Real world experience with Bikebox Alan

[sungod]

How heavy are these things?

Max 20kg weight for bikes on the airline I mostly use, and would expect a hard box to eat into that.

bba site says...

Max height 92cm Min height 75cm x 113cm Long x 23cm min to 32cm Thickness. Weight 11.2 Kg.

fwiw i use monarch mostly, 30kg allowance for bikes

mine is usually about 23kg (i have hold/cabin baggage too)

[Grill]

What hire cars will a BBA fit into if travelling with family?

Pretty much any estate will take it with the seats up. Honda Jazz/Fit will swallow the damn thing.

[kulcha]

fwiw i wrapped the pole in bubble wrap, it makes it 'stand up' in about the right position and i figured if it does get opened/closed maybe there's less chance of spokes being damaged

Ditto

Great share
Will do it when I travel to Bangkok in another 2 weeks.

[cyclespeed]

Just packed my BBA for the 1st time, and it's all a learning curve!

Not quite as straight forward as I'd been expecting.

Many thanks to Sungod for hints and tips.

Firstly, the rear wheel tyre touches the front wheel's spokes, near the hub. For me this is a 'Bad Thing'! Fully deflating the tyre helps, but with tubs I prefer not to, but hey......

Secondly, you have to be very sure that nothing in the lower case can reach up and touch the wheels. For me this meant putting the handlebars in a non-conventional position, and for peace of mind I removed the rear mech too. THe trouble is you just don't know for sure if anything is touching or not as you can't see inside when you close the lid. I don't like taking the rear mech off as it's a tight thread and always seems tough to remove.

But I'm reasonably happy with how it is now, and the box is very solid. Fingers crossed!

[sungod]

if you close the lid, wait a few seconds and open it, the foam retains an imprint of any pressure points for a while, this can help identify any tight spots

an alternative is spread a sheet of newspaper under the foam layer, it'll crease/puncture wherever things are tight

once you've found the best position to pack things, take a photo and keep it on your phone ready for next time

[Stueys]

I followed this guide http://bikeboxalan.co.uk/index.php?pg=packaging the first couple of times.

Interestingly you've got your bike the inverse way that I pack mine, mine goes gear side down. Agree re the tyre touching the spokes, I fully deflate so it's a light touch and it doesn't seem to have caused any issues.

[1415chris]

I pack my bikes other way round, but I can imagine that with the smaller frames it doesn't matter. Where is your foam dividing wheels from the rest?

[cyclespeed]

I pack my bikes other way round, but I can imagine that with the smaller frames it doesn't matter. Where is your foam dividing wheels from the rest?

I left that last piece of foam out for the photo, but don't worry, I did use it!

The only thing I saw when I opened it was a small indentation where my rear wheel QR was touching the foam. Otherwise nothing.

Arrived in Majorca, but haven't had time to actually unpack the bike yet. Too hot, 33'C!