Have you used one? What do you think? Would you consider buying one?
I have used soft surfboard bags for years and much prefer them over hard cases - I think that the hard cases both encourage poor handling by the airlines and also the extra weight of them significantly increases the force on impact. Even with extra padding inside if there is a very heavy impact when the case hits the ground the contents are likely to be damaged - with a soft case they tend to “float” to the ground eliminating any heavy impact. Perhaps i have been extremely lucky but I haven’t experienced any damage to my boards during travel.
Just wondering if the same can be said for bike cases…
Someone posted a thread about this a little while ago, and one case that I hadn’t heard of before was the Pika (http://www.pikapackworks.com/) It looked interesting to me, but there’s precious little information on the website and I don’t remember if I emailed them and never heard back, or never bothered to. I do remember seeing a pretty decent review somewhere though…
DesertDude likes the BikePro if I remember correctly.
I have a number of aquaintances on the Channel ISlands who have to fly to the majority of races when the ferries aren’t running and they all started with bags or soft cases and all have boxes now. 'Nuff said?
Spent some time hanging with one of the wrenches for the Ford Professional Womens MTB Team this summer and the team was using the Pika bag and not paying extra to fly their bikes!
I was looking at one today at nonstopciclismo(http://www.nonstopciclismo.com/). The one they had one the showroom floor had pads around where the brake levers are & internal compartments for the wheels. Pretty nice setup that only requires pulling the wheels, no disassembly, but not cheap.
I spent three years traveling with (and sometimes living in) a soft coffin bag with 3-6 boards in it and didn’t really have too many dramas - especially with the FCS type systems out there.
Due to living on an island, I have to fly to every race with my bike. I’ve used a soft bag (Neil Pryde) with zero problems so far. Ninety five percent of the guys I travel with use them too and most ITU guys are the same. I tend to throw all my cr*p in there and turn up at check-in with it as my only piece of luggage. Then, as long as it’s below 25kg’s, I’m golden. I just make sure I’ve got a pair of fork spacers in and put an old shoe box around the cranks for a bit of padding.
I know a couple of guys who use hard boxes and can fit next to nothing in there apart from their bike. Also, when a hard case cracks, it’ll cost a couple of hundred GBP/USD/EUR to replace, whereas a torn soft bag is significantly cheaper to replace. I agree with what you say about baggage handlers being more likely to throw around a hard case. Saying that though, there’s nothing worse than seeing your soft board bag at the bottom of a pile of twenty others in a trailer at the airport in Padang.
I’m using the SciCon Aero bag, soft padded, with a steel frame to mount front and rear fork in. Very easy to use (only remove wheels and turn bar), easy to transport and no damages after 8 long flights. Same case as used by US Postals.
They have a very nice travel case that I have been selling in Canada for a few years now. There are a few Pro teams using them weekly with zero damage & zero airline fees.
Paul, there seems to be a lot of disembling of the bike to pack it. Most bike bag/boxes require the wheels and pedals off, some require the seat post to be removed too but the biopace adds the rear derailleur and bars removed. Whilst these are not difficult operations with practice when I travel to a race I want to keep the number of parts to be removed and re-assembled to a minimum to lessen the chance of damage. Also, I want the confidence of a hard case to protect my frame as unlike pro teams I cannot call upon a replacement whilst away.
Paul
What kind of board bag something like a prolite? How do you make that work? I guess the bag would not be good for surfboards after the bike. Sounds like a good idea. I have several longboard bags but there not cheap.
Reply to: I spent three years traveling with (and sometimes living in) a soft coffin bag with 3-6 boards in it and didn’t really have too many dramas - especially with the FCS type systems out there.
i haven’t traveled with my bike in a board bag - i was just drawing a comparison in that if a soft bag can work for something as fragile as a surfboard surely it can work for a bike too. (i do use a pro lite for my short board btw and a rhino for my fun shapes)
Reply to: i haven’t traveled with my bike in a board bag - i was just drawing a comparison in that if a soft bag can work for something as fragile as a surfboard surely it can work for a bike too. (i do use a pro lite for my short board btw and a rhino for my fun shapes)
Sorry! I’m a little slow, five days in the house will do that to you . Anyway I have one Pro-lite and two Stay Covred board bags both are good quality. Stay Covered is less expensive and made by a local surfer/friend. I did like some of the wind surfing bags posted.
What I’d really love to see is a side by side (by side) comparison of several soft cases - Akona VS Pika VS BikePro VS … ?
I have yet to see a **good **case review - one that is actually critical of flaws and suggests why one might be superior and in what regard. Most case reviews that I’ve seen pussy out and say everything is good - a lot like bike reviews, actually.
Really? I thought that the small size (and thus no airline fees) was supposed to be one of the Pika’s best benefits. Is yours greater than 80 linear inches? (L+W+H)
per the @#% at Delta, yes. and yeah, by a bit. i’ve thought about playing around with straps on the outside to see if i can get it smaller, but haven’t played with it yet.
Khai - if you’re interested in the Akona. They have them at Gearlink.com for $137.99 (use code 3107, gets a discount from $229.99). Just picked one up myself. I’ll see if I like it. If not, I’ll unload it on Ebay and break even.
