After a mess shipping in a cardboard box, I’ve decided to make the investment in a bike bag/box. I had originally wanted the BikeBox Alan and was set on it. Until I found that 1: The UK company doesn’t respond to emails and 2: The cost of getting one of these to Hawaii is pretty stupid. So I held back.
Now I’ve read more and more about the Hen House. The main bonus being that you don’t get charged a bike shipping fee in most cases. But the soft sided case just FREAKS me out. And there is quite a bit of work to do in order to get that bike ready to pack up. Nothing I haven’t already done before, but it’s just that…a lot.
So the question comes down to: Pay the mega bucks to get the Bike Box Alan shipped to Hawaii and then know I will be getting zinged with the bike shipping fees on all airlines. But also know I can ship via UPS or FedEX if needed. Easier to pack down bike, easier/faster to reassemble. Most likely impossible to fit 2 Bike Box Alan boxes in our Honda Fit or a compact rental car. And where to store them when not in use?
Or: Go with the Hen House (Armored? Does that REALLY help/worth extra cost?) and know we won’t have too many issues with storage of cases, fitting into cars, or paying for bike shipping on airlines. But can’t ship it UPS or FEDEX. Constant worry of soft sided case being tossed across the tarmac.
Thoughts?
Would be used for titanium cross bike and a steel touring bike. And may be used for a carbon tri bike for a race every now and then.
Have you considered the Scicon Evolution? I looked at all top rated cases three years ago including the BikeBox and decided on the Scicon. Have used for three years now…always ship (about 15 times in past three years) using FedX with never a problem. Also flew by plane to London once…again no issues. I get a company discounted FedX rate but there are a couple companies out there like ShipBikes.com that will also give a decent discount. Just my opinion…but I feel more comfortable with FedX than an airline…and I don’t have to worry about transport to airport on travel day with a car full of luggage. The Scicon is priced a little less than the BikeBox and is top quality. Plenty of reviews on this site if you research. You might get a better shipping price on the Scicon if you check around…I bought mine from ProBikeKit. Good luck.
You could ship the hen house fedex if you put it inside cardboard boxes. I guess it would be two separate items, which would add to cost, but it shouldn’t be that hard to come up or make boxes that fit.
Will fedex not ship the case or do you not want to ship a soft case?
I flew with my armored henhouse a few days ago for the first time, it was great. Flew southwest so i did not pay any fees. You can really dump a lot of clothes in the bags once the bikes are in.
Ahhh…its a hard shell. I’m leaning towards a soft shell for storage and travel with cases (for two bikes). And trying to avoid the bike fees charged by airlines. All flights out of Honolulu charge for bike boxes.
Denise
I really like my Biknd. For me, the air bladders work well and the soft sided case allows me to rent smaller cars compared to hard sided cases.
If I could break down my bike enough to fit in a henhouse, I would definitely go that route. $200-300 round trip for a bike impacts the travel budget significantly.
I have now used an Armored Hen House three times (two US domestic flights and one from Chicago to Stockholm).
Simply, it has been awesome.
Not a big deal breaking down the bike. Never have had a whiff of trouble/fees with airlines. My opinion, bike is very well protected. Plus, you can fit a ton of gear in bags and still be under weight limits (granted, that’s with a carbon frame, etc.).
I plan to fly with my bike at least 4 times in 2015. That’s a lot of saved fees…
Highly recommend the Scicon Evolution or Bike Box Alan… they are essentially the same thing.
Scicon has great customer service… and super fast shipping. I have the Evolution and I love it. I replaced my wheels on my case. It took about 3 days to get the wheels from Italy. One latch broke on a trip, I had the latch in 3 days. Crazy good service.
The Bike Box Alan has a few extra things that make it a little more secure in my opinion. My friend just bought the Bike Box Alan and using right now on a trip. Seems to be same quality as the Scicon, maybe better.
The good thing about these cases besides the excellent quality is the ease of packing. Pedals off, wheels off, seatpost off… handlebars stay attached. You just loosen the stem bolts, rotate the bars and turn them down. Easy as pie!!
I’m traveling this weekend… and just got done packing my bike.
Highly recommend the Scicon Evolution or Bike Box Alan… they are essentially the same thing.
Scicon has great customer service… and super fast shipping. I have the Evolution and I love it. I replaced my wheels on my case. It took about 3 days to get the wheels from Italy. One latch broke on a trip, I had the latch in 3 days. Crazy good service.
The Bike Box Alan has a few extra things that make it a little more secure in my opinion. My friend just bought the Bike Box Alan and using right now on a trip. Seems to be same quality as the Scicon, maybe better.
The good thing about these cases besides the excellent quality is the ease of packing. Pedals off, wheels off, seatpost off… handlebars stay attached. You just loosen the stem bolts, rotate the bars and turn them down. Easy as pie!!
I’m traveling this weekend… and just got done packing my bike.
Here is a quick shot as I pack…
Nice Helix! I also travel with my Lynskey which make me feel a little better since it will not crack like a carbon frame.
I have the travel box from performance bike. It was cheap and certainly not the best but has worked great for me.
It pack similar than the picture above but with the wheels on each side. Have always paid the airline though.
A case that wouldn’t get charged would pay for itself in 1 trip easy.
Highly recommend the Scicon Evolution or Bike Box Alan… they are essentially the same thing.
Scicon has great customer service… and super fast shipping. I have the Evolution and I love it. I replaced my wheels on my case. It took about 3 days to get the wheels from Italy. One latch broke on a trip, I had the latch in 3 days. Crazy good service.
The Bike Box Alan has a few extra things that make it a little more secure in my opinion. My friend just bought the Bike Box Alan and using right now on a trip. Seems to be same quality as the Scicon, maybe better.
The good thing about these cases besides the excellent quality is the ease of packing. Pedals off, wheels off, seatpost off… handlebars stay attached. You just loosen the stem bolts, rotate the bars and turn them down. Easy as pie!!
I’m traveling this weekend… and just got done packing my bike.
Here is a quick shot as I pack…
Nice Helix! I also travel with my Lynskey which make me feel a little better since it will not crack like a carbon frame.
I have the travel box from performance bike. It was cheap and certainly not the best but has worked great for me.
It pack similar than the picture above but with the wheels on each side. Have always paid the airline though.
A case that wouldn’t get charged would pay for itself in 1 trip easy.
Yup… bought the Helix this year after a crash on a Trek Madone cracked the carbon…
As you can see in the pic above… the S5 is my other bike, and non travel bike.
I’ve had both the Hen House and the armored version. While I liked them I eventually switched to the Scicon Aerocomfort bag and couldn’t be happier. Mechanically I had no issues with the breakdown required by the Hen House bags but in the end I go tired of the chore. It was never a big deal preparing for a trip but it was annoying to have to do it at the end of a trip to come home. The Aerocomfort is a dream to pack up. If it takes me 5 minutes I’ve done something wrong.
Btw, while most of the time I was able to fly free with the Hen House there were a couple of occasions where I got hit with bike bag fees. It’s the reverse with the Aerocomfort. Most of the time I have the fees but occasionally I get some good karma/mojo/nice baggage agent and the fee is waived. It’s like a little bonus that makes me smile.
Recently bought an armored hen house and have flown twice with it. My two cents:
*It’s not a big deal to break down. Really only removing the fork is out of the norm compared to a normal bike box. It take a little longer to wrap with the foam and Velcro straps but I don’t hold my breath opening the case up at my destination praying to sweet baby Jesus that a TSA agent has opened the case and made a huge dent in my carbon bike.
you absolutely cannot utter the word bike or they will nail you regardless of the dimensions. I says it’s an ergometer and quickly change the subject to the fact that it’s 62 linear inches. They measured once and conceded. Sky caps seem to care less as long as you tell them it’s not a bike.
maybe I’m packing wrong or maybe my large Shiv is a little bigger than what the case was designed for but I could fit a pump and wasn’t able to fit much more than a regular helmet, bike shoes and a few pieces of clothing.
All in all I’m pleased. I think it’ll break even after a couple of seasons of flying.
I have the BikeBoxAlan and it was great for my Cannondale Slice. Minor downside versus Scicon is that TSA agents seldom replaced the center brace bar correctly.
After buying a Shiv, I decided to get a Scicon Aerocomfort Triathlon bag. It’s super easy as you only remove wheels. Have flown to 4 races using it, including to Roth from Denver, with no problems (other than replacing the bike case caster wheels). Also invested in the Albopads set which provide some added protection. As mentioned above, you will almost always pay airlines fees this route.
I couldn’t be happier with my Armored Hen House. Flown with the bike six round trips so far this year (12 flights). Charged once. The first time, breakdown is a bit of a process. Once you figure it out, though, it’s super simple. I’m impressed with the protection if offers, and there’s a surprising amount of room for your other “stuff” inside, especially the wheel bag. Plus fitting it into even a very small car is a no brainer.
Not a specific opinion on which one but If you have the opportunity I’d always go for a hard case. You’re never quite sure what happens to the box once it leaves your hands and there are losts of possible situations in which you wouldn’t want a soft case. Padding and packaging are great for reducing impact forces on the bike but if the box or bag has a lot of weight stacked on it you want something other than your bike to take the load - a hard box.
i’ve a biknd jet pack which has done a shade under 30k miles in the last 18 months containing a long travel enduro bike, a AL road bike and a carbon TT bike
its held up remarkably well, their customer service has been awesome - so good in fact that I lost something and they shipped it next day but I’d left for another flight so they shipped another one to me in the next destination - all at no cost, super helpful, great product
i’ve looked at other options and have friends that rave about BBA and would actually consider one when I need a replacement or something catastrophic happens
most of these cases are designed to disappate forces away from the frame through the structure - even soft ones - the far bigger issue I worry about is a penetration of the case
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