If you remember, last year Cyclezine Baller tips on travel with bike. We gave you some advises on how to deal with your bike travel case at the airport, but we did not go into cases that out there in the market. Last night while I was searching for another bike case, I came across this NYT article on bike travel case. Quite well written, with info, review and link to the source of manufactures.
1. TRI ALL 3 VELO SAFE PRO-SERIES CUSTOM ROAD $539.95, triall3sports.com Mr. Claudino appreciated the four-foot length of this hard plastic case, because it meant “little disassembly of the bike.” Handlebars and pedals remained intact, and the “indestructible” case, his second favorite of those tested, had room for extra gear like a wetsuit and sneakers. But at 35 pounds empty, it is “the S.U.V. of travel cases,” he said. “Get ready for lots of questions at the airport.”
2. BIKE PRO USA RACE CASE $379.99, bikemania.biz This case is about four feet long, comes in several different sizes and has flexible plastic walls over three inches of foam. After the seat post and handlebars were removed, the bike was secured to the bottom steel frame with a fork mount and T-bolt. “It was sturdy and felt safe,” said Mr. Claudino, who called the wheel cases “a plus.” But at about 30 pounds when empty, it felt “heavy.”
3. PIKA PACKWORKS EEP from $335, pikapackworks.com The lightly padded thick nylon case comes in two sizes and is shown open at top right. It was “surprisingly sturdy for a soft shell,” Mr. Claudino said, making it his favorite of the five. It required removing the bike’s skewers, pedals, seat post and handlebars. At 10 pounds when empty, it did not incur an overweight baggage fee when packed for a flight. “No flaws,” he said, but he would like a zippered internal pocket.
4. PERFORMANCE TEAM BIKE CASE $349.99, performancebike.com The trapezoid shape of this 26-pound 45-inch-long, hard plastic case is designed to maximize space. Mr. Claudino said it was easy to maneuver, but he “had difficulty fitting in” his bike. After the skewers, pedals, seat post and handlebars were removed, he said the fork and derailleur were “too close” to the case walls and the wheels “unprotected.” Still, he appreciated the case’s “sturdy snaps.”
5. THULE ROUND-TRIP TRAVEL CASE $329.99, amazon.com Mr. Claudino found packing his bike into this “compact” 47-inch-long case simple. He removed the skewers, pedals, seat post and handlebars to fit the bike in the 33-pound hard plastic case. The case can be attached to a car roof rack, but Mr. Claudino didn’t see this as a big advantage because he already has bike trays on his car rack.
- Created by the genius mind of Puck in: travel wih bike
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