Fifty Plus (50+) - Aerus Biospeed Travel Case

I travel so much and I miss riding my bicycle. I rented a bicycle in Cape Town instead of hauling mine to Africa. The rental cost much more than the Aerus Biospeed Travel Case that arrived today. It is small enough I probably won't need to pay excess baggage fees. I did a dry run and it took less than 15 minutes to pack my bicycle. This case is very similar to the Pika Packworks. Both have received excellent recommendations. I had been thinking about renting a hard case, but the rental plus excess baggage fees are about the same price as the Aerus delivered to my door with free shipping.

http://www.triboutique.ca/v/vspfiles/assets/images/aerus_travel_bike_case.jpg

I've only taken one trip with my Thule hard-shell case, and it was a pain. Thing was heavy, and cumbersome. The soft-shell cases make me nervous, but I can sure see the appeal of them.

The LBS that I use rents the Thule hard-shell case. It was too cumbersome to take to Cape Town. I wish I had bought this case and taken my own bike for the Cape Argus. I too was leery of soft cases until I read about the Pika Packworks. I found the Aerus Biospeed to be almost identical except it included all the padding to wrap around my CF frame and forks. I got a much better price on the Aerus also. After the dry run of packing my frame, I am not nervous about using the Aerus.

My wife and I have used the Aerus cases for a number of airline trips. We like them way more than hard cases. Much easier to lug around. With bike, helmet, shoes, riding gear, spares, tools, etc.. it comes in just under 40 lb total.

Here's an good article on the case: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/02/how-i-travel-with-my-bike.html