Hire Hard Bike Box
- Thread starter MrVandal
- Start date
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jay clock
Massive member
- Location
- Hampshire UK
try your local bike shop? mine rents them. However I use a cardboard bike box (free) and you can always line itwith hardboard if you want to increase protection. get a front fork spacer (also free from LBS) and remove the rear mech (leave chain on if you want and tie mech to frame)
Enjoy it!
Enjoy it!
Might be worth saying who your LBS are. No help to the guy from Belfast, but there may well be people in Hampshire/SE England who'd be interested.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
How about suggesting to Chain Reaction Cycles that they start to offer that service? They could sell you the box and then buy it back off you for (say) £50 less when you get back.
Mind you, I think the Polaris Bike Pod from them at £215.99 is a bargain. My new Bianchi's frame was dented on its very first flight in a bike bag. I bought a bike box after that...
Mind you, I think the Polaris Bike Pod from them at £215.99 is a bargain. My new Bianchi's frame was dented on its very first flight in a bike bag. I bought a bike box after that...
jay clock
Massive member
- Location
- Hampshire UK
It is Peter Hansford in Winchester
jay clock
Massive member
- Location
- Hampshire UK
I went to Lanzarote last week and used a cardboard box with hardboard side panels. this was not enough to prevent some slight handlebar bending (hard to see which side but one of the STI levers was an inch higher than the other. I "invested" in a BikeBoxAlan from a shop there at about the same price as it would be in the UK and it made it back in perfect condition. www.bikeboxalan.co.uk . I paid €450 for a red one. It really is a superb piece of kit and although an obscene amount of money I have two trips next year so realy cannot afford to risk the cardboard box option. And before anyone asks, no I will not be lending it!
jay clock
Massive member
- Location
- Hampshire UK
just noticed you can hire them..... http://www.bikeboxalan.co.uk/#hire
i think the skicon box is around 700 euro (thats the one i have)
would you believe on the Spain trip couple years back, the idiots managed to break the bottom of the box
one of the casters was left hanging off ,now it's a bit of a pain to steer it in a straight line.
guess i should have claimed when i discovered it at the airport,but i didn't
would you believe on the Spain trip couple years back, the idiots managed to break the bottom of the box
one of the casters was left hanging off ,now it's a bit of a pain to steer it in a straight line.
guess i should have claimed when i discovered it at the airport,but i didn't
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Exactly the same thing happened to mine! I cut and bent a piece of sheet aluminium to fit inside the corner of the box, pushed the castor back into its correct position and then Araldited the metal reinforcement in place. The repair has survived 3 return flights since then.
Tedx
New Member
I've sent my bike in cardboard box quite a few times now with no problems. I wouldn't pay all that money for a bike box then have to mess about sending to my destination which cost even more money. Pack the bike well by taking as much off as you can, support the bendy parts (fork drop outs etc) and stuff with padding. Shouldn't be a problem.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
My brand new Bianchi which I paid £2,000 for in 1999 went on its first overseas trip in a cardboard bike box. Being a cautious type, I also put pipe lagging on the frame and forks, and wrapped it in bubble-wrap and put the whole lot in a bike bag. I thought to myself "That little lot should protect my bike from careless baggage handlers!"
So there I was, sitting on a plane at the airport, watching baggage being unloaded below my window. Suddenly I saw my bike bag come flying out of the hold and land on a pile of suitcases about 6 feet below...
I get the bag to my hotel, unpack the bike and discover that my new frame is dented. Just great...
I bought a SciCon bike box to use on subsequent holidays. There has been no more damage to my bikes, though (as mentioned above) the baggage handlers did manage to break the corner of the box on one holiday flight!
jay clock
Massive member
- Location
- Hampshire UK
I used to think that but will repeat/rephrase what I said above. I have used a cardboard box several times with no hassle (touring bike and once with cheaper road bike -Trek 1.2)
Last week I went to Lanzarote and did the same. For extra support I cut sheets of hardboard to line it. I put my £3000 road bike in it and when I got there I had one STI lever higher than the other and I think the bars are bent. Not badly but worrying. Hence buying a Bike Box Alan. I am going to Lanzarote and Austria in 2011 so figured I needed to stump up the cash.
At a different end of the spectrum for my tourer I usually use the http://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/shop.html bag - have just binned one after about 5 uses. They weigh 550g and will fit in a pannier or on the rack. Remove pedals, swivel handlebars and drop saddle right down. I take tons of cables ties fix pedals to rack etc, and I also unscrew the rear mech (leave all cables on) and cable tie it to the frame to prevent the hanger being bent. On Flybe I use a spacer for the front forks. To tape up the bag I use heavy duty clear tape from B&Q - has a checkered pattern, and tears easily, does not unstick in use, but can be peeled off afterwards.
As a precaution for anyone saying “that is not a bike bag” I print a screen shot of the Bike Adventures website showing the bag on sale and in use. I also print the airline’s own terms and conditions just in case.
i loaned the box out to a guy would you believe he actually broke the repair i made.
i didn't mind so much ,but he didn't tell me so he wont be getting it again.
your repair sounds good i will try that out ,next time i use it.
cheers.
