Hello all,
Can you talk about your experiences with your Soft shell or hard shell bike bags?
Which one do you have?
Do you like it? If you have a soft shell, would you prefer getting a hard shell?
If you have a hard shell, do you prefer getting a softshell due to the weight?
I am paranoid about Airlines breaking my precious bike frame. Therefore, I am shopping for a Hard Shell Bike Bag and one that accommodates Disk Road Bikes and Non-Disk Road Bikes. I am open for a Soft Shell if the protection is good.
I was wondering if you have suggestions?
From my research, thus far, I have found the following. Soft Shell
Aerocomfort 3.0 TSA Road Case
I’ve been using the Ruster Sports Armored Hen house. Many trips no damage, but, honestly, compared to others it’s a PITA. When and if I buy another it will be an Evoc soft bag. A few team mates trabel with them no problems for years…
I have an Evoc Pro soft shell with the added base to secure the dropouts. I have traveled with my carbon road bike several times without incident. My son used it to travel from US to Australia and back with his carbon bike with no problems. When I researched bags I found articles suggesting that soft cases may be handled more carefully than hard cases - hard cases being put on bottom of piles “because they can handle it”.
I’m not sure about that - what I know is that with several trips now there is not a mark on the bag anywhere. It seems to have been handled very carefully by SWA and Quantus. (I did put a “FRAGILE” tag on for what that is worth.
I do pack carefully - removing bars, pedals, etc. I use bubble wrap and foam pipe insulation to wrap all carbon parts and provide a cushion layer around bike. I also use the bag to pack my cycling clothes up to the weight limit with provides further protection.
One benefit of soft cases is storage - The Evoc has removable frame parts and folds down to a manageable size to store away.
@jmm Thanks for your feedback. I found a more recent version of the Evc Pro soft shell. Looks like it came out a few months ago. Pricey but seems to be worth it.
THat does seem to be an improved and more expensive model. Mine was about US$600 if I remember correctly. One other tip - buy a chain cover if it doesn’t come with one - that will protect anything else you put in the bag from the grime on the chain.
I have the Scion AeroTech and have used it with Bikeflights and as a checked bag both domestically and internationally. Never had any issues with it.
However, it is heavy and doesn’t work with my current road frame without significant disassembly (requires you to rotate the front end significantly and on my systemsix it isn’t possible without disassembling the entire front end of the bike)
So, I have just purchased the Aerocomfort TT case (black friday sale) for some upcoming trips overseas
Ok well this thread got necro-ed by a spambot but as long as it’s here, I wrote up my experiences with a BikeBoxAlan (hard) and an EVOC Bike Travel Bag Pro (soft) in 2019:
