Hard Case-Air Travel

[halliday]

Im looking for a hard case for air travel. Bike is a Canyon Aeroad. I have a lot of work trips planned for 2025 and want to bring the bike. What do you know?

[mntlion]

What do you know?

riding bikes is fun

[toast2266]

riding bikes is fun

Flying with bikes, somewhat less fun.

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[Name Redacted]

Check with local shops. Sometimes they will rent you one so you don't have to buy one. If it flys, floats or fucking rolls, rent it.

[Shredhead]

Fucking roadies.

[Dee Hubbs]

Hardcases suck. They are big, bulky, heavy, TSA fuck up your bike after taking trying to a peek inside.
Soft bags can fold down when not in use in, roll really well, and pack easier with dedicated compartments/pockets, attachment points.
Both require some mechanical knowledge, and ingenuity, especially with something like your Canyon Aeroad with internal cable routing and shitty proprietary handlebar/stem/headset design. (ask me how I really feel)

Don't count on the airline baggage policy to replace a destroyed bike, hard case or soft. No matter how obvious it is that mouth-breather luggage handler dragged and ran over the luggage. Make sure your homeowners insurance covers a lost.

I recommend Evoc, Thule, Scicion from the "soft" offerings. I personally have 2 Original Evocs and they have flown 50+ times combined without issues. With both Road and MTB. They provide plentyy of protection if you pack it smartly.
I dont have a hardshell recommendation. All my hardshell experiences have been in a shop packing Tri bikes post Ironman or rich 3rd homeowners flying home after the summer spent in a resort town. So either piss covered, poorly tuned tri bikes or pristine S-Works with flat pedals and comfy wide saddles. At least that's what I assume is in a hard case when I see one at the airport.

You asked "What do you know?"

[406]

x2 on recommendation to avoid hard case. TSA will take it apart and not put it back together in a way that protects your bike.

Fingers crossed have had good luck with chain reaction soft case. Less weight than evoc. TSA can just unzip and "inspect". For carbon bike I use pipe insulation for additional protection.

Try to get nonstop flights, connection seem to up the risk of damage.

[El Chupacabra]

Thread drift, TGR style -

If you're really going to be flying a lot with a road bike, how about buying a dedicated travel bike that comes apart and has its own proper case? Something with S&S couplers or the Ritchey Breakaway style.

I have a Raleigh Gran Prix with Ritchey Breakaway, and it came with its own padded case. Whole bike was crazy cheap on closeout, like $1000-1100 or so.

[XXX-er]

when we toured france GF borrowed her ex husbands hard case that he used for his tri-bikes so this would have been almost 20 yrs ago

we left it in storage at maybe gatwick and thieves pried the lock off to find it was shitty old HT that wasn't worth as much as the hard case

I am not sure why one would need a hardcase IME people just wanted to break into the hrad case cuz it could have been anything maybe even something of value

If you are the thief reading this ... sorry

[halliday]

All good advice to avoid a hard case. All of my Yurip work trips will start and end in Giesbeek, NL so Im going to pack a bike into one of our monthly return shipping containers with some parts and tools and just leave the bike at the shop/office. I did this with skis last year.

[bennymac]

Just advice for tall people on mtbs- I had to sell my Evoc bag (which otherwise was great for years) because my XL enduro bike (with 27.5 wheels) wouldn’t fit in it length wise.

I got a DB bags “Savage Bike Bag” which is fantastic - it’s a soft bag on wheels but it surrounds the bike in a metal frame that disassembles when not it use. Unfortunately they no longer make this bag.

I still need to take all the air out of the fork and shock to shrink it down to fit - and I add extra padding around the back junction of the seat/chain stays.

Not sure what I’ll do if I ever upgrade to a 29er enduro sled. Probably will have to take the fork off and rig up some way of securing the front.

[CantDog]

Just advice for tall people on mtbs- I had to sell my Evoc bag (which otherwise was great for years) because my XL enduro bike (with 27.5 wheels) wouldn’t fit in it length wise.

I got a DB bags “Savage Bike Bag” which is fantastic - it’s a soft bag on wheels but it surrounds the bike in a metal frame that disassembles when not it use. Unfortunately they no longer make this bag.

I still need to take all the air out of the fork and shock to shrink it down to fit - and I add extra padding around the back junction of the seat/chain stays.

Not sure what I’ll do if I ever upgrade to a 29er enduro sled. Probably will have to take the fork off and rig up some way of securing the front.

I ride an S6 Stumpy evo and with the evoc pro bag have to: steepen the headtube angle, shorten the rear end, take out air pressure of shock and fork, reverse the fork(taking off the brakes and front fender). It’s a PITA and I wish the damn case was like an inch longer.

That being said, echo everything else about soft cases—the evoc pro has kept my bike safe on several trips, easy to roll, and I just wrap the tubes in pipe insulation as an extra layer of support.

Buy one with friend whom you won’t travel with!

[XXX-er]

I am not really for or against a hard case but I think all the cases now days are soft ?

Where a hard case worked good is I had ZERO idea how were going to transport 4 bodies/ 2bikes to Paris from Lourdes in/ on a really nice TDi 6spd citroen wagon but it had roof rails

Since one can never have too many thule camstraps or thule ski straps for some unknown reason I had brought one longest thule cam strap which was long enough to do 4 wraps around the ( 2 each side) rails, I took one layer of foam from in the hard case to put on the roof under the hard case and cam strapped that case to the roof , it stayed there on the 130kph drive to Paris

[XtrPickels]

Just to add: I had TSA inspect my bike and not repack it correctly with a hard case. Cracked my downtube.

I've traveled countless times (including international a half dozen times) with a Thule Round Trip Pro and never had an issue. I like that you can take out the plastic sides and the base folds down flat. I also like the built in bike stand. The original version is a bit short for my Epic Evo - I have to reverse the fork - but it fits my road and gravel bikes without issue. I think the newer version is longer. I don't think the original would fit my Stumpy Evo.

[XXX-er]

they might give you shit for flying with the tires full of air ( seriuosly) in France a clerk asked me if the tires had been emptied of air so of course i said yes so she checks and finds out I lied and starts rattling away at me in french, GF's french immersion daughter gives me the translation " she is really po'ed that you lied to her " I think i said so sue me

[Dee Hubbs]

they might give you shit for flying with the tires full of air ( seriuosly) in France a clerk asked me if the tires had been emptied of air so of course i said yes so she checks and finds out I lied and starts rattling away at me in french, GF's french immersion daughter gives me the translation " she is really po'ed that you lied to her " I think i said so sue me

So you can't have 25 psi in a tire that maxes out at 60psi that is displaced at over 400 cubic inches in rubber casing. BUT you can have a rear shock inflated to 220 psi, that maxes out at 300psi in steel tube that would make a bigger mess if it went boom.

[XXX-er]

the airlines know tires have air in them but I don't think air shocks or air forks are on the airlines radar yet, I doubt very much tires or suspension would splode at altitude but it is one of those rules one is sposed to follow OR one can just say yes when they ask cuz there doesnt appear to be any penalty for lying

[406]

I think rule is shocks should be aired down, I always do mine to help save space and off chance they check...not that it would be an actual problem.

Funny thing is you can bring CO2 canister for a scuba life vest, but not in you bike bag:

You may bring a life vest with up to two CO2 cartridges inside, plus two spare cartridges in your carry-on or checked bag. You may not transport CO2 cartridges without the associated lifejacket.

[XXX-er]

I'v e only flown with old touring bikes nothing shocking, is there a rule ?

Flying between Honshu and Hokkaido the guy watching the TV found a bic lighter in my ski repair kit in my luggage, the Canadian in Vancover missed it

things you can't fly with other than the obvious no dope would be good thread

[406]

Lighters are allowed in carry on, not checked bags. For TSA at least. Smokers need to light up as soon as they land.