I’m thinking seriously about pulling the trigger on a travel case and am really warming up to this one, anybody own one or used one?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=65432
Just used mine for the first time a few weeks ago. Its the first time I’ve ever flown with my bike so was a bit nervous about the whole experience given the horror stories I’ve read about and regardless of what case my bike was in.
The Biknd bag requires a fair amount of tear down but if you’re relatively handy its really not that bad at all. This is the only negative thing I would say about the case - and case it is, especially once you have it all packed up. I love the it and my Speed Concept made it there and back unscathed.
As a bonus, its extremely easy to move about the airport. It has a handle on the front and just moves about extremely easily. I had it, a small suit case and my transition bag and had no problem running around the airport by myself with it all.
Def recommend the Biknd.
I am also really liking the idea of this case, I don’t have a need for it right now but might want to travel to a few races or take a road bike on some trips some times.
I also have a Speed Concept and currently with a 60/45 stem but might be going to a 100/45 really soon, also mine is a Medium.
Can you tell me how the front end of yours did with the breakdown and reassembly? Was there enough cable to let it hang down on the side to pack it?
I know that the Trek/Kswiss team got these cases so that also gave me hope that it would be a good match for the SC.
How small does it fold down to store when not being used? (prolly one of the biggest advantages to it)
Lastly did you get charged a bike fee with this case?
Mines a medium as well with a 100/10 stem. The stem actually stays in place - its just the bars that are removed. I had to remove the cable stop for the front brake but that was the extent of any additional steps needed. It broke down and came back together extremely easily. Its just a bit time intensive or more so then throwing back on a traditional stem and bar setup. But not terribly so.
I can fit it in the corner of my closet or even under my bed I think. I agree with this being one of the pros. Its one of the main reasons I got it considering I’m in a Manhattan apartment.
I did get charged but I never fly anything but jetblue or southwest so $50 each way isn’t terrible when compared to the other airlines.
Played with one at Interbike. They are spendy, but I was impressed and would certainly feel safe using one (to the extent one can feel safe when flying a bike). I ship my bike domestically, and my int’l trips to places I can’t ship are not frequent enough to warrant the expense.
I also spend time with it at Interbike and thought of it to be very well designed. Already have a Trico Ironcase so no real need for me to get another, but if I were in the market for one that is what I would be looking at.
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I’ve had it for about a year now. Taken it to Italy, vegas and colorado. Very easy to move in the airport, lots of room to put extras inside, and the bike is well supported and protected. As an added bonus, you can take two sets of wheels. The airbags are sturdy, and if you follow the instructions, you don’t pump them up too hard. They act as soft cushions as opposed to rigid airbags.
I wish I had bought one of these instead of my Pika. I recently traveled for Ironman France and some of my friends had these and they were awesome! Easy to use and mounting the bike to the frame of the bag makes sense.
I purchased my Pika which is an awesome case and works exactly as advertised. I was hoping to avoid bike fees but got nailed both ways. $50 out with Air Canada and 160 EUROS on the way back thanks to Lufthansa…
For me, the key selling feature of this bag is the wheels. Makes it so much easier to navigate airports, narrow streets without having the huff it over your shoulder.
Hi all,
I used this soft bike case early this year and travel around in Asia without anyone problem. It’s very good for me when travel alone.
Below is my Sz L Speed Concept (100/45 stem) with 2 sets of ZedTech to IM Korea.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/pkkentwong/10082010c053.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/pkkentwong/10082010c052.jpg
from the UK i’ve flown to Nice, Kona and Mallorca with it, with S3/P4 and no problems. A little heavier than your average bag but a lot more sturdy, and so easy to move around due to the wheels.
and it takes me about 25minutes to pack the S3 in it, with other junk too.
Can it fit bikes like the plasma that have integrated seat posts?
Does it have two zippers so you can zip up both sides and then have the seat post sticking out?
The padding on the outside would be a definite plus…I saw my Aerus bike tossed onto the back of one of those mini-trucks from the airplane window on an uneven surface. Ouch…but the wheels were unscathed…phew. I think wheels would be nice as well even though the Aerus weighs with bike about 25 lbs or so it’s very awkward.
Just used mine for the first time a few weeks ago. Its the first time I’ve ever flown with my bike so was a bit nervous about the whole experience given the horror stories I’ve read about and regardless of what case my bike was in.
The Biknd bag requires a fair amount of tear down but if you’re relatively handy its really not that bad at all. This is the only negative thing I would say about the case - and case it is, especially once you have it all packed up. I love the it and my Speed Concept made it there and back unscathed.
As a bonus, its extremely easy to move about the airport. It has a handle on the front and just moves about extremely easily. I had it, a small suit case and my transition bag and had no problem running around the airport by myself with it all.
Def recommend the Biknd.
How durable do you think the case is? How likely is it to get punctured in some way by airlines or during travel, and if that happened, how easy could it be repaired?
Thanks!
I have used this case a couple times this year. The wheels are great but I wouldn’t purchase the same case again. First, the airbags are between the wheel and the frame and there is nothing between the wheels and the case. I think the airbags should go on the outside with some cushion between wheels & frame. Second, it is very hard to get away without bike fees (often ~$200 each way for many airlines); I have been able to get out of it with my soft sided aerulus case. Finally, the airbags tend to lose air over ~12 hours. I pump it up before arriving at the airport (the supplied pump sucks–the valve should allow you to use a bike pump) but by the time I pick it up from baggage claim, there is very little air in it.
On the positive side, you can store 4 wheels and lots of other stuff.
The outside of the case appears to be extremely durable. Durable enough that I’m not worried about the bladders being punctured from the outside. When packing, I’m careful to not over pump the bladders as well as making sure that nothing on the inside of the case could puncture them.
I’ve heard that if you do get a puncture that Biknd is very good about getting you a replacement ASAP. I doubt you’ll find many who’ve even gone through this though. Its a really well made case.
As others have noted in other threads about flying with bikes, I was sure to walk with it to the TSA area and show them how the case unzips and should be repacked. I think this definitely helps. Something that TSA discovered that I didnt even know was possible was that if you unzip the top, the bladders themselves are velcroed at the very top of the bag. This allowed TSA to not have to completely undo the bag to see inside. They just undid the velcro, took a peek at the wheels and within the middle of the bag and zipped it all back up. I’m sure this isnt always how it will play out but its a nice feature of the case.
Where did you purchase your biknd case? Is there one in NYC on display that I can look at?
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I just used this case to travel to/from China. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but surprised by the relative ease of packing the bike and how it all came together. I will say that I thought it was very easy to maneuver through an airport and around the house. It did end up being much larger than I anticipated. I previously used the traditional clam shell casing and the large Tri All 3 case. All of them got by back there and back with out a problem.
I wasn’t concerned about it being punctured or losing air. I think it was take a sharp, direct hit to cause damage. Such a hit would certainly damage any soft case. In regards to air, it was pumped up from previous use. I didn’t add air on either legs of my trip.
I don’t know if I would buy one of these as I would like something a bit smaller. But I would recommend it as an option.
did you need to remove fork for this?
I don’t need to remove the fork, just take off the front break cover and remove the cable w/wedge.
Just thought I’d give this a bump. I love my Akona soft shell bike case, as I often avoid fees, but tired of lugging it around airports and hotels without wheels.
A few questions:
When this is empty, how small does it get. Can it lie flat in a rental car and can I pile things on top of it?Now that this thread is 2 years old, how durable has it been? What about the wheel lifeIs small enough that sometimes you can fly under the “bike fee police” radar at airports where it is not packed with athletesAnything else not covered in this thread previously that you guys want to bring up?