I’m starting to travel for my races and have decided to go after a bike case. Leaning towards a hard case because of airport handle horror stories and looking specifically at the Thule bike bag which is $1000 and reportedly heavy. Anyone have this bag or would you recommend something else? Thanks!
I rate the Thule Roundtrip case. They make a hard case also, but they’re designed primarily for road bikes, but swallow my 61cm, so can probably take care of most trips bikes also.
The case has semi flexible panels in the side, and the legs of the built in repair stand slide into the inner sleeve, adding to the protection level. The case is really well thought out and, critically for my usage case, offers similar protection level to a hard case, but folds down to a small size. I’ve got a road bike and mountain bike version, plus a SciCon tri-bike soft case with internal frame, which I use for my tri-bike. The Thule feels, by far, the more secure and if I travel for a race I’ll try to stuff my 61cm P3 into the Thule Roundtrip road bike case.
I like the BB Alan, but it’s $900 to get one to the US and the Thule is $1000. How do you think it stacks up to the Thule?
I have the old version looking to upgrade to the “aero†version…. So that not need to dissemble my front end every time I fly.
Otherwise that thing is bomb prof
Not sure about Thule, look like the wheels are lose in the box and you need to dissemble front end
If you want to avoid disassembling the front: BBAlan Easyfit or Premier Bike
If you’d prefer disassembly and having a smaller case as a result: VeloVault
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I’m starting to travel for my races and have decided to go after a bike case. Leaning towards a hard case because of airport handle horror stories and looking specifically at the Thule bike bag which is $1000 and reportedly heavy. Anyone have this bag or would you recommend something else? Thanks!
Velovault or BB allan are great
What ever you do don’t go the scicon aero comfort ,I had one of these for years without any dramas but I did add extra padding and it used to take me about 2hrs to wrap it all up and disassembled etc
These days bags get handled much rougher and I hear story’s constantly of damadge bikes coming out of scicon bike bags
Now I have a velovault and it takes about 15 mins to put bike on and it’s a hard case so nothing gunna happen to it
I have the Scicon hard case. I’ve used it for a few trips without issue. There is plenty of room in the case, but the basebar for tri bike needs to be taken off. I wrap the whole bike in pipe foam insulation, which did the job when needed. Having to take the basebar off can be an issue depending on the bike brand. If I had to do it again, I’d probably get the Bike Box Allen.
Eric and Paula on the TTL podcast both said they have this case (not sponsored) and gave very good reviews.
if your bike is 54cm or smaller, i have been very happy with the trico iron case.
Cardboard rules!!
If you want to avoid disassembling the front: BBAlan Easyfit or Premier Bike
If you’d prefer disassembly and having a smaller case as a result: VeloVault
I have the premier case and I advise against it. I’ve flown with it for 7 or 8 races and the zipper is shot. I have a medium speed concept and the fit is WAY too tight on the basebar and causes the zipper to split. It’s going to cost $600+ dollars for a new zipper.
Get the BBA.
How wide is that basebar? Would the zipper be fine if your bar wasn’t too wide for the case?
The BBA certainly has more room and doesn’t even require the extensions or seatpost to be removed. Tradeoff is the case size.
Has anyone used the Canyon case? It has a soft shell but there is a full metal frame and metal(?) plates in certain areas. It also looks to fit bikes with extensions in place. At 600€, it’s also much cheaper than the 875€ evoc or BBA.
I think that the case would be fine with more narrow basebars, yes. I think mine are 42cm, so maybe 40cm would be passable.
Eric and Paula on the TTL podcast both said they have this case (not sponsored) and gave very good reviews.
https://evocsports.us/.../road-bike-bag-pro-1
I was just about to post this is the best bag I have ever had. No need to dismantle the base bar and a hard casing to protect handlebars being broken like happens in the Scicon soft bags. You mount the front and rear frame wheel mounts to the frame in the bag. The stiffening rods pull out the sides and make it more compact to pack away when not in use if need be. I can highly recommend this bag!!!
I recommend the Bike Box Allen Aero Easy fit. I ordered mine before the race I just did this past Sunday. In fact I’m flying home with bike tomorrow. I had the first Bike Box Allen and had to take apart the bike when I flew with it in the past. Was a huge pain for my husband. The new Aero Easy fit is great. Just take off the wheels and pedals. It made it from Burlington VT Int’l airport to JFK to San Diego fine. No problems with bike. Tip: always ask the airline person checking your bike in for a fragile sticker for both sides of the case.
I don’t know if there is a hard case where you can leave your headset on and not have to take apart your bike aside from the new BBA aero easy fit. I will say I paid the approx $350 FedEx fee to get it to my house from the UK before the race. Still worth it.
Thanks everyone. Looks like it’s between BBA and the Evoc bag. Love how only the pedals and wheels have to be removed for both, but I wonder if the BBA isn’t more protective with it’s complete hardshell cover vs. the Evoc which relies on struts to support certain areas of the bike but not the whole bike itself. Pricing is similar because of the shipping costs of BBA to the U.S. I’m leaning towards the BBA although the lightweight aspects of the other bag are attractive.
Thanks everyone. Looks like it’s between BBA and the Evoc bag. Love how only the pedals and wheels have to be removed for both, but I wonder if the BBA isn’t more protective with it’s complete hardshell cover vs. the Evoc which relies on struts to support certain areas of the bike but not the whole bike itself. Pricing is similar because of the shipping costs of BBA to the U.S. I’m leaning towards the BBA although the lightweight aspects of the other bag are attractive.
I only paid the FedEX 1-3 days (ended up more like 5 or 6 days) $350 USD (around 300 pounds) because I needed the new case for a race. I hadn’t realized BBA made a new case until a few weeks before I had to fly to my race. I am not sure but if you get regular shipping, it’s maybe around $100, but definitely not $350!! It comes from the UK so will take a few weeks.
Thanks everyone. Looks like it’s between BBA and the Evoc bag. Love how only the pedals and wheels have to be removed for both, but I wonder if the BBA isn’t more protective with it’s complete hardshell cover vs. the Evoc which relies on struts to support certain areas of the bike but not the whole bike itself. Pricing is similar because of the shipping costs of BBA to the U.S. I’m leaning towards the BBA although the lightweight aspects of the other bag are attractive.
I only paid the FedEX 1-3 days (ended up more like 5 or 6 days) $350 USD (around 300 pounds) because I needed the new case for a race. I hadn’t realized BBA made a new case until a few weeks before I had to fly to my race. I am not sure but if you get regular shipping, it’s maybe around $100, but definitely not $350!! It comes from the UK so will take a few weeks.
Shipping to the U.S. is 250 Pounds or $304 USD. It’s 5-9 days via FedEx.
I thought there was a cheaper shipping option. Still worth it.