I’m about to rent a bike case from the LBS, and just found out it is a soft sided case! The LBS says that it has lots of good foam padding and is better than a hard sided case b/c it won’t get thrown around as much. Anyone have experience with a soft case, or should I go down the street to another LBS and get the hard case?
how much is your bike worth to you? i certainly wouldn’t use a soft case. i’d go fedex in a box rather than use a soft case on an airline. have you seen how they handle bags!?! Imagine what they do when no one is looking!
I have the Bike Pro case (soft case). It is a great case and I highly reccomend it. I have flown with it several times and my bike has not gotten a scratch. I saw a handler throw the case in the air off a 4 foot platform onto pavement and everything held up fine. The benefit of a soft case is that it is much easier to pack than a hard case. Also it is a lot easier to open and reclose at security than a hard case.
That is good to hear, the LBS case is the Bike Pro Soft Side. I called 2 other LBS and they all have the exact same case!
I used a soft sided case and regretted it…dinged up my bike and destroyed the rear wheel…bent the rim at the seam. Had to replace the back wheel and do some repair work on the dings and bangs. this year I bought the TriAll case …yep pretty pricey but I think well worth it since I have flown to two races so far this year with the bike and wheels and other items I packed in the box completely protected and undamaged…no dings, no scratches etc…!!! so I recommend these case highly. They are bigger and more ungainly but I think well worth it.
I packed my wife’s bike in a Bike Pro soft case for Kona last year and it arrived just fine. I’d recommend doing the following, just to be sure:
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Go to the hardware store and get some foam pipe insulation - it’s black/grey styrofoam-like stuff - basically a long tube which is slit down the side (so you can get it around your pipes). I put some around every tube on the bike and taped it in place with electrical tape. It’s a cheap way to prevent scratching, and it comes in a variety of diameters so you can securely cover big and small frame parts. Once the frame is sufficiently covered, use a zip-tie or more tape to secure the chain to the foam-covered chainstay.
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Once you get the bike disassembled and into the case, use black tape and/or bungee cords liberally to make sure that nothing will move around.
Safe and happy travels!
Good tip on the foam insulation, I use that as well in addition to bubble wrap.