Travelling with a bike is a serious business these days. Paying anything from £25 to £70 each way to fly a bike, plus the worry of whether your bike will get there in one piece, or at all, can make renting a bike at the other end seem mighty appealing. However, nothing rides like your own bike (for better or worse) and a rider on the trip of a lifetime naturally will want to take their own bike to ride. Of your bike transport options, this CRC bag aims to be at the top end of the soft case world.
Not just a squishy bag, the CRC bag has pockets for everything as well as a good amount of extra protection in the form of extra padding and rigid, padded protectors. Wheels come off and fit into the side pockets (even 29in ones with tyres fitted). Bars and stem, seatpost and saddle come off and are strapped securely to the sidewalls of the bag. The bottom bracket shell straps solidly onto a central, padded unit while a (fully included) selection of dummy axles hold your bike solidly front and rear. (Everything from a front QR to a 12x150mm bolt-thru rear is supplied, all neatly in little, labelled pockets.)
Packed correctly (instructions are included), nothing can move. The bike is held solidly and the bag has a good, firm shape to it. It rolls on a pair of widely spaced rollerblade wheels and there are six handles to grab it by. Our bag seems to be ageing prematurely, sustaining a broken zip pull and a couple of fabric cuts and scuffs on the first journey, but the bikes it has transported have all survived without a scratch.
Overall: Works with hardtails, full sus and even road bikes. A good investment if you travel lots with your bike(s) – especially as the bag now sells for under £200 on the website. The outer fabrics felt a little vulnerable though.
Review Info
| Brand: | CRC |
| Product: | Pro bike bag |
| From: | Chain Reaction, chainreactioncycles.com |
| Price: | £249.00 |
| Tested: | by Chipps for Six months, four flights and a road trip. |
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What’s it like compared to the Evoc one it’s ‘inspired’ by? 😉
The CRC bag and the Evoc bag are remarkably similar. I prefer the Evoc bag for the slightly better materials and construction. The wheels are slightly wider, which provides better rolling stability (handy in airports) and overall it feels better balanced. However, these are marginal differences for about £100 more.