Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
This being the touring forum, keep in mind that touring bikes often have chainstays a bit longer than road bikes. Thus, you may need a box a bit longer than other type of bike boxes.
When I needed a box for my recent tour, the first bike shop I happened to walk into had just unboxed a Rad RadRunner e-bike. I took the box off their hands. It was fantastic. I had never thought to look for e-bike boxes before, but the next time I need a box for my touring bike I am going to first target shops that I know to sell e-bikes.
E-bikes are heavy, so the cardboard is especially thick and stout. E-bikes have integrated racks, so their boxes are wider than boxes for human-powered bicycles often are. The result is a box that is super easy to pack, has room for all your touring accoutrements (racks, fenders, etc) and whatever extra gear you want to throw in, and is strong enough to offer great protection and make it through multiple flights.
The (external) dimensions of my box were 59" x 13" x 33.5". The length was short enough that I did still have to remove my front wheel (and front fender and front rack), but it was so wide that packing those removed bits in (with plenty of padding all around) was super easy. I was able to shove the box into the back of a small SUV taxi (Ford Escape, with rear seats folded down), which I probably could not have done had it been long enough for me to keep the front wheel on.
It had cutouts for handles that were already reinforced. That made it easy to drag around (and because it was so thick I wasn't concerned about tearing up the bottom), and to lift in and out of cabs.
The disadvantage to this type of box is that, if you are planning to pedal to the airport and pack up there, I think you'd really struggle to transport it. It is thick enough that you can't really roll or fold it up the way you can with some more typical bike boxes.
The other disadvantage is the weight. I didn't weigh it empty, but it was decently heavy. If you are already worried about pushing up against your airline weight limits, this sort of box isn't going to do you any favors.
The final disadvantage is that you might feel like you need to go cleanse your soul after walking around town with a box advertising one of these new-fangled electric motor scooters. But you have the box so that you can go on a bike tour, and there's no better soul cleanse than that.