Bike Case/ Air Travel

Discussion in 'Gear and Accessory Reviews' started by Stkx66, Oct 3, 2021.


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  1. Stkx66

    Stkx66 iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Southern California
    Name:
    Steve
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower 27+/ 29r
    I bought a Thule Transition hard bike case from Back Country before our recent trip to Costa Rica so I could have my own trusted bike. As it turns out, me being all Rico Suave, using Active Junky to drop cost was a wash because Back Country uses a third party delivery service for additional cost of 150.00. ( large item delivery ) It took 3 weeks and multiple phone calls to eventually cancel the order due to poor customer service from the delivery company, Ceva Logistics. With stock low I found another Thule case at Rack Attack in Pasadena. The weight of the Thule Transition bike case was 39 lbs. My bike weighs around 30. I stripped off all my add on tools to keep it under 70lbs. to keep weight in the lower cost bracket. 70 lbs. and under was $100.00 one way to Costa Rica from LAX. 70 lbs. and over was $200. There is an accessory tripod in the case that your bike attaches to for ease of assembly ( better for a road bike ) but I could easily attach the handlebars in the case to by pass this cool feature. Without the tripod the case weighed 35 lbs. I was able to have a complete bike in the case with my helmet too which I took to my local Fed Ex and had them weigh it on their floor scale at 69.15 lbs. I put all my accessories in my regular luggage: Tools, tubes, pump, etc. ( No C02 for air travel ) But I had c02 in my back pack I missed which got through.

    Thule Transition Bike Case $ 850.00
    Round Trip Air travel to Costa Rica from LAX $100.00 there $ 150.00 return.
    I did see soft sided bike cases in the airport but I have no regrets on the costlier hard sided case I chose.

    $850.00 is a lot of cheese for luggage, the price of a fork, but I look at it as a long term purchase.
    ** I had to drag my case around the corner at LAX for further inspection after check in. The meatheads did not know how to put the case lid back on correctly so I stood there and offered help which they eventually reluctantly accepted. I'm glad I waited-
    The Thule Transition bike case mount for the front fork was not Boost so I made my own spacing washers to make up the difference.
    I put a zip tie through both wheel axle holes and around the hub to keep it all together. When I pulled the rear wheel out of its case at our resort in Costa Rica the zip tie was gone.
    One more edit: I bought this toilet brush at a store and used the resorts golf cart/ handling cart disinfectant cleaning station to clean my bike best I could before our return to the USA. I read somewhere that inspectors do not want to see foreign dirt coming into respective countries.
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    mtnbikej, Mikie, Faust29 and 7 others like this.
  2. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Very glad to see Gumby was safe!
    Thanks for these travel tips!
     
  3. Sasquatch9billion

    Sasquatch9billion iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    trinidad j. mendez
    ;);););)You could probably rent it out on here to recoup some of the dough.
    I am considering taking my bike to Athen, GA. To ride with my bro-in-law.;)
     
  4. 406

    406 Member

    Location:
    San Diego
    Name:
    Brian
    Current Bike:
    Ripmo
    Yep, TSA is the problem with hard cases, they open them and never close them correctly. Some airports it is done out of sight, so you can't repack yourself. Soft case with zippers is way to go. I also use the pipe insulation, but cover almost all the frame.

    Instagram Link
     
    DangerDirtyD and mtbMike like this.
  5. Stkx66

    Stkx66 iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Southern California
    Name:
    Steve
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower 27+/ 29r
    Here is a couple of pics of the stand I removed and left at home for our trip and did just fine assembling my bike without it. If I had a lighter bike or road bike the stand is a nice accessory to have but the goal was to keep combined weight under 70 lbs. Thule RoundTrip Transition bike case.

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    mtnbikej, pperrelle, Danimal and 2 others like this.
  6. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    Chicken Nugget
    Current Bike:
    2018 Guerrilla Gravity SMASH
    That looks like a super fancy telescope.
     
  7. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    That Hightower has seen some adventures... :thumbsup:

    I'm getting the itch to put mine back together... :whistling:
     
    mtnbikej likes this.
  8. Stkx66

    Stkx66 iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Southern California
    Name:
    Steve
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower 27+/ 29r
    I'm putting it back together today with 27.5 x 2.8 wheels for sandy conditions.
    This Hightower has been my go-to bike for the unknown places I've visited. It covers most of the trail conditions I've run into. As it gets older hearing the rocks bounce off the wheels and frame well... I get less upset about the damage. :whistling: Really happy with it. :D
     


As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?