Re: [Randon] Travel case?

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Pam Wright

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Apr 8, 2022, 1:48:40 PM4/8/22
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Hi all,


It's more expensive than the Bike Cases - TRI ALL 3 SPORTS that Dan has been using, but Tri All 3 has stopped making their compact version which saved 9#!  
  • Buxombox still has a 27.5# case vs 35#
  • Both have the front fork mount
  • Buxombox still have to remove the h'bar, but since I used to decouple my beastie, taking off the handlebar may not be as important as saving 9#.
Trying to get a decision made in time for flying to Treasure cove...LOL and Tripit tells me that's 38 days away :-)  Any input appreciated!

Pam Wright


On Thursday, January 20, 2022, 04:07:56 AM CST, Garry Armsworth <gwar...@gmail.com> wrote:


I used a Scicon AeroComfort Road bike bag for PBP '19 which was it's first use having retired my previous 2 wheeled soft bike bag.  See:

It's had limited use since PBP (one other international trip and a domestic interstate trip) due to COVID-19 but am happy with it.

Minimal bike disassembly is required, has 4 wheels and travels vertically as per your desired features (of course there is absolutely no guarantee that baggage handlers will load it vertically).

Garry

On Thursday, 20 January 2022 at 13:43:36 UTC+11 DanD wrote:
Eric, nice post !! I totally agree that TSA is the biggest problem. 

I still used a hard case, but have found a couple of helpful ideas worth looking into. 

One is to mail the bike, expensive for overseas...yes, but not had a single issue with customs, or getting the bike to the hotel. Last time I used luggage forward, and they were much cheaper than Bike Flights, for overseas, but that may have changed. For PBP 2019, I took the bike on the plane with me, but mailed a big box of heavy drink mix powders, tools and bars, to the hotel, to help keep the weight down, keep the bike box from being overweight, and free up an arm, as I could have lived with out anything in the box, if I needed to. 

Just home from a domestic trip, and used Trico Sports hardshell and it worked perfectly, in large part I’d guess, because I did not put anything in the bullet proof bike box except the bike, clear water bottles and a helmet, so TSA just had to lift the top off look and close it back up. For sure did not leave the seat pouch in the bike box. I’d agree that the Trico Sports hardshell takes an arm, to pull it along, but in this case that was not a bad thing, as I could sit my duffel bag on top of it and roll it from the BART Station to the hotel, down the sidewalk with out too much trouble, for that long of a walk, my shoulders were already worn out with the full back pack. 

No one right answer for sure, just more options to investigate and think about. 

DanD 

On Jan 19, 2022, at 1:21 PM, Eric Nichols <ericni...@gmail.com> wrote:

I used a Pika Packworks soft case for PBP 2019 and many other trips.  This particular case doesn't have wheels, but it is exceptionally light and easily carried using the shoulder strap. To add some additional crush resistance, I add coroplast sheets braced apart with some PVC pipe.  

I also have a Trico Sports hardshell case which is stronger, much heavier, and less TSA-resistant.  While walking through the airport, the Trico box requires dedicating at least one hand to pull it along.  The Pika case hangs from my shoulder, freeing up both hands. 

What do I mean by TSA-resistant?  In my experience, the greatest threat to your bike is the TSA agent. They will open your case to look for a few typical things, such as a seat bag or other item that could contain CO2 cartridges (prohibited on flights). They will quickly and carelessly open anything they can't see into. At best, they leave any internal bags open and then shut the case properly.  At worst, they will break a zipper on a bag, leave most of the buckles undone on the bike case, leave a chainstay sticking out of the case, and a few loose parts on the floor.  This has happened to me several times. 

My bikes are freakishly tall, so they take some extra care to fit into any case, soft or hard.  The overworked folks at TSA don't have time to figure out why my bike is a tight fit, and why the case won't shut. They just find a buckle or a strap and make a half-hearted effort to connect them.  Then the case is tossed on the belt and no longer their problem. 

The Pika Packworks case improves this situation by being exceptionally easy to open: one long zipper lets the top open wide enough for TSA to reach in and do their mischief without needing to pull anything out of the case.  I'll also zip-tie the bike and any loose parts together so that if they do decide to pull the bike out, everything (and I mean everything) stays together in exactly in the same position, so it all goes back in with no mental effort required.  If I put a bag inside the case, it's clear ziplok, double-bagged and securely clear-taped to the bike. 

So whatever you use, make it easy to inspect, and make it even easier for the careless to repack. That will eliminate most of the issues with taking bikes on flights. 

Eric N
RUSA 7056
PBP 2015, 2019

On Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 9:48:05 AM UTC-5 deca2499 wrote:
In 2015 when I went to PBP I used a soft sided case that used a small air pump to pump up air bladders to protect the bike. It was great except for one thing. The TSA types in France and US both deflated the bags to inspect the bike. Thus unfortunately, I lost the main protection. So I went back to hard shell in 2019 and will use hard shell in 2023 as well...  

Just my .02... 

On Tue, Jan 18, 2022 at 5:36 PM LG <grah...@att.net> wrote:
For PBP 2019 I used an older hard-shell bike case.  For LEL this year I'm thinking I want a soft sided case that weighs less so that I can put more things in the case. I arrived at the airport being told that I needed to remove 6 pounds of weight, which all had to go in our carry on.  One that has 4 wheels (mine has just 2) Travels vertical instead of horizonal.
  Avoiding airline fees is not a primary concern, so I'm not interested in the smallest case that requires total disassembly of the bike.

 Any recommendations? Anyone have something for sale?

Thanks,

Larry Graham
RUSA #114

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