Bike box or bag?

Depends on a) the airline and b) the airport.

I've flown with a hard case numerous times now, and all was fine.

I guess I should just borrow a soft case and try it.

Anyway - those who have flown with a soft case and it was fine:

• Corny
  
• TTM
  
  

Anyone else?

And @Dammit, stop being a fanny and just go with bike boxes. If the bike is precious then nothing else will do. Why risk it for some slight convenience?

If hiring a larger vehicle is an issue then leave the boxes at the left luggage service at the airport. If there isn't one then find a local hotel and see if they'll let you store them there.

I've flown with a bike box, with a bike bag and have even rocked up to the airport on a bike, removed the pedals and handed it over.

I'd recommend a bike box every time.

What about...
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/biknd-helium-bicycle-travel-case-2014/
Its inflatable.
I'd still choose a box, though I've traveled with the see through cover method once and that was fine.

You've never flown into a regional Norwegian Airport then?

I have one of those Evoc bags. On the Cape Argus it was like a 'who's who' of bike bags when they came off the plane, and tbh I was happy with my purchase.

IMO/E, it's pretty airport dependant, though the OS luggage goes through a different 'chute' and pretty much straight into those weird 'pack of sim cards' shaped box (and straight from those boxes to the OS luggage bit at arrivals. You're safer if it's a popular cyclist route, as they'll take great care in stacking up the bikes vertically to ensure the space is maximised with all the other bikes.

The armageddeon scenario, is, IMO that they chuck it horizontally flat on the floor then stack a Beckham entourage sized Louis Vitton luggage set on top. I think the idea of them being too 'chucky' with the luggage might be a bit of a stretch - especially with bike bags, all the handles etc are located to make handling it vertically the easier option.

Oh, and spare (old unpuncutured) inner tubes in a figure of 8 with a circular cut out of an Estate Agent 'for sale' sign make for great wheel protector IMO.

Oh, and get very busy with Tipp Ex and learn all the major translations of the 'Fragile, This Way Up'

I did epic Levels of Research on this. A little store has 'White' branded bikeboxalans. They look like the ultimate protection. But seemed overly massive for a small road bike. I was mainly concerned With not being able to just jump in a cab With it. Those BIKND bags are bloody clever. But they are expensive, and if you dont pack very carefully. The bladders get punctured.

In the end I went With a Aerius softbag. Because it was the smallest I could find, had padded walls, and most of all because DCrainmaker uses one. It comes With loads of pads, and strips of Velcro, drop-out supports, and a rear mech bag. I'm really happy With it. Leaving in a few hours for Gran Caneria, and I have everything I need in it. Yet it still weighs little enough to be sent as normal baggage. Bought mine from planet-x.

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My bars are carbon, so I wrap them in the extra pads that came (possibly for mtb wrapping)

In Nice last year, while waiting for security to sort out the old 2 vs 3 CO2 canister issue (not mine). I watched the luggage porters stack a whole teams worth of bikes in Evoc bags horizontally on top of each other jenga style, then bang the corners on doors as they left. I still like the convenience of an EVOC folding bag though.

I think wheels on a bag are a pre-requisite. There's just enough shuffling of a bag to ensure an aching shoulder if there's no respite from it.

Actually, one quick question - am I alone in finding it triple hard to remove pedals every time? I've got the park pedal spanner, though always gives me whopping unnecessary grief - any advice?

I never remove my pedals. If you look at the way my bag folds together. You will see that thisi the weakest link in my packing. As it could possibly lead to busted spokes. I Place them carefully though.

A couple negative things about the Aerius are:
It isnt very long. My bike fits absolutly fine. But there isnt much in it.
The pad that goes around the bike doesnt extend over the top. Wich is a bit weird. I manage to pull it over the top corners of my frame, and simply chuck my casual jacket in the gap.

EVOC is the answer. It's a bag with support struts.

Actually, one quick question - am I alone in finding it triple hard to remove pedals every time? I've got the park pedal spanner, though always gives me whopping unnecessary grief - any advice?

Just swapped over from spd to spd-sl and sharing one pair of pedals between 2 bikes. Threads lightly greased but yeah, hard to undo after just a couple of hours. Nature of the pedaling motion tightening them though so didn't think anything could be done about it.

Htfu

I never overdo my pedal tightening and grease the spindles and they're easy to remove. Just make sure you're turning the correct way first. Backwards, towards crank in horizontal position. Or, buy some dumbbells. Bike box is best..

There has been some anecdotal reporting of baggage handlers taking more care of a soft bag, rather than simply frisbeeing it out of the hold as they do with everything else.

Hard solid case = tough, thereforth doesn't need care.

I occasionally box/unbox customer's road bike that they return from a trip, the hard case always show sign of abused (one was even cracked but bike is still safe), but the cardboard box show little abused.

Having said that, both bike still in good condition, well apart from the wear and tear they put their bike under during the trip.

Lack of leverage on my little tool. Oi oi!

:)

Tighten and loosen with a mini-tool allen key. That works for me too.

I've taken my carbon to Oz for the last few years, always in a soft case. It's an Evoc, which has fibre glass supports and hard plastic covers for the wheels too. I've always taken the time to wrap all frame tubes in pipe cladding too, just in case and I've never had an issue.
It's light too.

Oh, and I keep that giant inflatable bubble wrap stuff that things are posted in sometimes. It's perfect for filling in gaps around the bike.

@TTM do you have the alloy stand or the fork-block thing?

Whichever one you have, what do you think of it, and why did you make that decision?

Not sure what the alloy stand is, but I do have the road fork adaptor if that's what you mean?

It seems to work fine and is a good bit of extra protection for the front end, though I make sure to brace the fork (and rear end) with a spare axle or hub too.

Did you go for an Evoc then? Or still looking?

Still thinking about things, the Evoc is currently the leading contender, due mainly to being able to fold it up when the bike is not in it.

This is the road bike alloy stand:

Means you don't need the road fork adapter, and both front and rear end are braced.

I've got that.

If you ask F, she can ask me to give her the details of the deal we get.

Interesting. I'd never seen that.

The bracing is good, but can be very easily done with spare parts or those plastic braces that new bikes come with. The road fork adapter has the benefit of being very padded, which is a comfort as the fork is obviously flush against the end of the bike bag.

I've got the adapter thing at home in se13 if you ever needed to borrow it.

I've got a couple of the Aerus bike bags, which have done pretty well. My only negative is that they don't have wheels on the bottom, and have to be carried. If you're travelling a distance to/from the airport with the bag it can become a bit of a pain.

The other bit I really liked was that they bags are light, thus I was able to get bikes, all accessories, e.g. shoes, clothes, tools and still had plenty of room left before I hit the weight limit. And once packed, they bounce! The provided packing bits and skewers are great.

The nice people in Zagreb airport let me take a photo of my bikes too. There's a Colnago, and my GF's carbon bike + lots of other stuff packed inside, some of which you can make out in the x-ray some you can't.

@Dammit - I bought the alloy brace thing though it arrived after I was due to use it - so made do with the padded fork brace.. I think the alloy brace would add a bit of sturdy-ness though the thing survives without it.