Anyone have info/leads on renting bike case?

[Luwin1026]

Looking to rent a bike case for a week in July - my LBS has two that they rent out, but they are gone the entire month of July. Can't justify spending $400 or so to buy one, and if I can't end up renting one I'll box up the bike and ship/return it that way.

Just wanted to solicit you guys' contacts/info and see if you know of any places/prices/people to contact. Thanks in advance.

[Happytime]

I'll ask some of my tribuds, Luwin. They competed in Kona last year so I'll see if they have a case to loan out.

[jpconrad]

Looking to rent a bike case for a week in July - one of my LBS have two that they rent out, but they are gone the entire month of July. Can't justify spending $400 or so to buy one, and if I can't end up renting one I'll box up the bike and ship/return it that way.

Just wanted to solicit you guys' contacts/info and see if you know of any places/prices/people to contact. Thanks in advance.

I know Incycle sent a bunch of bikes to Hawaii for TNT, they may have cases to rent, I'm not sure.

[Extort]

madmike has a case that he indicated that he would loan out to me, PM him and ask...

make sure that it is madmike and not maddmike

[herbm]

http://www.crateworks.com/

http://www.stacksandstacks.com/sport-items/bike-shipping-boxes/

http://www.shipbikes.com/

[bitingduck]

Lots of LBS's rent hardcases, and you can also just snag a box from them.

I've traveled with bikes a bunch of times in a bunch of different cases, including the Trico, the TriAll3, performance hardcase, cardboard boxes from LBS, a weird one shaped like a baby grand piano from an LBS in Mpls, and the completely unpadded softcases from performance. The worst problem I ever had was that a wheel got a little warped in the performance hardcase because you can't adjust the sandwich tightness on the clamps (unlike the straps on the trico).

I'm currently using the $40 softcases from performance, supplemented with the $10 wheelbags, some spare foam, pipe insulation, cardboard sheets, and dropout protectors. I've flown several times with them and they're great-- easy to carry and small enough that half the time (or more) they just check your bike and don't charge extra for it. I have some photos that I sent to stealthv1per on how to pack it.

[DaveSANYYZ]

Can you post or send me some pics as well? Will a softcase be sufficient? I thought luggages gets thrown around by the luggage handling people at airports, and so it may dent/bent tubes, etc. Thanks!

[bitingduck]

I'll try to remember to post them later tonight.

The bikes do end up pretty well padded, and bikes are tougher than people seem to think.

[cjbruin]

I rented one of these http://www.triall3sports.com/bike.html# from Hank (Edge Cycle Sports) last year for my Kona trip. He rents them by the day...$15 I think. United charged me $50 or $75 for over-sized luggage but I was able to pack a ton of extra stuff in it...and it's on wheels.

http://www.triall3sports.com/images_main/velosafe.gif

[bitingduck]

ok - here are my bike packing instructions (http://www.bitingduck.com/?q=node/19)for the performance soft case. I put them on my site because it's easier to link and format.

Whether you trust it or not is entirely up to you.

[Luwin1026]

Thanks for all the info - I'll look into them!!

[cjbruin]

ok - here are my bike packing instructions (http://www.bitingduck.com/?q=node/19)for the performance soft case. I put them on my site because it's easier to link and format.

Whether you trust it or not is entirely up to you.

Wow. That's quite the production. When I travel to a tri, I don't think I want to go through all of that reassembly when I get there. The TriAll3 case was a good solution for me because you just take off the front wheel, remove your seat post, and turn your handlebars.

[bitingduck]

Wow. That's quite the production. When I travel to a tri, I don't think I want to go through all of that reassembly when I get there. The TriAll3 case was a good solution for me because you just take off the front wheel, remove your seat post, and turn your handlebars.

Putting it back together really isn't much harder with the soft case-- bolt the bars back in (most stems now have removable front plates), put both wheels back on, derailleur takes a second, pedals you're doing with any case, and seatpost you're doing with any case unless you have a really small bike. With the TriAll3 you still need to pad between the frame and the wheels, and you should take the rear derailleur off because the bike can come loose (hasn't happened to me, but I've known people it happened to), skewers still come out, and bars still come off. I've done both cases, and overall found the soft case more convenient-- I've even been hassled about UPS size because with the wheels the TriAll3 is a hair oversized, and the assembly/disassembly isn't a whole lot different.

The least assembly/disassembly is with an LBS cardboard box-- the rear wheel generally stays on.

[Blue Jays]

I recently opted for a TriAll3 Velo Safe Pro-Series Custom Road because I don't feel like dealing with pedal, derailleur, saddle, and handlebar reinstallation at the end of a long airplane flight. It cost a few bucks at $489.95 but the manufacturer did advise me they have never received a single report of a damaged bike in the history of their company.

http://www.triall3sports.com/images_main/velosf_cust_road.gif