I would like to provide an update after speaking with Marc Lauzon, Founder and President of TriBike Transport. This is long but I feel important to share with everyone.

First, I shared with Marc that I love the triathlon community and all of the companies big and small that contribute greatly to our sport. I would never want to harm a company such as TBT because in the end I love the concept and I would want them to survive and improve to help many racers for years to come. We both agree feedback is important allowing them to understand what they are doing right and how they can improve when things go sideways.

Marc apologized, took responsibility and expressed genuine concern about what happened with my bag in Oceanside and the chain of events that resulted from its delay. After an internal evaluation, Marc explained in great detail what went wrong and what they are doing to make sure it doesn't happen again. Unfortunately in my situation they had a brand new trailer driver and this was his very first TBT load. He picked my bike/bag up in Houston traveled to Dallas next and dropped my bag off instead of another racers' bag. He traveled to Oceanside later in his journey. Marc was bothered that the error was not caught during the drop off in Dallas nor the drop off in Oceanside despite a system of checks and balances already in place. Marc and TBT folks have already gone to great measures to correct this issue so other customers do not have to worry about their equipment arriving. He understands triathletes use companies like TBT to reduce anxiety. He explained out of the many trips TBT has conducted, they have a small percentage of errors that unfortunately happen. I understand it's impossible for any business to be perfect. When these errors inevitably happen TBT will continue to try their best at remedying the situation so the triathlete can still race.

Marc explained, should a bag/pedals not arrive in the future they will make sure the TBT employee will obtain pedals for the triathlete so they can test their bikes out for other issues (like my power meter battery or gear/derailleur problems) before mandatory bike check-in. If they can't get our bags to us in time for the race, they will take us shopping and buy us new equipment. If a bike doesn't make it off the trailer or it is damaged (very rare but has happened) they will arrange for us to race with another bike.

FYI - TBT has our bikes/bags delivered to each race site the night before the first race check-in date. After what happened in Oceanside, Marc is concentrating efforts to have employees catch any error in delivery at this time -days before the race. This will allow TBT to ship anything over night. Marc added, if needed, they will fly the item with a person to get it to the location in time for the race.

Marc also discussed a few other things like improving bike shop dropoff/pickup locations in Houston. If you get a chance to share feedback with TBT in your areas, I recommend sending them an email. He also wants to know if there are other areas they could improve to make everyone's journey easier. They are listening and they care.

I have to say after discussing this matter with him, I feel at peace with the knowledge that these errors are a rare occurrences and confident that if things do go wrong they have a damn good plan in place to make sure we get to race. That was my #1 concern.

With all of that said Marc was kind enough to ask that I give them another try to erase what happened in the past. He wanted an opportunity to gain my confidence again in TriBike Transport. So he offered to ship my bike and bag to IM Santa Rosa 70.3 for free. I gladly took him up on that offer and the reservation email is already sitting in my inbox. That was very generous of you Marc - thank you.

I have learned so much from this thread. I definitely take responsibility for a lot of things that I can improve on. I still have to figure out my bike case situation for IM Santa Cruz 70.3 as I believe flying is the only way to transport. I hope that you all continue these discussions so that we may all improve and enjoy our sport.

This is why I stopped bring surfboards on vacation and just renting a board or buying a used one and giving it away to some kid on the beach when it was time to go home. $150 (or less) will get you a pretty nice used board almost anywhere. On my last surf trip to Costa Rica, I rented a brand new Seven board for $75 for the week. Didn't even have wax on it yet!

---

Live long and surf!

Hi. I used Tri on the Run for drop-off before as well. I believe they closed down within the past 2 years. TBT said they just worked out an agreement with Shama and Tru Tri. Shama is very close to me. I agree with shit happening - it looks like my number was up with this past race. I purchased the EVOC bag 3-4 years ago and was super excited because it allowed minimal breakdown of my bike. Needless to say this was the very bag that United abused and damaged my bike both to Boulder and from Boulder. The damage was pretty extensive. I gave the bag back after the trip - the store gave me a full refund.

I'm glad you are getting things worked out. I've used TBT and one other Florida-only transporter about 8 times, always with great results. And I've used a soft side bike case 2 to 3 times for each time I paid for a transporter - also without ever incurring any damage (knock on wood). Most of the races I do, a transport service is not even an option, or is prohibitively expensive compared to flying with the case. I hope I'm not repeating too much of what's already in the thread, but I have these suggestions:

1) Always fly with your gear. E.g,. whether I ship my bike with TBT or put it in a case, my helmet, trisuit, bike shoes, run shoes, pedals, sunglasses, race belt and all other racing essentials are in my backpack on my person. If my bike is sent to Timbuktu, I could look for a rental/loaner and still have everything I need.

2) Your bike will do best if it is broken down the most and you do more than bag manufacturer suggests to protect it. I always remove the RD, insert steel fork locks, bubble wrap everything in sight, etc.

I bought a new case for this year simply because I now need one with wheels. It is a semi-rigid soft side with a hard bottom. The change makes me nervous but I still think taking special care in packing is more important than the case. FYI - EVOC was in the running, but I went with this: https://www.thule.com/...trip-pro-xt-_-100505

I am happy to hear that you are satisfied with the response from TBT. I want to share that I also had an issue with TBT. I own three bike shops. I tried for many months to contact TBT to become a pick up location. I say I tried, because I called and emailed and received no response. Finally, after many calls and emails, they responded and told me no, they were not interested. My shops are located 10 minutes from a major north/south interstate and 10 minutes from an east/west turnpike. I thought my locations were convenient for a pick up location, but they didn't agree. The nearest drop off location is 90 minutes away. Otherwise, you have to use their "pack and ship" service. Although I have always taken my bike with me on the plane I decided to try the pack and ship. I was looking for an easier way for my customers. I tried that service and will never use them again. My bike was not assembled correctly at the race and I had to take it to the mechanic at Ironman Village. The response you received from TBT to your complaint was almost verbatim to what I received (it was new employees, taking corrective action, refund, etc). I now take my bike with me on the plane and take my chances with TSA, and advise my customers to use alternate shipping services: bike box - take with on plane, Fedex, Bike Flights.

I bought a used thule hardcase. Have flown with the race bike a few times. Mark everything before you break it down, take photos, practice putting it back together. Get foam pipe insulation and bubble wrap. Take off the rear derailleur. Keep pedals on my person. I flew to Frankfurt, $50 for the bike on Air Canada. Not a single issue. Flew Alaska the last go around ,aside from fog delays at connection in Seattle, bike did make it the next day, not an issue. Because I did not check other bags and the bike and box was right at 52 lbs, I didn't pay a penny. New fee is $25 but because I didn't check a bag, that counted as my free bag. Didn't pay either way. I think it is important to be competent breaking down and putting your bike back together, that includes us females. You never know when you'll need to make adjustments after you scrape yourself up after a crash, to keep going. I've also run into a few incompetent bike mechanics out there who do more harm than good. I have no idea but some tend to want to start changing things up, don't mess with my friction shifting- saved my race after the crash. I had a seat post drop early on the bike due to a incompetent mechanic. Never again. If I mess something up I can live with that and know better next time, I still trust my skills more than a strange mechanic at some race I've travelled to. If someone else screws it up...Ya I'm gonna be pissed when you see me next.

Wow... interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Honestly it’s really good to hear this kind of advice. I have Gman’s Scicon hard case, new foam wrap and egg crate cushion. My project this weekend is to mark everything, custom fit the protective materials and break the bike down to fit - including rear derailleur. Then reassemble.

My bike wheels were damaged by TBT back in 2011.
I never used them again.
I was unaware of the CC acquisition.
That makes me sad.

It will give you the confidence and power to deal with almost anything when you travel with a bike. I could disassemble and put back together with a multi tool in the early days. I do not drag the torque wrench along now but carry specs for when I do track one down. I learned the hard way asking for an Allen wrench on a bike course :P. Good luck and have fun!

Any options other than Albopads that you’re aware of? Their site has been down for days. Wondering if they’re even still around.