I have no problem with the size of the EVOC road bike bag pro traveling on a couple of Taiwanese carriers - EVA and China Airlines - between US-Taiwan and within Asia. The bike bag counts against the two check-in bags limit. EVA has a weight limit of 23kg and total linear dimensions (L + W + H) of 277 cm. China Airlines has a weight limit of 23 kg (Economy) or 26 kg (Premium Economy) and total linear dimensions of 292 cm. Both airlines require you to let them know about your bike bag before your trip.
Perhaps you should look into a carrier that flies into Japan with a more generous luggage allowance?
I purchased this bike bag from Amazon as a used “like new” for about $200. I was very impressed with the quality and easy packability of my L Trek Top Fuel MTB. Flew from NC to OR and back with no damage. I was able to check the bike, helmet and shoes in the bag for no additional fees (I removed pedals and rotors and stashed in my carry on). The bag comes wheel bags, chain wrap, straps for securing bars to the fork, TSA lock and braces to prevent damage to the thru axle areas. I suspect bag is around 18lbs. The bag was able to fit into the trunk of a Honda Accord with a set of rear seats folded down.
I have purchased many used items from Amazon. Only ever had two items that I sent back. The bike case appeared to have been used. I suspect someone purchased it for a trip and then returned it. It has all of the parts however the wheel hardware was loose in the box missing 3-4 screws and there was a small stain on the exterior of the bag however it was well worth the few hundred $ in savings.
Very kind of you Peter. Offhand I’d say the Post Carry and Orucase easily fit those dimensions, and both are high quality. That said, they will require a bit more assembly time and if your hoses are integrated through the headset may be a challenge. If you can make them work for your bike, you’ll be very pleased when putting them in small taxis, trains, subways, buses, and the like.
This whole thread has great info but was missing some crucial information. Here’s how I load a soft-sided bike case (this is a Scicon). A bed of 6 cubes, preferably heavies, bike on top, then a heavy in front to hold it in place. Note that this is a regional jet, and larger aircraft have bigger pits, and for most wide body jets the bags are loaded in containers.
Surprised nobody’s mentioned the Thule Roundtrip yet. It’s a clever blend of a hard case and a soft case that’s light (avoids overweight fees), comes with a stand, and collpases for storage. It comes in a larger version, too!
I’ve used mine on 19 flights (int’l and domestic) and 3 high-speed train rides with 3 different carbon bikes, and have had zero issues at all. Highly recommended!
Had seriously considered those, mostly for the included workstand, which would have been immensely useful when building 2 bikes up in the lobby of a hotel, and minimizing the chagrin of the establishment. It’s hard to be discrete otherwise, with wheels and tools splayed around, and we try hard to be efficient and reduce the time spent on this.
What ultimately moved my decision was the weight of the bag itself. One sample I came across (and weighed) came close to 13 kg (28.5 lbs) which was a deal breaker, given that each bike weighs around 11 kg (24.25 lbs), putting the total weight of bike + bag comfortably over the 23 kg (50 lbs) threshold set by some airlines.
Anyone with experience of the Topeak PAKGO EX+ case?
At just over 12kg it’s heavy, but it shows an option to pack with one piece bar/stem attached.
The box looks very box like with uniform width, rather than the weird shapes others have. But does that mean it’s easy to stack stuff on top without it falling over, and so end up with massive weight on top of it?
An idea I’ve been kicking around: You can buy all the hardware and materials used in roadie cases. And you can buy the few bike-specific items you’d need for affixing the dropouts to a case. It seems like a DIY build would not be that hard and you could get exactly what you wanted (if you wanted a hardshell case) for a bit of a discount. Has anyone done this?
I did it years ago, actually found a pre-made road case style that was huge and heavy. That was when bikes had absurd adder fees so I put black gaffer’s tape with “Front of House” on it because it was big enough for a soundboard. 2 flights and I sold it. Over the years I’ve had a bunch of cases, always looking for a better mousetrap, and the stuff available today is really pretty good. Plus, modern cases will survive a fall from a belt loader, but plywood and road case extrusions kind of don’t. It’s pretty fun to design and build them, but expensive and not as durable as you think. There’s a big difference between rolling cases onto trucks and loading an airplane pit.
Hi all, looking for some help after moving to disc brakes. After using an Airport Ninja for 4-5 years I’m finding pulling the fork on my 52cm Aethos more work than my rim brake bikes, so looking for an alternative . The Ninja still works but it seems like much more hassle than just unbolting the front brake calliper was.
Given positive experience with the Ninja I’m looking at a B2 MTB in the hope that I can leave the fork in the headset, rotated 180degrees with the stem and bars off. Otherwise it’s a Buxumbox Tourmalet at twice the price.
Anyone have experience with this combo on the B2? Small, light and efficient has always appealed to me. The sentinel seems like a good product but at that price point I’d go with the Tourmalet for full protection instead. Open to other suggestions though!
My recommendation is go with the B2. I have a 1st gen Tourmalet, and it’s cool but when loading it on a bus, rental car, or train, I realize it’s about the size of a battleship. The current version is larger.
The B2 is well designed, and if you use Zeno hose couplers, you can easily pop the bars off. Add a locking headset spacer and you should be in good shape with a case that is manageable.
I was looking at the Buxumbox case and unfortunately they weigh about 15kg and the allowance for a bike on a flight is 20kg so the reality of this is the extra cost you will pay for being over weight. From memory Jetstar charge $2000 for being 2kg over that 20kg weight limit.
I have an EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro - Black and mine has split in the join between the hard top of the case and the soft bottom portion and as I’m overseas the Australian distributor hasn’t been too helpful to accommodate my situation so I would avoid EVOC in general.
I have one, tried it with a 56 road bike with 40cm wide one piece cockpit, could not quite get enough play from the cables to rotate the unmounted bar/stem into the tucked position necessary to fit the case. It might have worked if I also either loosened shifters or brake calipers but I just went with my Scion soft case instead, which has their extra padding kit, and it survived beautifully.
We were considering the Evoc Pro bag so not pleased to hear of your problem. How many times had it been used before failing? If the company won’t stand behind the product that’s a problem!
