Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

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roller
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Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby roller » Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:48 am

hi all,

am hoping to take a trip overseas soon with bike. .

looking for people's experiences with bike bags, which they have, have used and would recommend.

so looking for something that will take a small road bike overseas :mrgreen:

note: I thought about putting this in the "buying bike/parts" forum, but i figured regular travellers would be more likely to look in here, either planning their next trip or living vicariously via threads of others.

note2: i did a search on "bike bag", got 6000 hits. so thought a thread could be good.
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Schmenz
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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby Schmenz » Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:38 pm

i used my sisters evoc bag to go to cairns and it was fab. (she used it to and from and around the us before me).

Only down side is it weighs at least 7kg so you can get to your baggage limit VERY quickly! (It may weigh even more as with my bike it was close to 20kgs even tho my bike only weighs "8" or something).


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hiflange
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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby hiflange » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:59 pm

I just used a Ground Effect Tardis for a trip to Italy with a steel framed bike. I reckon it's great.
Cost only $129, weighs less than 2kg and packs down small. I added corrugated cardboard in the wheel pockets and added some super stiff angled cardboard I had under the frame top tube and up and down the front and rear forks. Tim, who was travelling with me, bought some foam from Clarks and wrapped three big chunks of it around the frame and forks. Both bikes made it there and back without a hitch. We were able to stow them in overhead racks on the fast train from Florence to Rome which didn't have the usual carriage end bays for large items.
The only down side was not having wheels. I managed to perch mine on my wheeled suitcase but Tim had a bit of rough time lugging his any distance

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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby Aushiker » Sat Oct 15, 2011 12:48 am

Hi

Scicon AeroComfort Plus Bike Bag user here plus also used good old cardboard boxes from the LBS. I really make my decision depending on the trip. If it is fly out ride back I go with boxes; if it is a fly ride fly trip I use the bag.

I have written up my experience with the bag here. At the end of the day it has performed okay, but not as well as I would have expected and I did end up getting a full refund for it from Wiggle. That said I still have the bag and would use it again.

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RonK
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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby RonK » Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:06 pm

I bought a couple of these ProRace bags from Probikekit Australia. They are effectively an ProRace branded version of an earlier model of the Scion bag, without the internal wheel pockets, but with the identical internal frame. I've used them five times on various trips in A/NZ. One has developed a small hole near the front frame mounting but both are still in good condition otherwise.

With this bag you need to remove the pedals and also rotate the handlebars to the side and down. I actually find it convenient to remove them from the stem altogether and tie them to the frame. To transport my carbon bikes I used pipe lagging as Andrew did, but I'm less fussy about my tourer and MTB. The wheels are secured with the supplied velcro straps, but I've supplemented them with some extra straps and cable ties.

Once packed the bag is very easy to handle on my own, even when I'm also carrying a duffel full of panniers. And at the price I'm not too worried about damage. The drawback is the weight - the bag alone weight 7 kg, which is a pain now that Virgin no longer offer the sporting goods allowance Andrew mentioned. This picture shows my tourer packed for a direct flight Brisbane - Hobart. Not much handling so not much packing. For trips with more handling I use the pipe lagging.

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roller
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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby roller » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:33 pm

cheers for the recommendations guys. ..

i guess it's a delicate balancing act between "protection" and "weight". .hmm.
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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby onrbikes » Mon Oct 24, 2011 12:26 am

We've done the bikes on planes, more times than I care to remember.

just the bike by itself without any form of cover. This way is rarely allowed anymore.

once with a bike bag:
We got a auto upholsterer to make one up with his excess vinyl. The bag will just be chucked around as it's an odd shape and would feel this the worst option. You'll need to keep the bag somewhere and it'll get damaged. Just take a look at what a box looks like when it comes off the ramp.

many times with a box. My preferred option.
Here are some good tips, even if you choose the bag.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page ... 103519&v=a
If you cut the box up a bit you can get in down to 2.5KG. Tie a rope through the bike and out of the box, and use that to carry. Some airlines (Emirates, Sri Lankan Airlines) allow 32 KG so you can put most of the touring bags in the box.

Good luck

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il padrone
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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby il padrone » Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:25 am

Mandatory helmet law?
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."

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sandberry
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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby sandberry » Thu Nov 03, 2011 1:23 am

il padrone wrote:
I really didn't see it coming when the suitcase became a trailer, great video.

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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby GregLR » Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:46 pm

My partner & I have used the Qantas cardboard box ($17 each) numerous times on domestic and overseas trips (though my touring experiences also date back to the days up to the mid-90s when you could put the bike through virtually as it was, by first turning the handlebars parallel and removing the pedals - no boxing or bagging was required, other than in the US, though I used to use piping insulation to protect the frame).

Even with my 60cm size bike, using the Qantas box I don't have to remove the rear wheel or the carrier rack, though I do have to remove the seatpost/saddle. We each put one rear pannier in our respective bike box (we are B&B / motel tourers) along with front wheel, seatpost/saddle, helmet, shoes, pedals, tools, device chargers, etc, and take the other (mainly packed with cycling clothes) as carry-on luggage. We use packing material (piping insulation & bubble wrap) to try to prevent damage from outside the box and to prevent damage from parts rubbing against each other inside the box.

Even though the box might sometimes come out looking a bit beat up, in all our trips we''ve had only one instance of bike damage and that was to paintwork (on a steel bike).

We also usually try to store the box in a hotel or motel at our destination so it (& packing materials) can be used for the flight back. Obviously this entails the expense of using cabs to get to & from the airport, though sometimes we have flown back from other places & obtained a new box at the airport.

However, one drawback is that a couple of times the boxes have got a bit soggy after unloading from the plane because of rain when luggage trolleys were left on the tarmac in Sydney - this was a worry because we had to get a connecting flight back to Canberra after o/s trips, so I taped up the boxes again and they held together on the final short leg.

Greg

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Re: Bike Bag/Transportation Device_Recommendations

Postby scirocco » Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:54 pm

Another +1 for the cardboard box method. I've done two trips from Australia to France this way and like the previous poster had a few dints in the box but no damage to the bike. I velcroed some skateboard wheels on the bottom to make it easier to cart around. The light weight has meant that I've been able to get the box plus regular luggage just under the rigidly enforced 30kg limit on the major full service carriers, so no excess baggage charges.

I modified the box from a standard bike shop box to a size that was a tightly packed fit with the bars off and the wheels either side. You need to do this to be able to travel on the high speed trains in Europe as they have 120cm x 90cm size limits. A few wraps of duct tape in both directions adds some peace of mind. A cheap way to go but a bit time-consuming to organise and expensive if you value your spare time.

I think that next time I'll get one of these custom manufacturing places to make me a box the size I want out of the plasticised cardboard they make temporary signs out of - means it'a bit more waterproof.

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