smoochy
08-22-2006, 05:48 PM
Setting: Vancouver and abroad
Plot: Go places with bike, ride
Characters: Max, Master Plan Dan
Prelude:
The past few years, i've had to travel a fair amount for work, usually for several weeks at a time, and usually to warm places that have sweet trails. My first travels were with a cardboard box, and involved hefty airline fees. To counter the flow of cash, i designed and made my own bike bag - a zippered rectangle of cordura that was stuffed with foam padding and required fork removal for proper fit. This bag worked well and protected the goods for about 2 years, during which time I still got charged handling fees, got sick of the elaborate disassembly and the lack of castors (American airports charge to use the luggage carts - to hell with that, i'll (grunt) carry.. my *gasp* bags...). that, and the arrival of a new, slightly larger bike forced me to make the move to the Dakine side.
Cresendo:
Nothing ensures that you will stay put better than making purchases that will enable you to wander. The first several months of ownership involved a) going nowhere, b) snowboarding my brains out and c) finally, going somewhere - New Brunswick in March, a truly bikeless enterprise. The first use the bag saw was actually by my good friend Dan, who had to ship a bike home from Ontario - his impressions are welcome here. Unfortunately, due to schedule changes, Dan did not get home before I had to leave for AZ in June - foiled! This time around, i guarded my case jealously, and have come through fire and water and Utah to my home away from home - with my bike of bikes...
Climax:
Considering that I'd never packed this particular bike into this particular case, and yet the whole ordeal only too about 30 minutes says alot. wheels, rotors, brake calipers, handlebar came off, axle spacers were inserted, small parts went into the internal pockets, a few strips of extra foam were tossed in to better pad the bike and the whole mess was laid down and compressed while the zipper made a strained path around the piping. some points and counter-points:
1a) the size of this thing is HUGE when it is sitting in your living room or when you are trying to squeeze it into an economy rental car.
1b) the size of this thing is less huge when you are trying to fit a big bike in to it, or when you see what retired American cruise goers take off the luggage carousel.
2a) the wheels on this bag, and the retractable handle make life better.
2b) the wheels on this bag, and the retractable handle make you shove a few extra things in - and then it gets heavy. and then you have to carry it down the stairs.
3a) it is really well made and tough, and i could feel the confidence in my veins as the zippers kissed each other in the corner.
3b) it is really well made and tough, but one critical spot got missed - the narrow corner on the wheeled end, floor side (opposite the long edge double handle) already has a hole in it because that's where it gets dragged when the luggage handlers don't feel like carrying 60+ lbs. this should be the same rubbery stuff as the reinforced areas.
4a) the zipper had a tendancy to skip teeth unless you are careful when closing.
4b) be careful.
Conclusion:
all in all, i'm really stoked about this case, and it has proven worth the cash already. lighter and cheaper than a hard-case, more convenient than my little flimsy sack, i'm stoked to use it again and again and again and again... and ride my bike at the other end of course...
Max
Plot: Go places with bike, ride
Characters: Max, Master Plan Dan
Prelude:
The past few years, i've had to travel a fair amount for work, usually for several weeks at a time, and usually to warm places that have sweet trails. My first travels were with a cardboard box, and involved hefty airline fees. To counter the flow of cash, i designed and made my own bike bag - a zippered rectangle of cordura that was stuffed with foam padding and required fork removal for proper fit. This bag worked well and protected the goods for about 2 years, during which time I still got charged handling fees, got sick of the elaborate disassembly and the lack of castors (American airports charge to use the luggage carts - to hell with that, i'll (grunt) carry.. my *gasp* bags...). that, and the arrival of a new, slightly larger bike forced me to make the move to the Dakine side.
Cresendo:
Nothing ensures that you will stay put better than making purchases that will enable you to wander. The first several months of ownership involved a) going nowhere, b) snowboarding my brains out and c) finally, going somewhere - New Brunswick in March, a truly bikeless enterprise. The first use the bag saw was actually by my good friend Dan, who had to ship a bike home from Ontario - his impressions are welcome here. Unfortunately, due to schedule changes, Dan did not get home before I had to leave for AZ in June - foiled! This time around, i guarded my case jealously, and have come through fire and water and Utah to my home away from home - with my bike of bikes...
Climax:
Considering that I'd never packed this particular bike into this particular case, and yet the whole ordeal only too about 30 minutes says alot. wheels, rotors, brake calipers, handlebar came off, axle spacers were inserted, small parts went into the internal pockets, a few strips of extra foam were tossed in to better pad the bike and the whole mess was laid down and compressed while the zipper made a strained path around the piping. some points and counter-points:
1a) the size of this thing is HUGE when it is sitting in your living room or when you are trying to squeeze it into an economy rental car.
1b) the size of this thing is less huge when you are trying to fit a big bike in to it, or when you see what retired American cruise goers take off the luggage carousel.
2a) the wheels on this bag, and the retractable handle make life better.
2b) the wheels on this bag, and the retractable handle make you shove a few extra things in - and then it gets heavy. and then you have to carry it down the stairs.
3a) it is really well made and tough, and i could feel the confidence in my veins as the zippers kissed each other in the corner.
3b) it is really well made and tough, but one critical spot got missed - the narrow corner on the wheeled end, floor side (opposite the long edge double handle) already has a hole in it because that's where it gets dragged when the luggage handlers don't feel like carrying 60+ lbs. this should be the same rubbery stuff as the reinforced areas.
4a) the zipper had a tendancy to skip teeth unless you are careful when closing.
4b) be careful.
Conclusion:
all in all, i'm really stoked about this case, and it has proven worth the cash already. lighter and cheaper than a hard-case, more convenient than my little flimsy sack, i'm stoked to use it again and again and again and again... and ride my bike at the other end of course...
Max