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Hard one to admit to I know.. but anyone had an evoc bike bag and thought it was a waste of money in hindsight?
Have the option of essentially a 1/2 price evoc bag. Probably go on 2-4 flights a year with a bike in a cardboard box. Last trip we had to get the bikes to the airport in the pi$$ing rain in an open trailer - luckily the tarp helped out, but could have been a soggy mess before getting on the plane!
2-4 a year. plus half price! no brainer... get it.
I don't even fly once a year and ive considered buying one...
I think the only reason i havent is because I rent one from my LBS. great bit of gear
I used cardboard boxes for years, then splashed out on an evoc.
Yes, its a bit heavier, but the protection is so much better, and putting your bike together is a doddle.
I built my bike, and was two beers down by the time some of my mates had finished 😀
so you buy a £XXXX k bike and transport it in cardboard? Evoc all the way, used it since 2010. Never been let down. I had to replace couple of the internal sacrificial straighteners as they had been crushed at some point near the bottom. Easy fix from local hardware store some plastic pipe same dimension, they slide in. Just goes to show what the bag potentially protected me from - broken bike at destination and ruined holiday.
I've used mine about 15 times in total plus loaned it out twice. Its still going strong. If your doing one trip - hire one or beg
so you buy a £XXXX k bike and transport it in cardboard?
It was good enough for your bike and all it's components leaving various factories to get to where it ended up.
Better protection and easier to move about + no worries about rain destroying it. I only average 1 away trip a year and still don't regret buying my Evoc bag
Didn't think all airlines accepted cardboard boxes these days. I bought a framed bag and line it in cardboard to keep the sides stiff and has survived a couple of times so far.
I have an EVoC bag, put it this way, I wouldn't be bothered if it went missing & I went back to boxes. It's a bit easier to pack for sure, but thats about it, I'm fortunate enough that I didn't pay for it, even so, I wouldn't be replacing it.
Happy with Evoc bag, easy to cart round an airport and can pack bike + week of riding kit inside so no need for extra case.
Had a nightmare using a cardboard box one year when easy jet left it out in the rain before loading ....
hm - no regrets there then 😉 the boxes have served us well to be fair.. we do get through a fair bit of tape at each end! And the bags will be a little more taxi friendly I suppose..
3rd year of evoc, at least 30 flights and can't fault it. The bug thing over the box is its easily moved, stored and doesn't care it it's raining. Packing is easy and safe and you don't need to lug around pipe lagging and all that crap.
I've got a CRC bag lined with cardboard.
It was fine until bikes started getting really long/slack/29", even a medium 26" bike had to have forks off and tyres off the rims which is a PITA. Otherwise it's been great.
Should probably get something big enough for a 29er to replace it.
The Evoc bag just doesn't seem as protective as others- I've seen a few come off planes in a terrible state. Bottom line is you should pack your bike so you're happy to have it thrown out of a plane then put through a mincer, and for that I'd sooner use my combined cheap-bag-and-apollo-cardboard-box than an Evoc.
OTOH, packing my bike into my bag/box is an incredible pain in the arse. I don't mind doing it once or twice a year, I'd hate to do it frequently. (also, if you use a box, plastic wrap it for durability and some weather protection- mine has parcel wrap and packing tape all over it and that kept it dry in a mad swiss thunderstorm.)
Just bought a pro bag from CRC for £130.
They're on clearance sale at the moment.
Looks ok for the money, pretty similar to the Evoc one.
Good reviews too.
OTOH, packing my bike into my bag/box is an incredible pain in the arse. I don't mind doing it once or twice a year, I'd hate to do it frequently
If it takes me more than 15mins to pack it means I have a really bad hangover...
I got one a few years ago after using boxes for a while. It's been good, no regrets here. The main pluses are a) I never have to run around looking for a box in a hurry b) Much easier to wheel about c) It can survive a weekends camping better than cardboard.
Protection wise, it's probably marginally better than a box but not a lot in it. It's easier to consistently pack the bike well I'd say which is probably the main advantage.
Baggage handler recommends and uses Evoc bag:
[url= http://cyclingtips.com/2014/06/flying-with-your-bike-tips-from-a-baggage-handler/ ]http://cyclingtips.com/2014/06/flying-with-your-bike-tips-from-a-baggage-handler/[/url]
Thule roundtrip hardcase.
Used for both road and mountain bikes. However I am not sure it would be under 32KG with my DH bike in it.