How to choose my bike travel bag? The 9 things to look at before buying
How to choose choose my bike travel bag? The 9 things to look at before buying
Ever thought about travelling with your bike like this?
No way ! bike travel bags exist.
The offer is wide on the internet, and it’s not easy to find the best one or the most adapted.
If you struggle to make the right choice, this article is made for you.
It will help you understand the key things to look at when you buy a bike travel bag.
Let’s get right into it.
What use are you going to have? Questions that matter
These are few major questions that you have to ask yourself. Answers will help you defined what is the best for you.
Are you going to be using your bike travel bag for few trips by train or car only?
Are you going to be using your bike travel bag for plane transport only?
How often plan you to use your bike travel bag?
Are you going to be using your bike travel bag as a storage bag in your garage, Hôtel or outside?
Depending on the frequency and the utilization, you will need something for the long term. Here are the 9 things to look at:
- The quality of the materials
- The quality of the zipper
- The protection of the derailleur
- Bag sizes and specific shapes
- The protection of the fork
- Wheels storage and transport
- Handling and bag balance
- Fast and ease of use
- A storage bag for your bike travel bag
- The quality of the materials
A lot of the bags available on the market are made of non-resistant or non-adapted materials for the transport of a bike. Moreover, most of them are not PVC FREE, while this material is about to be prohibited all around the world. Which makes these bike travel bags with PVC, condemned bags.
There is no point to buy a bike travel bag for a long-term if its use is going to be prohibited in the near future.
Materials like Nylon 240/400 or even better like PE600D will be the preferred materials for this type of products. These materials are made to be stretched while keeping their strength over the time.
A bike travel bag made of Nylon 240/400 or PE600D doubled with a washable material like recyclable TPE/TPU without PVC or PVC FREE, will be even better.
Buds-Sports travel bags are all made of Nylon 240 or PE600D.
- The quality of the zipper
The zipper is an often-neglected point. If your unique zipper breaks, your bag can’t be closed and by a simple mishandling, your bike can accidently get out of the bag during transport.
Guess you don’t want that right?
Prefer a bag that has two good quality zippers, it makes it easier to open and close, and gives you the possibility to still close it if one breaks.
- The protection of the derailleur
Most of the bike travel bags available on the market force you to remove both wheels. Once your back wheel is removed, your bike has no more support to stay on. Put your bike directly on the derailleur is risky and can damage it and/or the structure of your bike.
To avoid the risk of damaging the bike structure, it is best to keep the rear wheel (if your bike travel bag allows it) or have an additional accessory that protects and supports your bike during transport.
This accessory is rarely sold with the bag, but you can find it separately on internet for less than $30.
At Buds-Sports, the “MTbag” and “Roadbag” collections allows you to keep the rear wheel. Moreover, you can get a universal bike support if you choose to get a bike travel bag that force you to remove both wheels.
- Bag sizes and specific shapes
Before buying any bike travel bag, be sure of the dimensions of the bag that you are looking to buy and the dimensions of your bike (with and without the seat and the handle). It would not be a smart move to buy a bag where your bike can’t fit in.
To be as accurate as possible, we advise you to take your bike dimensions precisely (see the images below).
If you are buying a bag that allows you to keep the rear wheel, prefer a rounded shape travel/case. It’s more adapted
to the shape of the bike and will more likely to last over the time.
Moreover, some bikes have bigger wheels than the majority, don’t forget to take this in consideration.
All Buds-Sports bike travel bags are rounded shape bags.
- The protection of the fork
Same as for the derailleur, the fork is an essential element of the bike structure than can be damaged during transport.
A mishandling of the bike travel bag during transport can unset the adjustments of the brake, or worse, damage the fork.
Don’t risk to damage your bike/fork during transport, be wise and get a fork bike protect at the same time that you buy your bike travel bag. You can find it for lower than $30 on the internet.
Note that a fork bike protect is offered with most of our bike travel bags.
- Wheels storage and transport
Removing your wheels to transport your bike ok, but where does the wheels go?
Two solutions:
- Dedicated pocket inside the bag
An adapted and safe pocket for wheels should have a central reinforcement. The pocket needs to be adapted and not let the wheel get out of the pockets during transport. It could damage the bike.
- Independent wheel bag
Most of the bike travel bags on the market have enough space inside to bag to pack the wheels at the same time. However, we don’t recommend to put them inside the bag “just like that”.
The best would be separate wheel bags that can be stored inside the bag. A central padding is recommended to avoid damage to the wheels.
- Handling and bag balance
The handles need to be large enough for a comfortable transport. A lot of the travel bags handles are too small and doesn’t allow you to carry the bag on your shoulder.
The handles need to be proportional to the size of the bag, 11.8 to 20 inches handles are the best for bike travel bags.
- Fast and ease of use
Are you really willing to take 10mn of your time to pack your bike within your travel bag, plus ending being all dirty?
No one wants that, this is why having a bike travel bag that allows you to pack your bike faster and easier is recommended.
But how?
First of all, the less bike components you’ll need to remove, the faster you will pack it. This is why, we recommend bike travel bags and cases that allows you to pack your bike by removing front wheel ONLY.
You may need to remove your handle or/and the seat if your bike dimension is exceptionally bigger than majority.
- A bag for your bike travel bag
Most of the bike travel bags are not sold with a storage. Having a storage bag for your bag is handful, and easier to store your bag when you’re not using it.
Moreover, it can be use for your dirty and wet close after your ride.
All the Buds-Sports bike travel bags comes with a storage bag.
Conclusion
Choosing the most adapted bike travel bike according to your needs is not that easy. You need to be aware of the things that matters and why it matters.
Buds-Sports products have been designed to fill all the requirements that are important for a safe and easy transport.
You have a bike and need to travel with it ? we got what is best for you.
Adapted to fit all the requirements defined by planes, trains and other transportation, the Buds-Sports bike travel bags are the perfect solution to take your bike wherever you go.