Packing the bike case for the trip to Ironman Hawaii 2008


The Roof Box Company is supporting my trip to Ironman Hawaii 2008

The bike fits onto a frame which goes into a giant hardshell case

The case is big but fits easily in a British taxi! Here I am being dropped of on a foggy morning at Birmingham International Airport

Wheeling the bike around the airport is easy. there are 4 wheels and a handle which makes it effortless.

The bike case being scanned at oversize luggage

The dangers of travelling with an expensive bike
Traveling with an expensive bike is always something that keeps my mind occupied. Knowing how much the bikes get thrown around at airports and knowing how fragile some of the carbon fibre parts are, it is easy to see how a bike can get damaged.

Travelling with professional cycling teams I have seen a lot of bikes damaged, deraillers bent, wheels buckled, paint scratched etc etc. Therefore it is crucial to have a good bike case and to pack the bike in the safest possible way. Over the years I have tried many different bike cases and I have flown to many foreign destinations. Last year for example I went to 4 Ironman races abroad and one Ironman 70.3 race and I flew 30 times out of Birmingham Airport, many of those trips with my bike. The chances of getting damage to my bike increase of course with the number of flights.

My solution
I have now found a solution in what I think is the safest bike case available. It is a case manufactured by the German company B&W and distributed in the UK by the Roof Box company. Yes, it is a big case, but that makes packing easy and travelling is very comfortable, because it has 4 wheels and a handle so it is very easy to carry around. I have used this bike case for over 3 years now and not had a single problem. Well, the bike case itself got damaged, locks, wheels, handle, but those parts are all easy to replace. In fact when you buy a case, it already comes with a few of those spares.

How it works
Basically, you take your wheels off your bike, the bike goes onto a frame with quick release. The wheels are mounted next to the bike with their one quick release. With my normal bike, I dont have to unscrew anything, I dont have to turn handlebars, take out seatposts or anything like that which is common for most bike cases. With my normal road bike packing takes me about a minute. Packing my time trial bike with aerobars takes a little longer because here I have to losen the bars and point them downwards to make it fit. The process may now take 5 min at most. I usually add some bubble wrap to protect the wheels and the frame a bit more and that is it! Then I add a pump, helmets, some tools and a wetsuit in some cases. A more detailed explanation of how the bike case works and more pictures can be found here.

The bike case
The reasons why I love this bike case so much and why I think it is the best bike case available at the moment are:

1. It is extremely easy to pack
2. It is extremely fast
3. Easier to carry than most bike cases despite its size
4. Extremely safe and secure because of frame and hardshell
5. Plenty of space to pack extra stuff in the bike case
6. Easy to pack an extra wheel (or even wheels) in the case

In my opinion these advantages far outweight the possible disadvantages which are:
1. The bike case is larger than most and therefore does not fit in every car. This has not really been a problem for me. It fits easily in a taxi and the case, despite its size is still easier to carry than most cases.
2. The bike case is slightly heavier than some bike cases which means that it may way 25-29 kg once packed with bike and other stuff. Because there usually is a fixed rate for taking a bicycle (unless it exceeds about 30kg), this is not really an issue.

Read more and see photos