGree... BBA Tri Easyfit is a game changer, just take off the wheels and drop the bike in. The only negatives: The latches could be a bit better. Not an issue for me, but always worried TSA will not get them lined up right. Also... I have had TSA take my frame out to inspect the wheel that is below it :-S.

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Team Zoot

I only know of one Ministry of Travel and she is currently having a nap on our couch. ;)
And what is with all the capitals?

I'm in the market for a new travel bag/case for a gravel bike (Allied Able w/SRAM Red). On my gravel bike, I have an integrated stem/bar. My wheels and tires are Enve G25s with Vittoria Terreno Dry 38s (but have a 43mm width when pumped up). I will be traveling with this bike both domestically and internationally (more infrequent) and need some advice on what bag or case would work for my use case.

I'm looking at the Scicon hard case, but because I have an integrated stem/bar means that I will have to affix the bar to the frame using my own velcro strips. Not against that, but the Scicon road bike softshell bag doesn't require me to remove either the bar or seatpost. But then there's the issue of a softshell bag versus a hard case.

What other bags or cases should I be looking at? Thanks in advance.

BTW, Scicon is having a sale right now where their bags and hardshell case are 40% off!!!

I’d recommend Bike Box Alan. I’ve used Scicon bags for years without incident, but recently bought a BBA to take any concerns about a soft bag off the table. They’re not cheap but are pretty indestructible.

I have the SciCon hard case, and used it for two longer trips. Went to IM Norway in 2019, then Kona later that same year. Worked fine, and protected the bike, wheels, and gear well. I debated using it for my three recent trips to St. George (from Boston), but went with TriBike Transport each time. Yes, TBT is more $$$ than flying with the bike, but it gives me more peace of mind.

If I travel to Europe again or back to Kona I'd use my hard case.

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

Every fellow mechanic I have talked to at the big races over the last several years has confirmed my own observation; there are an awful lot of bikes showing up at races with broken bars ever since the "bar on" soft and semi-soft cases started showing up. I wouldn't use one, and I try to talk athletes I work with out of using them. If you absolutely have to keep the bars on, something like the BBA is the way to go.
I'm definitely on team soft case; nearly 100% of the problems I have had with bike transit over the years have been clearly identifiable as TSA not being able to get everything back in the case correctly, and even TSA agents seem to be able to operate a zipper correctly most of the time.

Personally, I use a soft case from DaKine. After several years of traveling to races for work, and using a bunch of different cases/bags, this was the one that had the lowest failure rate, and It fits every bike I've had occasion to use it with (and I've had some oddball frames in it).
On my recent trip to Kona I was using this bag, and It came home carrying a road bike with an additional set of wheels, bike shoes and running shoes, helmet, my workstand, 4 spare tires, a tool roll, and two bottles of sealant. No problems at all, and it flew for free - thanks Alaska Air credit card :)

Just fwiw, on Alaska Air, once your bag is oversize, it's oversize, and the 50# weight limit doesn't matter anymore. Standard bike bags/boxes are automatically oversize, so when they weigh it they're just checking to see if it needs an overweight handling tag. IME, the bike actually seems to get better treatment with the overweight tag, so game on.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

I registered for Ironman Florida a few days ago, and I’m looking into flights now. I’ll be flying with my bike from Ireland. The two best options seem to be either American Airlines or British Airways. KLM is also an option, but some of the flights are operated by Delta, and I don’t know if that will be an extra hassle I could do without.

Has anybody here flown to ECP from Europe and would be in position to advise?

Thanks

I know its been a while since this thread has made an appearance, but with all of the hubbub around TriBike Transport... traveling safely and securely with my bike for limited cost has become a more urgent question.

I've been interested in so many of the boxes that have been reviewed (B&W, BBA, etc.) but they're not available here in the US or shipping is prohibitively expensive. Are there any new options out there that people like?

Have the airlines all met a close-to-unified standard for boxes and fees? Is it still the total dimension, or weight, or...?

Replying to Dan because I feel like its safe to guess that the ST team is working on this already in the background, but also generally begging for guidance here :)

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KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com

Hard to go wrong with the classic Trico Ironcase. Heavy, bulky, and only has two wheels but lots of protection. I have traveled extensively for years with bikes built with S&S couplers and their small hard case. Much more effort to pack these bikes but the small size of the case is fantastic for traveling and never had an issue with damage to the bike even with carbon fiber coupled bikes. Obviously this requires a specially-made bike frame. Something like the BBA Easy Fit is great for tri bikes. My go to bike box for non-coupled bikes with removable handlebars is a BBA Plus which has room for gravel bikes with larger tires.