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Off to Alps in summer and thinking about how best to get the bike packed up. Seems to be 3 options: the trusty LBS free cardboard bike box (taped up so won’t get wet, with a few anti-crush wooden struts inside); soft bike bag and hard case bike box. Had a bike damaged in soft bag once, and hard case weighs a lot and expensive. Loads of pipe lagging and bubble wrap will be used too. Do this very rarely so reluctant to spend loads on a bike bag that will also be a pain to store...WWSTD?
Borrow an evoc type bag, nothing like the crap soft bags with no protection. No need to add extra, easy to handle and pack/unpack.
Fan of the lbs cardboard box here.
Hire an Evoc , should be fairly hassle free if your in England or anywhere except the Highlands.
Sport Pursuit had Evoc bags for £240 at the end of last year. There may be some available still at that price.
It sounds like a lot, but I believe that they really are worth that if you plan on regularly traveling with a bike worth several times more than that.
Edit: just checked and they have sold out. Maybe set some price alerts on EBay, Gumtree etc. I picked a second hand one up this way for £65
Hmm. You seem to have a similar problem to me in October. I planned to do the cardboard box thing but Halfords refused to give me any as they needed to be recycled!!
At that point the enormity of disassembling four bikes, on my own, packing them, dragging them through the newly shitified Manchester airport, assembling them then reversing the whole process suddenly seemed a nightmare.
I concluded that a high percentage of the cardboard box fans were probably only doing one bike each, not a full family; and loads of people on this forum seem to have a bizarre interest in technical bike fettling and probably enjoy the whole assembly/dissembly thing.
Wheras I hate it.
So I splashed out the 250 quid for some evocs. The other bike went in a box in a rubbish old bag. Even then it took me a whole 4 nights just to do the three bikes. I would have gone insane doing boxes for them all. Much quicker on the way back( 2 hours tops).
(In the end we didn't take the fourth bike, as wife was ill)
Buy bags. Or hire boxes if you'll never use them again.
I've done hard box and cardboard box and found the process quite similar. Hard box marginally easier, and marginally more secure (they're not always that hard...)
Never used a bag, but I imagine the LBS box is actually sturdier. After all, they ship these things through the post. I was reticent, but felt more at ease once it was all packed up. If you only plan on travelling once, it could well be the way to go.
That said, if travelling with an expensive bike, I'd probably spend the extra as an added insurance, and you can rent a hard box for a few notes.
Hard box has better puncture protection than cardboard, that's it. As said cardboard can survive the postal system so isn't that problematic.
FWIW I used a soft bag when I went to France (original Planet X Deluxe) that survived being shunted around warehouses in Heathrow for 3 months on the return leg.
It also didn't take me an entire night to undo the stem, rear mech, pedals and wheels, pop the forks off, secure them and the bars to the frame, pop the wheels, rotors and skewers in bags then zip the whole lot up. 15 minutes top IIRC
Never used a bag, but I imagine the LBS box is actually sturdier. After all, they ship these things through the post. I was reticent, but felt more at ease once it was all packed up. If you only plan on travelling once, it could well be the way to go.
Having unpacked a load of factory shipped bikes they are well packed in, lots of protective tape, spacers, plastic, zip ties and cardboard all generally cut to the size/shape of the bike.
The good bags - evoc style have a rigid base - stops dropout crushing, the wheels form a triangle to do vertical strength and the straps/bits stop things moving and rubbing.
I did the alps last year for the first time.
Bought an older crc bike bag off a guy on here for 20quid.
Covered the frame in pipe lagging, made spacers for the axles, stiff cardboard to line the sides of the bag along Bit more bubble wrap for good measure.
Worked well, survived sleazyjet Edinburgh to Geneva and back. No harm came to my carbon ibis.
Guy I know bought the new crc bag and it's very close to an evoc in terms of build quality and storage.
There is a company that will hire you a evoc bag online and post it to your house.
Think evoc/silverfish are now doing the same.
Icycles in Innerleithen also have a few evoc bags that they hire out.
I'm currently debating whether it's Morzine or Finale this year.
I have a Bonza Bike Box not cheap but i saw it as an long term investment or there are these at a good price
https://www.probikekit.co.uk/cycling-accessories/pbk-bike-travel-case/11437202.html?affil=thggps&switchcurrency=GBP&shippingcountry=GB&variation=11437203
It depends a lot on handling. I've always used a soft bike bag, and protected vulnerable parts with lagging and cardboard, the worst in 10 years or so has been a bent rotor but I'm aware that past success is no guarantee of future performance 🙂 I reckon when my current bag finally gives up the ghost, I'll probably invest in a EVOC style bag
I think that more people fly with sports stuff, and most bag handling companies are aware that bikes especially are expensive...
Saw one of this lots vans on the road a few weeks ago, they might be woth checking out if the cost of the EVOC is too prohibitive? No idea what they're like, never tried them myself.
I use an Evoc copy from ebay (£140ish). Can just fit 700c with 35mm tyres would not fit any mtb tyred wheels.
Never had problems and i can chuck all the clothes and spares in there, that has only been from east midland s to alicante though.
I recently treated myself to an evoc soft bag after years with a CRC soft bag.
The CRC one was fine for protecting the bike but the evoc one is just so much nicer to wheel through the airport. It's worth every penny just for the wheels.
Racehub at Six Hills hire out hard boxes by the week?
Lots of shops hire out Evoc or BikeBoxAlan containers. Evoc are really nice, a big aluminium frame which you bolt the bike to.
BBA (which I've got) are a little bit more hassle to get properly packed and the wheels on the box are really only suited to short scoots around an airport whereas the Evoc ones will take a bit more punishment (across car parks etc).
18 Bikes at Hope in Peak District hire Evoc bags