hi all off to the alps in the summer and taking my bike for the first time (usually just rent when there). theres 3-4 of us on the trip. I don’t have a bike bag and at the mo would prob want to avoid shelling out for a higher end one, anyone got any transport tips, or recommendations on where to hire a box/ bag, based in there north east

ta for your thoughts..

j

Any advice welcome

Ta.

Some shops will rent you bags, but it may be better to just buy one.

Otherwise, go to your LBS who will most likely have a load of bike boxes they could give you.

Just pack it well, paying attention to all the sticky out bits. I tend to remove pedals and mech and brake discs, zip tying the discs inside the spokes, and mech etc I unbolt and zip tie inside the chainstay somewhere.

Plenty of foam, and riding kit stashed and wrapped around it.

Baggage handlers are basically pure evil…. 🙂

Hire a Polaris bik pod from EBC in Newcastle? 0191 265 8619 I think it’s £60 for a week though.

Or buy a cheapbag – these often come up in the sale (they were £60 over Xmas!)

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-transit-bike-bag-with-wheel-bags

Or use a free cardboard box

As a bit of a heads up watch the weight, in previous years i’ve got away with silly heavy bags. This year however I flew out to Alicante on easy jet at the start of January and they wouldn’t accept anything over 32kgs at all – no excess charge just flat out wouldn’t take it. I shuffled some weight around but if you have a DH bike with lots of protection in a bag you might struggle.

You can get bike bags quite cheaply and IMO it’s very much worth having something. A bike box sitting on the tarmac in the pissing rain isn’t going to be up to much.

Iain

Would recommend taking care over the bit where you get your bike back from the baggage handlers

Waiting by the carousel last week at Manchester the side door opens and two carbon-silver Planet X bike bags get pushed out onto the concourse, door closes, end of

Stood there for quite some time before what I presume were the rightful owners carted them off

My bike went AWOL after an expedition race, 5 days later my wife was coming back through the airport and spotted it marooned by the carousel. She picked it up and brought it home for me. I rang the airline and they told me it was on a courier ! Then they rang me and said it was lost, so i told them I had it and they were satisfied. Bizarre.

Took my bike to Cape Town three times for the Cape Argus. On the second trip the dhb case I’d borrowed from my neighbour came out with the end smashed in, which must have been done by a fall from quite a height. I made a claim and AF bought me a new case, which I gave straight to the neighbour. I managed to repair the broken case with ali plate, rivets and Araldite and it’s been back to SA since then.

I know “spend money” isn’t a helpful suggestion when you’ve said you’d rather not, but every time I use my Evoc bag I think what amazing value it was. The ease of moving it about a station or airport, and the ease of packing the bike and getting it out again at the other end, are fantastic.

ta for the suggestions, I’ll try and track down a bag in the long run prob best option, and had noted the weight restriction (it is a dh bike so not the lightest..)

j

I can recommend just using a proper cardboard bike box for the price of some biscuits or some beers for your LBS guys.
Pack your bike well as you should in a soft case anyway. Pedals off, mech off, make yourself some axle spacers from a bit of wood or some old hubs.
Bit of pipe lagging or your knee pads around stanchions etc.
Then make sure that the box is well taped up and any loose bits inside are in a bag and fastened to the frame to stop them going awol if the box gets damaged.

I’ve use the cardboard box (the same one) for 3 annual trips back to the UK now and it’s still going strong.

As an aside, I know a baggage handler here and he says that they hate the soft floppy bike bags as they fall over and are just difficult for them to handle, he says that they are happier with a hardcase (expensive) or a simple cardboard box any day.

Does anyone know how good the On One case is?

I’m also heading to the alps and don’t fancy splashing out on an Evoc.

Return though !!

Where do you store the box whilst at the destination
or source another ?

As an aside, I know a baggage handler here and he says that they hate the soft floppy bike bags as they fall over and are just difficult for them to handle, he says that they are happier with a hardcase (expensive) or a simple cardboard box any day.

And everyone compliments how easy it is to pick up and handle the Evoc bag (20 flights in 2 years so far) and it doesn’t fall apart in the rain.

I’ve taken bikes to and from S.E. Asia several times. A tenner of ducktape and a bike box from Halfords etc is all you need.

Lots and lots of ducktape around the box. Pipe lagging inside where necessary.

Remove pedals, rear mech from hanger, chain, stem from steerer tube (and slide forks out).

I have a bike bag. A heavy duty one, but soft as opposed to hard. It weighs 7kg!

Remove rotors too.

The evoc weight 9Kg worth every Kg (just did 3 flights to UK about 10 train rides and then 3 back to Oz and still everything perfect and my back intact)