Flight box.

[Brandane]

Having just endured a week in Lanzarote on a not-so-cheap (but nasty) rented bike.....

I am now looking into the possibility of taking my own bike the next time I go abroad. I don't trust the protection of a soft bike bag in the hands of baggage handlers who can't read the word "Fragile" (or just don't care). The other alternative of course is a hard plastic bike case but most I have seen are prohibitively expensive unless you are travelling regularly.

Then I saw this one:

http://www.thebikeboxcompany.co.uk/

For £130 it seems like good value, but I am well aware that cheap (compared to others, that is!) doesn't always mean a bargain. So does anyone have one and is it any good?

 

[david1701]

on a vaguely unrelated note does anyone fedex/ups their bikes to the hotel?

when my mate works abroad he mails his stuff to his assistant at the hotel/studio out there in peli cases (bit costly for shipping a bike in but you get the idea) and this is kit 10x the cost of the dearest bikes I've seen and it arrives safe and sound

 

[canamrider]

This looks a lot like the dhb box from Wiggle. It's pretty heavy at 13.5 kgs so you've got to have a bike at 6.5 kg max to fit in at 20 kg which is the limit for some airlines (eg Ryan Air) or you'll be paying extra if it goes over.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I took my Cayo Pro with me to Lanzarote last year and hired a box from, http://www.bikeshak.com/. It was actually a box from, http://bikeboxalan.co.uk/ and it was a truly fantastic piece of kit.
I managed to get away with checking it in as mu luggage at Manchester when I was going out, (flew with Jet2), but coming back I got pulled at Arrecife and had to pay around £35 to get it back to the UK, although from conversations I've since had it seems I got lucky at Manchester as they usually charge both ways.
I can't remember the cost, but it was very reasonable IMHO, and I just feel that unless you are travelling with your bike several times a year, it's not worth the cost of buying one, at least not a hard shell type as they need a room to themselves to store them as well.
Overal, I'd hire this again everytime I go away.