Has anyone any advice on what bike bag to get?
I'm on a long haul flight to America. BA has a weight restriction of 23kg I believe. The bike bags I've seen range from 13.5kg for a hard case and 9.5kg for a softcase. This doesn't leave much to play with in terms of bike weight. I'm not too sure how much my bike weighs as I can't find it on the manufacturers specification, but standing on bathroom scales holding the bike, it comes up as circa 15.87kg with bar ends, mudguards & lights.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Bike Bags
Re: Bike Bags
The type of bag you get may depend on what you intend to do with it at the other end.
Hard type cases are fine if you have a friend to store it for you or you are on a circular route and a local bike shop or your hotel can help out.
Padded bags come with or without wheels, are fairly cumbersome and don't fold up but protect your bike more that just a material bag. Having said that I ditched my padded bag years ago and now use a cordura bag and pad the bike itself. The bag won't last more than a few years but you can patch them up. I am on my second in 6 years and went for a Bodybag from Ground Effect in New Zealand.
I flew to Canada this year from T5 and BA accepted the bike without a quibble and I was amazed to see the bag arrive in Vancouver without a mark on it. On the way home only one small hole was visible. The advantage of a Bodybag is that the rear wheel stays on which offers a bit more protection to the rear triangle. Pad the frame well with pipe lagging, use the spacer that comes with the bag for the front wheel and pad the bottom of your forks and handlebar ends. I also put hard foam in between the rear wheel and derailleur and secured it just in case something heavy was put on top of it. Happy to say the bike survived both flights without a scratch.
If you do buy a bag though check how big the bike is and make sure it fits the bag or you may have to take it apart, not an option for me as I am technically challenged. Another good feature of the BB is that is folds into a nylon bag which is no larger than a A4 piece of paper and is simple to carry with you.
Where are you going on your tour?
Lisa
Hard type cases are fine if you have a friend to store it for you or you are on a circular route and a local bike shop or your hotel can help out.
Padded bags come with or without wheels, are fairly cumbersome and don't fold up but protect your bike more that just a material bag. Having said that I ditched my padded bag years ago and now use a cordura bag and pad the bike itself. The bag won't last more than a few years but you can patch them up. I am on my second in 6 years and went for a Bodybag from Ground Effect in New Zealand.
I flew to Canada this year from T5 and BA accepted the bike without a quibble and I was amazed to see the bag arrive in Vancouver without a mark on it. On the way home only one small hole was visible. The advantage of a Bodybag is that the rear wheel stays on which offers a bit more protection to the rear triangle. Pad the frame well with pipe lagging, use the spacer that comes with the bag for the front wheel and pad the bottom of your forks and handlebar ends. I also put hard foam in between the rear wheel and derailleur and secured it just in case something heavy was put on top of it. Happy to say the bike survived both flights without a scratch.
If you do buy a bag though check how big the bike is and make sure it fits the bag or you may have to take it apart, not an option for me as I am technically challenged. Another good feature of the BB is that is folds into a nylon bag which is no larger than a A4 piece of paper and is simple to carry with you.
Where are you going on your tour?
Lisa
Re: Bike Bags
Thanks Lisa. I'm going to Central America. It is a fully supported tour so I have no issues with what type of bag to take as I don't have to worry about storage etc when I get there.