ovoleg

So I'm pretty sure I feel comfortable taking my good bike, but still a little on the nervous side! I have one of these



I will be going for 4 days(2 of which will be riding days for sure). I want to ride in a new area and its part of my training anyways so its either bring my really good bike or my mediocre bike(which needs quite a bit of love before I can ride it...like me working on the bike for 3 hours tonight).

What do you guys think? Just bring my good bike or try to fix my mediocre bike?

I tested the bike case and it feels very solid. I also read lots of reviews and people swear its great.

It's called a Scicon Aerocomfort 2.0 TSA

THanks guys.

gerundium

it's got TSA in the name, must be great!

gsa103

How much do you want a new bike? There's no case that can realistically protect a bike against aggressive baggage handlers.

If you really really like your better bike, I'd fix the old one. If you've been eyeing Di2 or some other upgrade, definitely take the new bike and purchase the airline insurance. You'll have the better bike to ride and if something bad happens upgrade

One suggestion I found online was buying a set of REALLY CHEAP handle bars (think bike shop junk bin) to use as dummies to protect things. The good handlebars get dismounted and taped to the frame (cables still attached).

ovoleg

I'll be fixing my bike tonight haha. Don't really want to take my good bike. I like that dummy handlebar idea though! I might try that with a pair of bars laying around.

The bag seems pretty solid and has great reviews, I just don't know what kind of abuse the TSA dudes are gonna inflict!

halfspeed

I've been able to rent a nice road bike most places I've visited. Beats the heck out of dealing with transporting a bike.

Looigi

Don't know about that case, but we travel with our CF bikes using Aerus soft cases. They're well padded and we add pads to the bike frame. To pack it up, I remove the seatpost and saddle, bars, pedals, and the RD from it's hanger. Here's an article: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/02/h...h-my-bike.html the article is a bit dated as the case now comes with frame pads so you don't need to come up with your own.

The bike in the case with all riding gear comes in under 35 lb. It's way easier to maneuver and get on and off shuttle buses, taxis, rental cars, etc. About 1/2 the time we get away without paying the bike fee, even though it is oversize.

rpenmanparker 

Sorry to disagree with folks, but IMO a soft case can never protect a good bike well enough. Period. Hard case or don't even bother. That goes for S&S and Breakaway rigs too. If you care about the bike, put it in a non-(easily)crushable case.

Looigi

Air travel with a bike always presents risk of damage or loss. Our CF bikes cost over $12K combined and we accept there is risk and also accept that the convenience/benefits of using soft cases is worth any additional risk. Of course it's a matter of opinion and your situation as to what constitutes an acceptable risk. Our main concern is that a bike not get lost or damaged on the way to a ride/trip. If a bike gets damaged or lost on the way home, we'll just ride a backup bike until we the bike arrives, gets fixed, or gets replaced...with a newer better one!

kleng

I've had no problems using the Biknd bag, it's light as well as offering a lot of protection as a result of the side air bags. so it offers the advantages of a hard case but without the extra weight.

I can also fit 2 wheelsets and all the clothes, shoes, helmet, lights and tools and still keep it under 20kg, which allows me to check it in without any additional excess luggage fees.

I also have fragile stickers plastered all over it, in 10 trips then has been no damage at all.

I'd also keep the tires pumped up as the rigidity helps keep the bag in shape

Nachoman

I've got a hard shell trico case and a folding bike that fits into a hard shell case. In my view no matter how well you pack, you'[ll still end up with scratches.

Camilo

Having traveled with a full size hard case and now my Pika Packworks soft case - I won't travel with a hard case any more. They're just too difficult to schlepp around, load in and out of a rental car or taxi and store in the hotel or condo.

The soft case will often (usually, in my experience) avoid excess baggage fees because it doesn't look as obvious, is much easier to move around, much, much, much easier to move in and out of the backseat or even trunk of even small rental cars and cabs, and totally easy to store in a hotel room.

The downside is a little greater risk of damage. However, the difference in protection between a hard case and a good, properly packed soft case will only come into play if the case is run over by the baggage truck. My opinion is that my soft case will protect against normal baggage handling, including being tossed around, dropped from a normal height (say the top of the luggage loading conveyer) , etc.

I think it's a very minor risk - and well worth the huge benefits of the soft case. That said, if I have two bikes I like and one is more expensive or harder to replace, I'll leave that one behind - but I'd do that with the hard case too.