Bicycle travel case suggestions

Cool. Have a great trip. The only downside to the surfboard kits is that the pads take up space and weight.

I have a Serfas hard case. I have only used it once, and shipped it.
I got this case because it fit under the UPS dimensions, cut the cost to ship in half. A just slightly larger case would cost twice as much.
Whatever case you get, check its’ dimensions vs shipping companies and airlines.
Airlines use a different measuring system but have recently gotten better on bike baggage fees.
I really like the soft surfboard rack idea for a hard case with rental car. Not much weight and should fit in the hard case easily.
I also like the Seasucker idea with a soft case. If you already have this rack. Might be a bit heavy, though.

Yeah, even though I just got the Soeedhound soft case, I am keeping my Serfas hard case for shipping. When I know well in advance if my trip, and I don’t need one of my primary bikes, I’ll ship out my backup bike ahead of time in the Serfas just to make travel easier.

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By way of update - I travelled with the fam in Cali over the weekend. Rental Tesla Model Y, my EVOC Pro case strapped to the glass roof with a protective shelf-liner type pad under the bike, and ratchet strapped through the vehicle itself, as I needed to load/unload it quickly in the not-so-friendly load/unload zones at LAX.

I adjusted the straps accordingly to account for fore/aft air pressure from highway, in addition to ensuring that the load was secure from a top/bottom standpoint. Spent some time on the highway at 70+ mph, and everything went smoothly. Not the ideal way to transport my bike, but it did work in a pinch! Next time, I’ll simply rent a mini-van.

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It may not work for everyone, but renting a pickup truck (Ram 1500/Ford 150) can be a good option. I’ve done this a couple of times. First, they are often cheaper than similar SUV or minivan, Second, the storage in back is ample.

On my most recent trip, I was mostly solo but needed something big enough for my bike & case. I rented a Ram 1500. The nice thing is that the case would fit in the back seat area! This simplified life when I did some touristy stuff on the way back to the airport. While I was riding there, I could just put the assembled bike in the bed while I drove to/from where I was riding.

You made us proud. Great idea making your inlaws deal with the strap running in their face just because you could.

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Haha! Thankfully, the straps were mitigated by the design of the Telsa, and mostly clung to the ceiling. Were that not the case, I would have utilized the rubber tubed strap holders suggested here - they were on standby in the bike bag.

No in-laws were inconvenienced on the all-expenses paid (by me) trip they invited themselves to join. :crazy_face:

This can be prevented in the future with an increasingly risky restaurant selection as the trip progresses. If you’ve got future kids, maybe get used to having them around.

Great advice on the roof top strapping idea, I could’ve used this a few times.

I use a previous gen scicon aero tech, works very well. And I’m a big fan of a hard sided case.

A question about damage if anyone has been unlucky….airline liability is limited to a few thousand dollars (and less in some cases), and I’m sure many of us have bikes worth far more. My bike is specifically insured through my house insurance, and I ‘think’ it would be covered through that. Anyone had the misfortune of dealing with damage, and/or using their home insurance to cover it?

I recently bought a Scicon. Not travelled with it yet but got a great deal through selecting the British version of probikekit and paying in Pounds. Free International delivery and didn’t get done for any duties. Worked out at under $400

Scicon has a Black Friday sale with 40% off right now. There’s a link over in the discounts thread.

I think that, from looking at their sale, ordering from probikekit still works out cheaper; $570+ tax as opposed to $410

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Took the plunge and bought a pair of Bike Box Alan hard cases a few years ago. Expensive at the time but worth every penny, travelled maybe 15 times with them, no problems.

Sorry. I missed that you ordered in GBP and had it shipped. I was seeing the same price at both sites because I used the US one.

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I am getting ready to order one of these to ship my bike to RAGBRAI this summer. I’m buying the Tourmalet. Have you shipped the box before and was there any issue with that process? Also, did you go traditional graphics or powder coat?

Cheers!

No need to rent vans or trucks for a bike unless you have a hard case.

I have a soft Pika Pack Works bag. I put my Seasucker rack in the bag if I think I’ll need it. Bike can go on the roof or truck of any sized vehicle and the bag can roll up small enough to easily fit in the truck with other bags.

Saves money on bigger rentals. Especially since many credit cards won’t allow their insurance to be used with pickup trucks.

Just to add a data point…

I recently flew from Philly to San Francisco with a borrowed Scicon Aerocomfort 2.0. Super easy to pack. I just had to jerry-rig the QR case for my Thru-axle bike.

On the way out, they weighed the case but luckily they weren’t careful and one wheel was balancing on the scale’s frame so it came in under the weight. So I just paid the $30 check bag fee.

On the way back, they didn’t even weigh it. So I just paid the $30 again.

For to/from the airport, we just got some Uber XL’s and with folding 1-2 rear seats down we were able to fit the bike, 2 carry-ons, 2 backpacks, and 2 people pretty easily.

I had no damage of any kind from the soft case and it was nice to be able to fold it up in the corner of the hotel room to not take up as much space as a hard case would have.

One counter point: in my experience, renting a pickup is often one of the least expensive rental options in the US for bike hauling. A full size pickup can be quite handy with bike cases.

Edit: corrected that this wasn’t a general statement of rental car cost, but strictly when comparing options for hauling bikes & cases.

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Really?

I only rent once or twice a year in the US but I’ve never seen a truck cheaper than an economy car. In Canada the only time I’ve ever seen a truck cheaper than a car is when the car had unlimited miles and the truck didn’t.

I know most (all?) Canadian credit cards, at least, exclude pickup trucks from their insurance. So even if the rental was cheaper you’d still need to pay the rental company’s insurance rates.

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I’m in the US and in my experience pickups always cost more to rent.

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