Commuting - Bike bag ... to put the bike in.

So I am scheduled to go to California to visit my inlaws .... I love them dearly and I will love to visit them.

Coincidentally, the weather there is nice - 50's and 60's last year, some rain - and I am wondering if I can get away with transporting my bike like luggage, whilst carrying all my other stuff as carry on.

The bike withdrawal syndrome will hit me hard as the roads get nasty here in PA, and I will spend a week with not much to do till 10 am in California .... so I got the idea.

Has anyone tried this bike luggage thing? --- or just fedex it to my inlaws and fedex it back?


Will MS H agree on such nonesense? :(


Oh the addiction ... is getting out of hand.

Depends on how often your going to be traveling with the bike and how expensive of a bike your traveling with depends on how much of a "bag" you need.

First off they do make soft sided bike bags but you would be nuts to invest in one of those since the bike could easly be damaged in one. The cheapest way to "bag" a bike is to go down to your LBS and ask for a used bike box. The other and better way if you can afford it, is to buy a hard case bike "bag" made by Trico Sports called the The Iron Bike Case for about $270.

Either way, but especially the cardboard box way, you need to buy some foam pipe insulation to cover the entire frame with, and wrap the handlebars, pedals, the seat and it's post and anything else loose with bubble wrap; this will keep the loose items from banging into things and marring them up. When your done taping the bubble wrap throw the tape spool in the box so you have some when you get to your inlaws for the trip back.

If you luggage space or too many items issues with the airline then ship it by FedEx. And don't forget to insure it.

Where will you be in California? What size frame is your bike?