I’m sure this has been beaten to death and I have read some, but I’m looking for a new bike box for my Felt IA. I am considering a few, but am curious if anyone has used them or have recommendations of others.
Priorities on my search.
Protection from abuse when not in my possession.
That I don’t have to have a master’s degree in bike building to cram it into the travel bag/box.
I have pretty much assumed pedals and saddle/seatpost will have to come off. The least amount of bolting I have to do with the aerobars is beneficial, but I am capable of removing them (if my cables are long enough - which they weren’t last year)
Mounting the fork/bottom bracket/rear to are added bonuses instead of crushing it.
I just picked up the EVOC Bike bag, and added in the road bike aluminum frame for added security. All you need to drop are the wheels (go into the wheel compartments), the pedals, and the bars. You may need to lower the saddle a bit depending on the seat height. I haven’t used it yet (packing the road bike later this week, flying out sunday), but know many people who use it, and have had great success with it (both for road and tri bikes).
The bag also accommodates tri bikes. I’ll post my thoughts on it when I get back from Europe with this.
I would be more inclined to splurge for the Scicon bag if I had a bike with a fully integrated front end that was a pain in the arse to work on, but with my bikes, dropping the bars and reinstalling them isn’t rocket science…
I was just looking at the video after someone above commented on that one. Seems very hard to find in the US, but i do like the overall design.
I was also looking at the Thule roundtrip Transition.
The Scicon triathlon bag looks too good to be true. I feel like those extensions would get destroyed so easily.
armored hen house – have to take fork off
This is really easy - remove the front brake and drop the fork. Then thread a long zip-tie or something through the head tube to keep everything in place.
I’ve found the hen house convenient esp. in Europe where there are a lot of small rental cars and taxis – the two cases will fit in the trunk of a Prius.
I was just looking at the video after someone above commented on that one. Seems very hard to find in the US, but i do like the overall design.
I was also looking at the Thule roundtrip Transition.
The Scicon triathlon bag looks too good to be true. I feel like those extensions would get destroyed so easily.
Not sure what bag is the Scicon “Triathlon Bag”. I thought they make two bags…the hardshell “aerotech evolution” and the softside “aerocomfort”. I’ve had both and would not recommend either one. I bought the Premier Tactical hardcase a few months ago and would recommend.
I have a 58 IA as well and even with a Scicon Tri Bag still have to pretty much disassemble the frontend and honestly the soft padding leaves me a little nervous.
I ordered directly from Biknd and found customer service outstanding.
I too was tempted by the Scicon. I packed my bike in a Scicon and quickly concluded it is a disaster waiting to happen. No comparison to the Biknd, IMO.
I’ve been trying to figure this out for my P2, this is my current short list
Scicon Triathlon bag, No breakdown
Premier Tactical Bike case
Biknd Helium.
Bike Box Alan
**Thule RoundTrip PRO XT **
I’ve ruled out these:
Scicon Aerocomfort – damage
Scicon Aerotech – fell apart
**Pika Packworks –akward to carry **
armored hen house – have to take fork off
I used the Pika Packworks for the last 10 years and never had any damage. It has great versatility and fits easy in the rear seat of an intermediate sized rental car. It is an excellent case, but yes it is awkward to carry and about 1/4 mile was my limit. I sold it last fall finally conceding that I’m getting a little too old to be lugging a bike case around. I bought the Thule RoundTrip PRO XT and packed it for the first time yesterday; leaving for IM Norway tomorrow. If you ping me in a couple of weeks I can give you a full review. Right now I can only address the packing. The workstand design is ingenious and after I dismantled the bike and bubble wrapped it up, I set the stand base with frame locked down into the case and clipped right into the hard floor…pure brilliance. With the rigid side panels and work stand legs further reinforcing the sides it is a cross between a soft side and hard side case, but the proof is in the pudding and we’ll see how it stands up to travel. The only improvements I would make if I were able would be to reduce the height and length of the case by about 4 inches each so there was less room…the width is perfect. But that’s because I typically ride a 51 or 52 frame and this case can easily take a bigger frame. By contrast my Pika Packworks was a tight pack which I think is a good thing. My second choice when I was researching a new bike case was the EVOC. There are a lot of good reviews on that, but it didn’t seem quite as well constructed and I read of a couple of instances of damage.
armored hen house – have to take fork offThis is really easy - remove the front brake and drop the fork. Then thread a long zip-tie or something through the head tube to keep everything in place.
I’ve found the hen house convenient esp. in Europe where there are a lot of small rental cars and taxis – the two cases will fit in the trunk of a Prius.
Not so easy on a superbike when the front brakes are integrated into the fork, but I agree that it is an excellent choice when you are able to take advantage of it.
What a great team of responses. Thanks for the help so far!
Narrowing down to these so far:
BIKND Helium V4 Bike Travel Case
Thule Roundtrip Transition
Thule Roundtrip Pro XT http://www.buxumbox.com
Intrigued by the buxumbox. never seen it. I’m a huge fan of the workstand/locking mechanism that Thule has implemented. While they are heavy, they aren’t all that different than the long used Trico cases. Realistically, bars, pedals, and wheels have to be removed, so it boils down to which case is the easiest to do that and pack it safely. For me, I also have to factor in a disc wheel and making sure it doesn’t bag up against the frame causing dents. Foam can fix that relatively easily through purchases aftermarket. Seems like Biknd may be an option after July 20 and the weight won’t be an issue b/c they are either going to charge me or not. It’s either under 70 lbs. and they charge me or it’s under 70 lbs. and they don’t.
On the rental car front, I have never been able to fit my bike in a rental car, much less a bike box of any flavor, so it’s always going to be an SUV.
Add the Premier Tactical bike box to your list. You don’t need to remove the base bar, just the extensions. That was one of the deciding factors for me, it made packing and reassembling much easier. I recently used it for a trip to Hawaii and the bike was unscathed and each time I opened it up it was exactly how I packed it.
Add the Premier Tactical bike box to your list. You don’t need to remove the base bar, just the extensions. That was one of the deciding factors for me, it made packing and reassembling much easier. I recently used it for a trip to Hawaii and the bike was unscathed and each time I opened it up it was exactly how I packed it.
Ditto…used for a trip from Philly to Florida. No need to fuss with front brake or fork removal on my P5. Just loosen and bend down the extensions. Room for an extra wheel and lots of extras. Highly recommend.
If you don’t feel comfortable with a Scicon, there is no reason to look any further than a premiere tactical case. No bar removal, room for 3 wheels…just take off wheels, seat post and pedals. No brained.
That being said, I’ve done 5 trips with my scicon and IA frd, one international, and most I’ve had was a bent shifter. Partial thanks to Albo Pads!
Also in regard to the premier box I was able to put a lot of gear in there as well. I have a few pics of packing it up the bike if I get in seeing just pm me
The number of instagram photos I’ve seen of Scicon bags with a bike with snapped handlebars over the years has been many including IM pro Luke Bell… I have had the Biknd original and now the V4 and unless you go to a box I can’t see a better level of protection.