Looking to buy a bike travel box / bag to keep my pride & joy safe in the hands of the baggage handlers! Any advice would be great.
Cheers nick.

I think there have been several threads on this topic in the past. I've used BikePro cases for a long time with no problems. http://www.bikeprousa.com/ They'll ship or there used to be some on line dealers who sold their stuff. Heck, they even shipped to me in Canada and the case arrived in about a week. The case is heavy and you'll be charged oversize baggage charges but we've taken bikes to Europe many times and even to Brazil when my son was competing in Pan Am Games. We've never had bike damage and they're easy enough to pack that my son taught my wife in about half an hour when she took her bike to France.

If you're going to travel a lot, an S&S coupled bike is a lot easier to deal with on the airlines. No oversize charge. My all steel Independent Fabrication weighs a ton (well, just over 21 pounds before I put on pedals) but it's been all over the place with no problems. My wife got a ti Seven last year that only weighs about 18.5 pounds even with triple, 28 mm tires and heavy pedals and saddle. There's also the Ritchey break-away that should be a bit cheaper.

Scicon hard cases are very good. I flew them extensively across Europe and beyond and never had a problem.

http://www.sciconbags.com/en/items/19-bike-bags

I used the AeroTech Evolution model (very rigid), weighs around 12-13kg so no extra charges for weight, just sport equipment charges

Thanks for the advice, think the Scicon will be the box to buy. I'm off to Italy twice this year so it's time I bought a box instead of hiring.
Cheers nick.

Ive tried several and one stands head and heals above all the rest. At 8kg for a hard case which is easy to carry around (4 wheels) its unbeatable. Ive flown about 10times with it and it still looks good as new and has done the job of protecting my bike flawelessy every time.

http://bikeboxalan.co.uk/

I bought mine from planet x for about 450quid

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Cervelo P4 + G3 Powertap (7.78kg)
Cervelo SLC + SRAM Red 2013 + Red Quarq (6.8kg)

Ah, never thought about a bikeboxalan. Only about a 40 min drive from me. I will have a look.
Cheers nick.

It depends what you're doing when you get there. I like this: http://www.triall3sports.com/cases-bike.php, which let's you bring two road or road and TT in one case. Perfect.

I bought a Pika Packworks case (http://www.pikapackworks.com) and travelled abroad with it this fall. This is NOT your garden-variety soft case. Excellent design, bomber protection, light weight, compact, and easy to store at your destination. Also, it's not immediately recognized at the airline counter as a bike case- I avoided the obscenely high baggage charges in both directions, which more than paid for the case!

I have a Polaris Bike Pod. It is a 6.7kg EVA foam case - so the protection of a solid hard case and closer to the weight of a bike bag.

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Another vote for bikeboxalan. Their customer service was... "rustic", but all design requests adhered to and shipped when they said it would. Very solid and not too heavy.

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I've had some trouble flying to Hawai'i and back being charged WAY more because it was a bike. Some airlines have a different price for a bike than if it were just luggage, sporting goods, whatever...

So it may save money if the one you choose doesn't look like it has a bike in it, or say bike on it.

I don't really think the baggage handlers would care if they knew it had a bike in it anyways and treat it more delicately or whatever.

My safest flight, I spent the time to wrap everything in bubble wrap, every tube, every part.

I have the deluxe model of these http://www.thebikeboxcompany.co.uk can't fault it. Taken some hammer on the outside. It's a bit snug and you can't get much else in but does the job and is a manageable size and weight

I think video clips are in order here.

Crate works (Plastic board --I have used this box and has made several trips with no issues. It's cheap and effective)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGYCBQjue_o

Sci-con (Expensive)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmxXdUP1Rng

Pika Packworks (bag)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBcAZe5zpfo

Thule Bike Box (Hard shell)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8iaRdiU5H0

Standard bike box (cardboard)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uTQLln9eOw

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Trico Iron Case, simple and tough. No protruding wheels, locks or clasps to get damaged.

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Trico Iron Case may be fine if properly packed, but if inspected and not properly repacked by security personnel, e.g., TSA in U.S.A., then your bike might not fare so well.