Bike box or bag?

Prav, I'll do that. Thanks a million. PM on the way... :-)

Ask Coventry Eagle, I gave him my one - for it to be used by all. He might have passed it on already, but worth asking.

prego.

Just did a quick search for info on this, but anyone got any recommendations for a bike-carrying bag that will stand up to an aircraft cargo hold? Looking at this, any other suggestions gratefully received. Thanks all.

Does it have to be a bag?

Just use a box and pack your stuff in bin liners around it. Parcel tape and you're away!

Use a box if you want the bike to survive.

Pad it with lots of corrugated cardboard to stop it getting crushed. New bikes arrive in this way, so you LBS might be nice and give you all these bits.

I got plastic front and rear fork braces free from my LBS, but it seems fewer bikes arrive with those now.

Or borrow/hire a proper bike box.

Pipe lagging and cable ties are a must too.

Enough about my private life...

Seriously though, as long as it's padded properly then you should be fine.

Thanks both. It's actually for a work colleague who plans for various boring reasons to travel fairly regularly with bike. She's going to need to spend I think!

I need to invest in some kind of travel bag/box. Im flying out to NZ in February and then on to Sydney. So in total it will be 4 legs of the journey (London>HK>Auckland>Christchurch>Sydney).

Im really tempted to get a hard case/box as it offers more protection from the light touch of the baggage handlers. What would people suggest? Ive seen this
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-elsted-bike-box/
but it sounds like its going to be too small for a 57cm frame?

Wiggle has a good range but Im not sure Im up for forking out £600 for a box?
This is pretty pricey but looks really good.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/roof-box-bike-safe-bike-box/

Im not confident that a cardboard box or a bag is going to provide enough protection for such a long journey. Any advice will be greatly received.

I've flown with my bike in a soft bag a few times. I've even managed to check it as normal baggage with no fragile tags or anything. It's gotten a little scratched but that's it and I couldn't care less about scratches. Just make sure you use drop out spacers and put the bike in upside down so the chainring doesn't tear out the bottom.

What I like about it is that if you pack light enough you can throw the bike bag in a rucksack/messenger bag and ride away from the airport. That's a feeling that just can't be beat.

Having said that I ride a brakeless steel fixed gear. If I was traveling with a bling carbon racing machine it would be a hard padded box all the way.

I also flew with a bike bag, this pinnacle jobbie;

http://www.evanscycles.com/product_image/image/774/c02/ad9/28280/product_page/pinnacle-bike-bag.jpg

It was cheap and cheerful, with a bike bag you do need to be careful on how to pack it properly with lots of bubblewrap and cardboard, a hardshell box mean you don't need to worry too much about it.

Like Mike, I had a fixed wheel bicycle making it a lots less complicated (and steel to boot), so I didn't worry too much about part breaking, I took a geared bike home and that was fine, just put a thick cardboard on both side to keep the box stablised.

most important advice - bag weight, the Pinnacle weight 4.7kg which is why I got it in the first place, some bike bag weight a whopping 11-16kg, almost more than half the weight of a typical fixed wheel bicycle.

This is why I went for the Pinnacle, 4.7kg plus 8.8kg fixie skidder (bubble wrapped bring it to 10kg) and a random assortment of clothing I need to bring keeping it under 20kg.

My bag weighs less than .5 kg and rolls up into something smaller than a sleeping bag. It offers no protection but I've taken it on more than a dozen flights and suffered nothing worse than scratches.

Bikes aren't really thaaaaat fragile..

A bit of parcel tape on carbon should be fine then.

I think I can see one of the scratches.

Thanks for the advice people. I've spoken to a few people who have flown with bike bags (rather than hrd cases) and they have been ruined after one flight. But from what people here have said they are good enough to do the job as long as you pack the bike with enough padding in the bag. I guess its all down to the 'light touch' of the baggage handlers.

I've got a steel fixed with quite a nice wheelset and Im just paranoid of unpacking it in Christchurch and finding a damaged bike and/or wheels. It's one of those cases of after the event wishing I'd bought a hard case and not tried to save myself £100. I think Im going to get one of these:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/roof-box-touring-box-bike-box/#itemtop

I must just be incredibly lucky then..

You can be, and are incredibly and extraordinarily lucky.

Have you seen the way they handle it? I've caught a glimpse of my bike bag being thrown around like a rag dolls to the plane's hold.

still turned out fine, packed it with bubblewrap, clothes and cardboard enough to give it a good protection.

however, if you wrapped the bike with bubblewrap only, then the baggage handler can see it's a delicate item and treat it with respect, hopefully.

You can be, and are incredibly and extraordinarily lucky.

Have you seen the way they handle it? I've caught a glimpse of my bike bag being thrown around like a rag dolls to the plane's hold.

Were the people who have had their bikes ruined using dropout spacers? That's the most important thing. No amount of bubble wrap in the world will stop your frame or fork from getting bent if they decide to throw a heavy suitcase on top of your bike or something.

I know my bike gets thrown around, doesn't bother me much as everything on it is heavy and made of solid metal...

I'm sure it goes without saying that not every bike can handle this treatment. Anything with cables/gears/nice paintjobs requires quite a bit more protection.

Any tips on cheapest hard bike bag / case hire? Got to get my geared bike to Nice and back this easter. Looks like about £70 for 10 days (7 days away but we've got to pick the boxes up and pack them etc) from the place my mate's found online in Clapham. North or South London would work.

these guys are pretty good

http://www.comtat.co.uk/products/171.htm

cheers

Any tips on cheapest hard bike bag / case hire? Got to get my geared bike to Nice and back this easter. Looks like about £70 for 10 days (7 days away but we've got to pick the boxes up and pack them etc) from the place my mate's found online in Clapham. North or South London would work.

i have a bikebox. PM me if you want to borrow it..
you will need to collect/ return to NW8 though

Al

I need a new bike bag, big enough to take my large bikes, and with wheels, padding, and easy to carry.

Currently I have an unpadded one with no wheels or handle, and while it's just the right size for my frame and wheels, I can't get much else in, and it's a ballache to carry.

3 options in the CRC sale as I see it:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=68409 own brand, much cheaper, but looks hideous

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=35557, the biggest

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18932 the lightest

Thoughts?

I don't mind that the CRC ones looks hideous, but I'd like the space of the middle one, and the lightness of the last one (I guess it has less padding though).

With the tifosi one, I can easily fit my frame with the rear wheel still in, and my seatpost in, in the bag, which I guess is good.