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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2009 11:16:52 GMT
Hi Dulwich'ers,
I've a few overseas trips coming up, and later in the year, which justify me investing in a bike bag, hard case.
I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or experience with particular brands/makes - recommendations, things to look out for or those to stay away from!
Thanks in advance, Sarah + the pinarello.
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Post by David Joss Buckley on Jun 23, 2009 12:08:53 GMT
Hi Sarah Not sure if it's a case or a bag you're after, but in the interests of adding to the sum of your knowledge... The bike boxes the club owns are on this Wiggle page >> tinyurl.com/nwlzeeWe have one DHB Elsted and one DHB EVA case. The Elsted is heavy (14kgs) and the locks tend to get broken off by lummox baggage handlers. The EVA box is half the weight but isn't as rigid. Scott B used it and stuffed extra padding inside just to make sure. Peppi has it right now, so she might be able to advise when she returns to the UK. Currently neither box is booked after Aug 7, so if you want to experiment before you commit you know where I am.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2009 12:25:05 GMT
Thanks Dave - we're in sync, I've been checking out the Wiggle site, and ummming and arrring over the two DHB cases. Interesting what you say re: weights vs rigidness. I've also been thinking about this one ... www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18012Re: hard case vs bag ... I'd be interested in hearing peoples thoughts, experiences with the bags - how well is a carbon bike likely to come off having faced fiesty baggage handlers. For the extra pounds, I'm happy to go for a hard case I think ... unless told otherwise! Thanks for the offer of the 7th August. I'll let you know. Ta!
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Post by David Joss Buckley on Jun 23, 2009 15:33:24 GMT
The Chain Reaction model looks identical to the DHB EVA box - except it costs 70 quid more!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2009 21:07:44 GMT
Finger crossed/touch wood/etc that one of these won't fail me and my somewhat pricey bike: www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/trolley-bag-17253980/Have had mine since 2004 and has been to Oz/Japan/Italy/France/Spain (not in one trip btw) without mishap...I'm tempting fate here. And it fits under my bed! Really good protection but I guess if it has a hold full of luggage on top of it maybe it would be a different story but I guess as it's a soft bag, and it looks like its carrying a fragile bike (because I've written FRAGILE in multiple languages on the side) the handlers leave it with the other oversize which tends to have has it's own section in the hold, thats why it comes out with pushchairs and golfclubs on the carousel.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2009 11:51:08 GMT
Thanks for the tip Mark.
Out of interest, were you transporting a carbon frame in the bag?
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Post by Michael "HummingBird" Sanders on Jun 29, 2009 17:08:44 GMT
I bought a DHB Elsted box for traveling to the Etape du Tour last year and it has been fit enough for purpose. My bike has survived a half dozen flights so far, and the case has stood up to baggage handler abuse reasonably well too (one flat-spotted wheel). Two friends bought the same case, and so far no-one has reported any bike damage after travel.
Upsides: - Not hideously expensive. - Tough. - Three different locking mechanisms to keep it closed. - Wheels & handles laid out well enough for it to be wrangled around the airport with minimal strain.
Downsides: - Heavy. 13kg empty. - Low quality wheel plastic. I've heard reports of people losing a wheel.
The only other suggestion I have is to pack your bike well ahead of any deadline, as it'll take a while to figure out how to orient the parts so that you can close the lid the first time. It took me 90 minutes and some swearing. My bike is an XL frame (I'm 6'3), so it might be less difficult for a smaller bike.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2009 17:35:18 GMT
I know of no other material Sarah!
In fact...the lowest total weight for the bag, bike, spare tubular tyre, basic toolkit, mini trackpump, washbag and cycling kit (plus phone/computer adapters and other bits and bobs) was about 18kg!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 7:39:25 GMT
Having just used bike boxes for the first time I found that the dbh EVA box was easy to pack and definately sturdy enough for protection. The wheels skewer onto the case which was good I thought. Only issue was that the weight tended to be lopsided once I'd put in all the accessories (to avoid Ryanair surcharges!) which made it difficult to pull it along on the wheels. We hired another box from my triclub for AndyFletch which was hard case that had those wheels that go in all directions so was very easy to maneuver with one hand while the other carried hand luggage although it was a Scicon which looks to be about 3 times the price of the other so you have to balance out cost. And as others have mentioned heavier.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 11:44:31 GMT
Thanks for the tips Michael and Peppi ... quick question ... how far did you have to break down your bike in order to get into the case? I've read reviews of people having to remove forks etc for the dhb models.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 14:10:49 GMT
I have a little frame so no probs at all though OH has bigger handlebar stem-thing so was bit more fiddly. Only slight tweaking that I didn't expect was loosening the handlebars so I could curl them down (if that makes sense!) to reduce the height a bit (sorry hard to explain!). Other than that just wheels off, deflate, skewer to box, saddle/pedals off (don't forget to take a pedal spanner), loosen handle bars so you can twist them round sideways and also loosen so you can drop them down (as mentioned above). After the initial try which took longer took around 15-20mins assembly and 15-20mins packing on the way home. Also in the DHB model there was lots of space in between everything for shoes, locks, tools, bags. Another con might be worth mentioning, was hard to find a good place to lift and pull the box as there's a clip strap that looked like it was meant as a sort of handle but it kept undoing when you pulled it.
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Post by Michael "HummingBird" Sanders on Jun 30, 2009 18:15:54 GMT
What Peppi said. You definitely won't have to take the forks out.
The only extra thing I do is unscrew the rear derailleur hangar, but it wouldn't be necessary on a smaller frame than mine.
Oh, also, I don't use the wheel bags as they make the pile too thick for me to close the lid.
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