All hell breaks loose at Munich Airport. 274 check-in counters and up to 40 million passengers a year. Every hour, 30,000 pieces of luggage can be transported and loaded by hand. Not every suitcase is handled with kid gloves. Do you still want to hold your bike safely in your arms at baggage reclaim? Then you'd better pack it properly. Preferably not in the minimal version prescribed by most airlines - cardboard box, handlebars turned 90 degrees and pedals removed. There are much better methods. BIKE compared six systems costing between 84 and 555 euros. The test included four soft cases from Evoc, Rose, Scicon and Scott and two hard cases from Elite and Universal Cases.
First step: pack up. Each test candidate has to hold a fully with a frame size of 20 inches. Packing the bike is easy with the soft cases: open the zip, place the bike in the bag and stow the wheels, pedals and quick-release skewers in the pockets provided. Perfect if the zip can be opened completely, as is the case with Rose. With Scott, you first have to attach the insulating material to the side walls. This can be a game of patience. Afterwards, however, the bike is well protected in the bag. The Elite case can be opened 180 degrees and is therefore also easy to pack. The bike is placed in the case and secured with straps. A thick layer of foam separates the frame from the wheels. With the First Class from Universal Cases, the bike is strapped to a length-adjustable holder using a quick-release. The bike sits securely. However, you can only get the quick release into the holder if you unscrew it and lift it out of the case. That's a bit awkward.
Evoc offers a really good solution. The bag stands on its own and can be opened completely from the side. The bike is placed in the bag and secured with Velcro. The rear triangle rests on a polystyrene block and the bottom bracket and rear derailleur are protected. The suspension fork is stored in an extra padded holder. The wheels can be stowed separately on the outside. There is enough space for pedals, quick-release skewers and accessories in additional pockets.
Soft bags lighter, hard-shell cases more stable
At the airport, you can see who has the edge when it comes to handling. The soft bags are carried on the shoulder strap like a sports bag. Due to their low weight, this is fine. However, there are differences: Rose's shoulder strap can be adjusted and easily adapted to your height. This is also possible with Scott and Scicon. However, both straps slip off the shoulder more easily. Evoc and Elite each have two fixed wheels. Unfortunately, the axle of the Elite Vaison is a little narrow - the case tends to tip over. The handle is so unfavourably positioned that the case can only be pulled with the left hand. And the case is also quite heavy: a whole 32 kilos (20 kilos of case plus twelve kilos of bike) have to be heaved off the luggage belt. Evoc does it better. Large wheels, a wide axle and the centre of gravity almost above the wheels make handling child's play. There are also enough handles and straps to lift the bag in any position. The case from Universal Cases comes on four swivelling castors. This is actually ideal, but the case tends to swerve out of place when cornering. In addition, the handle is so far down that people over 1.70 metres tall have to stoop to pull the First Class Case behind them.
Now it's time to get down to business. After check-in, the bags and suitcases roll into the baggage handling area. In most cases, a bike packed in a soft case is very comfortable to transport. However, the bags do not provide quite as much protection as a hard-shell case. We recommend additional protection: Pad all tubes with foam, remove the rear derailleur, protect the bottom bracket from impacts and insert spacers in the fork and dropouts. Nevertheless, a soft case can do little to protect against pressure from above. Only the Scott bag has enough padding material to protect the contents from falls and pressure loads. Hard cases offer better protection. In the Elite Vaison, the bike rests between two thick layers of foam, secured by four straps. You can even stand on the thick, elasticated plastic cover without damaging the bike. The Universal Cases box also offers the best protection. Clamped into the holder on the floor, the bike stands in the box without touching the sturdy outer walls. The wheels are lashed to the frame on the left and right. The Evoc bag offers the best compromise between a lightweight shell and the best possible protection. GRP reinforcements on the front sides ensure stability. Additional struts on the side prevent the wheel axles from being pushed through. This also prevents the brake discs from being bent. Inside, the fork is secured by a padding and two extra buckles. The rear derailleur is protected behind the impact-resistant chassis.
Conclusion on the test of bike cases and bike bags
If you rarely fly on holiday, the Rose Containerbag Pro is a comfortable and, above all, affordable way to travel. The Scott bag offers more protection. However, this comes at a high price. The very expensive solutions from Elite and Universal Cases are particularly suitable for frequent travellers. For bikes with carbon frames, the hard-shell cases are definitely the recommended option. We were really impressed by the Bike Travelbag from Evoc. No other model offers such well thought-out detailed solutions. The protective effect is good and the handling is excellent. Tip: Before buying a bike case, you should check whether you can fit it in your boot.
You can find these bike cases and bike bags in the test
- Elite Vaison
- Evoc Bike Travelbag
- Rose Containerbag Pro
- Scicon Travel Plus MTB
- Scott Transportbag Deluxe
- Universal Cases First Class
You can find the test results for the bike cases and bags in the PDF download below.
How to pack a mountain bike correctly for the flight
1 Mark the extension height of the seat post with tape. Pull out the support and protect it with heating pipe insulation.
2 Shift to the largest chainring and smallest sprocket. Unscrew the pedals, remove the wheels and pack the pedals together with the quick-releases in a small box.
3 Turn the crank parallel to the chain stay and secure it with cable ties to the chain stay protected with pipe insulation. 4 Remove the rear derailleur and wrap it in bubble wrap. Tie the protected rear derailleur to the chain stay with cable ties.
5 Remove the handlebars (possibly with stem) and place them in the case. Bubble wrap between the frame and handlebars protects against scratches.
6 Sensitive carbon frames should be protected from scratches and dents with insulating material and bubble wrap.
7 Pack the wheels. Wheel bags (e.g. B&W Wheel Guard for approx. 24 euros, www.b-w-international.com) are a sensible investment, also for transporting dirty wheels in the car.
8 Place the packed wheels in the case with the sprocket pointing inwards in the area of the frame triangle. Finally, loop a lashing strap around the closed case. Safe is safe.
Downloads:
Stefan Frey
Editor
