Bob Dopolina 

I think the title clearly indicates that this is shameless market research.

I am looking at Bike Travel Bags. Who uses them? When do you use them? What do you look for? What's a useful feature and what sucks?

I think a bag that has a separate pocket for the wheels is a must. Strong material and a solid zipper, also. Other than that I've never used one so I don't know what to look for.

Yeah, yeah, price. I know.

All input appreciated.

CrimsonKarter21

I've never used one, but now that I've got a real bike, and because of you mentioning it, I think I should invest in one.

If you change your logo to Aunt Jemima in jeans and a dirty white hoodie, I'd seriously consider a BDop bag.

Bob Dopolina 

Ah...maybe I just don't get it.

No love for the toxic beer swilling Pirate?

stedalus

See the last post in this thread for my experiences with one: https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/490939-rome-bike-bags.html

There are a few threads in the Touring section about other models. The Ground Effect Tardis bag is popular.

The bottom of the bag needs to be reinforced with some sort of thick but foldable rubber. Inevitably a baggage handler will drag it around instead of lifting, and this abrades even beefy Cordura very very quickly. Sette makes a bag that has hard rubber and wheels on the bottom, but this is non-starter for me because I typically need to fold up and mail the bag ahead once I get to where I'm going.

Another nice feature would be compression straps on the outside, so its footprint can be made as small as possible, and to keep the bike from rattling around.

Bob Dopolina 

Excellent suggestions. Thank you.

nycphotography

I specifically need a "sneak the bike into the office" bag.

Something where I can pop the wheels off, turn the bars 90 deg and drop the frame into a zippered padded (or maybe not) bag, slip each wheel into an inside pocket, zip it up, and walk into a building with my "large shoulder bag". Yeah it's a bike. But its not exposed, and it's not going to get dirt and grease on the carpet.

And the bag should roll up small so I can bungee it to the backpack w/ my suit in it (suit in backpack, not in greasy bike bag), therefore no cardboard or stiff parts.

I'm going to be making one in the next couple of weeks unless someone would like me to field test a prototype, hint hint.

Bob Dopolina 

This is what I am looking at now. It is pictured with a med size MTB in it.

https://www.bdopcycling.com/Bike%20Bag.asp

nycphotography

looking at the picture:

1) lose all the extra loose nylon everywhere. make it fit the SHAPE of the frame and wheels.

2) maybe even make it out of something stretchy so it has to kinds spandex it's way over the thing. That way things aren't moving around inside it scraping and banging against each other. yeah yeah, we can all see that it's a bike, but its sealed CLEANLY inside this wrapper to protect your carpet. think hotels w/ a "no bikes" policy. or barnes and noble (bookstore / coffee shop). etc.

I don't carry a lock, and even if I did, there is no way in hell my Tarmac is getting left outside in NYC.

Randochap

Because the Eurostar train from London to Paris only allows bagged bikes as carry-on baggage (boxed bikes not guaranteed to travel on the same train) I bought a cheap bike bag ($25 from Nashbar) to transport my bike to the Paris-Brest-Paris randonnee, after taking it boxed to London.

No problem on the Eurostar, but it was a pain-in-the-shoulder dragging it on and off the connecting subway and train to the start area.

The bag itself was decent enough -- separate wheel dividers and pouch for odds & ends -- but I should have padded the shoulder strap more.

I used corrugated cloroplast to reinforce the edges and sides.



In 2011, I will fly direct to Paris and use a hard case.

rollin

I travelled with my bike, by air, 12 times last year. Long and short haul.

For “soft” bags the benchmark is the SciCon Comfort plus. Great design; a metal frame for the bike to be locked onto; minimal disassembly requires; inconspicuous look (doesn’t shout “look I have an expensive bike here!”); durable material; separate wheel pockets; sturdy wheels for rolling it around.

The hard case I use is a cheap DHB one I picked up from wiggle in the UK. It works ok but I would prefer the SciCon one again. One major design flaw with this particular hard case is that there are handles that stick out and are vulnerable to compression damage.

I never carry my full carbon bike in the soft case although I know many who happily do.

One major advantage of the soft bag is that it fits into land transport where as the hard case is always a big hassle. I only use the hard case when I am hiring a car, even then it needs the back seat folded down etc.

So what do I want?

A SciCon Aero Comfort sized bag, made out of hard material, that is light, strong and cheap. PM me when you have one designed J

flatlander_48

VeloNews just put out an issue called RACE & RIDE GUIDE. It contains material on bike bags/boxes...

Before I bought the Ritchey BreakAway, I used a CrateWorks box made of the Corplast material (like corregated cardboard, only plastic). That worked fine, but it was big and awkward to handle. That's what led me to buy the Ritchey...

Bob Dopolina 

Great info so far.

We are leaning towards a soft bag that can be rolled up and lashed to the bike (in it's own bag) or thrown in the back of a car when not in use. I want to avoid any hard cases or bags with internal structure that would prevent this.

botto 

something simple. no padding. compact. only breakdown involved is removing the wheels. with a decent strap. and $50 or less. that's what i might be interested in.

urodacus

perhaps a padded corner pocket to put the rear derailleur into and protect it a bit. a bent hanger is always a pain when you build it back up at the destination.

nitropowered

unbolt your rear derailleur or the hanger completely with the hanger attached. And then put in a dummy axle.

I just bought this bag to travel with. My teammates have had great success with it.
https://www.akonabiospeed.com/travel_case.html

but obviously this isn't the type of bag you are looking at bob.

carpediemracing 

garbage bag with tie handles. I think that's similar to what Steve Bauer used (apparently he actually used a large nylon duffle bag and threw everything in there).

cdr

Bob Dopolina 

That's a nice bag.

Your right, we're looking at something much simpler. One of the key features we are after is that you can roll the bag up and take it with you or you can leave it somewhere until you return. It must be unobtrusive when not in use.

Think about taking your bike on a subway or train. Then getting off, pulling out your bike, putting the wheels on and then stuffing the bag into itself (or another bag) that is attached to a rack or into a backpack.

Or leaving the bag in an office drawer, or in the trunk of your car.

Or if you are transporting a bike inside your car and don't want mud or grease on the seats (and want to give your significant other that impression, too).

If I was flying I think I'd want something more along the lines of the one you have. Much beefier.

botto 

not exactly what i had in mind.

carpediemracing 

More serious reply:

1. No wheel pockets necessary if you have wheel bags (or they come with the bike bag). My bag has wheel pockets and I don't use them.

2. Frame to give bag rigidity that is not based on the bike itself (i.e. if you drop the bag on its end your Cervelo isn't supporting the structure, something else is).

3. Foldable so it reduces in size to something manageable (goal: carry on size?)

I have the following:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...soft-case.html

What I wish I had:
1. Pull handle on the outside (none on my bag)
2. Folding base frame (hinged but lockable in "straight" position). Halving the length for storage would be great.
3. Much bigger rolling wheels (I already upsized them myself). I want to convert to roller blade type wheels, as wide as possible, one pair steers.
4. Folding frame to help bag hold shape. Or something to hold shape a bit better.
5. More small pockets with closures (zip, velcro, etc) so that I can store my tape gun, tools, food, tubes, whatever.
6. Way to add more padding. I add 4-10 layers of that grey packing stuff I use in the post link above.
7. Big white letters "Fragile" on side.

I should buy a HD sewing machine and make some of this stuff. lol.

cdr

merlinextraligh

A simple bag could also be useful for mollifying uptight hotel clerks.

flatlander_48

MAJOR Agreement there...

nycphotography

This perfectly illustrates that there are two completely different use scenarios:

Scenario 1) TRAVEL. Yes, want padding, structure, and security. And disssassembly is acceptable, to a point.

Scenario 2) SNEAKING THE BIKE INTO THE HOTEL / OFFICE / APARTMENT / BUSINESS / GIRLFRIEND'S MOTHER'S KITCHEN / BUS / LONG ISLAND RR or wherever else they are "forbidden" or discouraged.

In scenario 2, I dont care about padding as nobody is going to touch it but me. I don't need it to have structure or to be stackable, etc. However, I do need it to be usable w/ the minimum dissassembly, and to roll up into a pocket, and to fit reasonably well (especially oif not padded) so the bike isn't flopping around inside it.

botto 

^

this (although the LIRR is irrelevant, seeing as $5 buys you a lifetime get out of jail free card).

simple, light, cheap: basically something to tuck/disguide your bike into.

that.

yes that.

that.

is what i'd buy.

johnny99

Are you talking about bags for car travel or for airline travel? If the latter, the main problem with the existing bags is the price. There are lots of good bags out there, but many cost as much as my bike is worth.

botto 

you must have a bike that's worth a bucket of warm spit.

just sayin'