Recommendations? 58cm Trek Checkpoint. Mostly flying Southwest Airlines in western states.
ToPeak PackGo X has been flawless for us!
Probably around 40 flights so far, got two of them. Packs integrated and non integrated just fine (SL7 + new SuperSix Evo)
Got inbuilt stand, semi rigid so bike is safe but wont crack if dropped, wheeled standing up so it’s easy to move around at the airport, fits easily into cars 
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I replaced mine with a Scicon Aerocomfort this year. Both are fine but I started travelling with bikes that have integrated cable routing through the headtube and didn’t want to deal with trying to get the bars in sideways anymore.
I think I originally went with EVOC because I was worried about how wide the Scicon would be, but I find the Scicon much more manageable because it’s a lot shorter nose to tail. I’ve never had a situation where I couldn’t fit the Scicon into a space that I felt like the Evoc could have (rental cars, taxis, doorways, hotels, etc etc.) The 4x swivel casters make Scicon a lot easier to manouvre through airports too (I always ended up putting Evoc on a baggage cart sideways so I could fit other cases on at the same time, but then the cart won’t fit through the spacing between anti-car bollards).
Evoc’s wheels would probably be more robust if you needed to wheel it along a gravel track or rough tarmac for an extended period of time though.
Scicon packs down better for storage than Evoc if you’re putting it in a room with other storage stuff. Evoc probably better if you need to store it under a bed (folds marginally flatter but is longer).
I feel more comfortable packing Scicon with less additional padding than I did with Evoc - I think it’s overall a much simpler and quicker packing and unpacking process. Not just because you leave the bars on but also because there’s just less finessing involved in making it feel secure and locked down.
I’m on a much smaller bike (54cm Tarmac and similar size gravel bikes, 713mm saddle height) so the following might be pretty different in your experience:
I think I have to lower my saddle in Evoc but not Scicon (can’t recall for sure). Definitely don’t need to remove it in either.
In the EVOC bag my short wheelbase means the rear axle support slides really far forward and leaves a lot of the bag’s support frame unsupported at the back of the bag. After a few trips the aluminum beam in that frame had been bent pretty badly. I wrote to EVOC and they sent me a replacement piece for free. I’ve since planed down a piece of wood to stick inside that bit of the aluminum to add some extra support there. Oh and I bought a plastic box aluminum end plug to stick in the open end of that beam - the edge was sharp enough that it had started cutting into the fabric of the bag a bit. Pretty sure EVOC have changed the design of that support frame entirely since then anyway, so maybe not relevant to a new buyer.
In the Scicon bag you stash your extras in a bag that fits between the fork and BB. This can make the thing really front heavy if you’re not careful and the bag will tip forward pretty easily. With my wheelbase the tip of the fork legs just so happens to land in the very tiny gap between the front of the rubberised skid plate from the bag’s base and the bottom of the padding insert for the soft material bit of the bag. On a recent trip baggage handlers clearly tipped the bag forward and then dragged it, grinding a tiny hole in the fabric and taking the paint off the tip of one of my fork legs. Am still in the process of getting them to pay for the repair. I’ll maybe look for a way to modify/reinforce that particular bit of the bag in the future though.
It’s been on my list to sell the EVOC but there’s part of me that wants to keep it in case I decide to fly with an MTB at some point - pretty sure smaller size MTBs will go in the Evoc but I can’t imagine it would work too well in the Scicon.
Also: My EVOC is the standard non-pro version and then I bought the internal axle mounting frame thing at a later date. This makes it the same as the Pro in every way EXCEPT for the swivel wheel on the front. I have to lift the front of the bag to wheel it and actually that’s enough of a pain that I wish I’d bought the pro version to begin with. I wouldn’t trust the bag without the internal frame thing anyway, so I’d say definitely don’t waste your time trying to save money by going to the base model of EVOC.
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Oh, another small frame/short wheelbase issue: in the Evoc bag the hubs of your wheels are meant to locate roughly in the middle of the rear triangle, but on most of my bikes they end up aligning almost directly on the seat stays. It’s never been an issue for me yet but I imagine if the bag were ever to be laid on its side and then have too much weight stacked (or dropped) on top of it the resulting damage would be crushed seatstays before anything else.
How do you plan to get around Southwest’s baggage policy?
The items listed below will be accepted as checked baggage for a $75 each-way charge. In addition to the items specifically described below, we also accept fragile items; previously damaged items; improperly or overpacked baggage; items packed in soft-sided cases; and unprotected/unpacked items only with a limited release of liability. Customers are not entitled to reimbursement or compensation for any and all damage in situations where a limited release of liability applies.
- Bicycles (defined as non-motorized and having a single seat) properly packed in a bicycle box or hard case from 51 to 100 pounds in weight or 63 to 80 inches in total dimensions. Pedals and handlebars must be removed and packaged in protective materials so as not to be damaged by or cause damage to other baggage. Bicycles packaged in cardboard or soft-sided cases will be transported as limited release items. Bicycles over 100 pounds in weight and/or 80 inches in total dimensions cannot be checked as baggage and can only be shipped as Cargo if the Customer is a Known Shipper.
I’m not aware of any bike bag that is under 80"
A icon bags were 50% off last week….you might want to check and see if that deal is still going.
My buddy has an EVOC bag and loves it. No issues.
For a more affordable option, I got a Speed Hound bag last year. Maybe not quite as nice as EVOC or SCICON, but it has been great. It has made 4 international trips and other domestic ones and I have never had an issue.
My son’s XXL (62 cm) Canyon Aeroad and Inflite have worked well with the EVOC. He mostly flies United to and from Colorado Springs or Denver
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I just flew with a Scicon Aerocomfort bag a month ago. One United flight and one American Airlines. Zero issues with either. No additional fees.
I chose the Scicon based on having integrated bars that I didn’t want to mess with. I personally love it. I ride a 58 with a saddle height of 815mm. It just fit without having to lower the saddle at all. I also made some diy upgrades to the bag. Basically just some PVC pipe for added support. One piece I zip tied to the rear triangle on the seat stays for side impact protection. The other I did at the handlebars to prevent any side impacts from pressing buttons or pushing the levers in. I also completely removed the rear derailleur. Packing time was about 15 minutes. Unpacking time and reassembly (pedals, rear derailleur) was less than 5. I am a huge fan of not having to readjust the bars. It was literally just putting pedals back in and reattaching the RD. Don’t forget to throw in disc brake spacers in the calipers.
I will add one more 
for the SciCon Aerocomfort 3.0.
I don’t care? Got a Southwest business card and personal card. By March 2024 (3 months) I will have earned a companion pass good until December 2025. Plan to do some traveling and bringing my bike on some trips. Paying $150 round trip is cheaper than what I paid to rent a gravel bike for 2 days at BWR Arizona this year.
Any pics to share?
The Scicon Aerocomfort 3.0 is on sale (50% off) right now.
But it states they will not accept any bag over 80 inches(which is every bike bag that I’m aware of). See Below.
Bicycles over 100 pounds in weight and/or 80 inches in total dimensions cannot be checked as baggage and can only be shipped as Cargo if the Customer is a Known Shipper.
The Scion is almost 94"
The EVOC Pro is over 105"
Short of full disassembly, removed fork/seatpost, I don’t see how you could get a bike bag/case under 80"
Guess I’m calling Southwest and clarifying, and asking about shipping as cargo. In my early days in technical sales (early 90s), I used to ship a computer and monitor as cargo. And I traveled a lot and gave demos, remember the old routine well.
Southwest was particularly rough about bike bags since it does not fit under their size. I would not want to get somewhere and be told I couldn’t fly my bike home.
American, Delta, and United are the only three I’ll consider now when flying with a bike.
Please share what you find, This has been my limiting factor in ever considering using Southwest. I’d also suggest getting what ever info in writing and carrying it with you. IME, regardless of airline, Gate Agents/baggage agents, don’t know their own companies policies and will make stuff up.
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I’ve also had great experiences with Alaska Airlines(I think they were the first one to not charge a ‘bike fee’)
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30 years ago shipping cargo did not involve gate agents or baggage agents.
Maybe I’m back to renting bikes, or buying a cheap used bike and leaving it at my brother-in-laws in Phoenix. Might take my Giant Escape and do that in January.
I swore I had some but can’t find them. I’ll snap a few pics after work today.
I’ve flown Southwest using the Orucase B2 before as it fits underneath their size limit. It also doesn’t look like a bike bag so I told them it was physical therapy equipment and checked it for free.
There’s a size 60 road bike in there! Pain in the arse having to take the fork off though
Those SW dimensions are odd, because of course if they are linear inches nothing would work. It would seem odd to say that you can ship a bike, but then publish a size limit that no bike box would meet. I wonder if they might mean max length/width dimensions?
I have an older Scicon hard case, that I use for my 58cm trek Emonda (with seat mast, which is the tightest factor). I’ve done a dry run with my 58 checkpoint, and it looks like it won’t be an issue even though the frame is a bit longer, but the seat post is fully removable.
I would love a way not to remove the bars, but I would rather deal with that than go with a soft sided case. I think if I got a new one I’d look hard at the Pakgo as well, it looks good. But I would definitely stick with a hard sided case.
And I speak as someone who works around planes all the time, and did my time as a baggage handler many years ago.
I flew SW with an Aerocomfort 3.0 earlier this year. They didn’t measure and didn’t seem the least bit bothered. Didn’t even charge me the $75 one of the directions of my round-trip.