Where bought and price
Bought through Aus Twin's website, located at http://www.afb.com.au/cycling_box.htm
Used the web form, and the response was very quick. Total cost was $84 delivered (from Melbourne to Perth). This included the 40% "moving discount" currently advertised on the manufacturer's website. Delivery time was three days. Payment was made by direct deposit, and the vendor was very quick at responding to questions.
How it is used
I used it for transporting a Giant XtC 29er from Perth to the Congo.
Description
Basic bicycle transport box. Made out of a single piece of twin plastic board with three heavy webbing straps which incorporate clips. Photo and YouTube of box assembly shown on the manufaturer's website. It was as easy to assemble as shown.
Positives
+ Solid box once assembled
+ Large enough to fit a large 29er MTB without having to remove forks or handle bars
+ Plenty of space to fit accessories
+ Bike was in nearly the same condition when it arrived as when it was packed (due to the user, not the product - see further notes below)
+ Box folds flat for storage when not in use
+ Light weight, but strong construction material - 4 kg empty
+ When assembled, I could fit it in the back seat of a Commodore sedan, meaning I didn't have to get a taxi to the airport just for the bike
+ Was shipped with additional twin plastic board, which I used between the wheels and frame.
Negatives
- Had a couple of small holes punched in it during transport
- A little narrow (maybe half an inch) to fit all components in to create a flat surface (probably due to the user, not the product)
- Larger than expected, making it awkward to handle. No wheels, so it's a trolley or hand carry.
- Only used once, but I suspect it will have a finite number of uses.
Additional notes
I thought I had packed the box pretty well, but when I unpacked the bike, the packing around the cassette had come loose and the cassette had chipped some paint from the frame of the bike.
The flaps around the sides and top panels are sufficiently long so that baggage handlers can't really get their hands in the box during transport. I used a couple of rolls of cloth tape from Bunnings to seal the box, and all of this was still intact at the detsination after passing through three sets of baggage handling (Perth, Johannesburg, Lubumbashi - the last two in Africa!)
Reccomendation
Consider this as an option, but make sure you pack your bike more carefully than I did. If overall size is a limiting factor, this may not be the box for you.
If you are only transporting your bike once or twice, it is a very cheap option. If you are transporting regularly, I would invest in a hard case.
OVERALL SCORES
Quality
Performance
I'm going neutral here as I don't have any other experience to compare it to, and the fact I did suffer some slight damage to the frame paint due to my not packing it as carefully as I should have.
Value for money