Comparing 13 different bike boxes to buy in SA right now
Looking for a bike box? Here are some great examples available locally, from Thule, Evoc, Bikesafe, Bikebox, Boxman, Boxesonline, Scicon, Sportsmans Warehouse and Takealot — ranging from R111 to an eye-watering R20k.
They are listed in no specific order (but our ‘winner’ is right at the bottom so do scroll all the way down). We’ve also included the bicycle box dimensions to help you decide.
Thule Round Trip Transition Bike Box
The Thule Round Trip Transition Bike Box also doubles up as a work stand and is described as an ultra-protective, hard-shell premium bike case with integrated bike assembly stand that makes shipping and traveling with your bike simple.
It comes in at roughly 140*40*95 cm and 18kg (actual figures are 137 x 39.3 x 94 cm and 17.6 kgs) and fits most road, mountain, and cyclocross bikes. But the weight of this bicycle box is a concern for overweight charges when flying…
Thule Round Trip Pro XT
The Thule Round Trip Pro XT is a Soft-shell bike case with integrated bike assembly stand that makes traveling with your bike simple. It is lightweight and easy to store with folding and removable protective side panels and collapsible frame, with an integrated bike holder and assembly stand that makes it easy work on your bike.
It is almost half the weight of the abovementioned Round Trip Transition Bike Box and comes in at roughly 125*30*90 cm and it weighs 8.6kg (actual dimensions are 126 x 29.9 x 89 cm outer and 124 x 28 x 85 cm inner).
EVOC Bike Travel Bag
It is light weight, quick to pack, easy to transport, and has separate wheel compartments, while fitting most: Cross Country-, All Mountain-, Enduro-, Freeride-, Downhill- Bikes up to 29“, Gravel-, Road-, and Triathlon-Bikes. Note that for safe transport of road bikes and triathlon bikes, you need the road bike adapter disc, road bike aluminium stand or bike stand.
Dimensions are roughly 140*40*85 cm and it weighs 9.1kg (actual outer 138 x 39 x 85 cm; inner 130 x 27 x 80 cm; and it collapses to 136 x 39 x 25 cm). The Maximum wheelbase is 126 cm.
Bikesafe
Said to be the lightest hardshell bicycle case on the market (I had two of these myself), it is suitable for road, time trial, MTB and 29ers. The Bikesafe is made from high density polyethylene and offers total protection and easy handling, while allowing you to pack your bike in under five minutes!
Dimensions are a generous 120*90*32 cm (1200mm x 900mm x 320mm) and it weighs 13 kilograms. Oh, and you can have it in a wide range of colours, or even customize it with your club or logo or contact details, making it instantly recognizable.
Sportsmans Warehouse 29″ Bike Bag
This Sportsmans Warehouse 29″ Bike Bag is made from a strong high-quality fabric, has padding for bike protection and includes small internal pockets to store tools, pedals etc. It can accommodate a 29er mountain bike or a standard road bike, features adjustable carry straps.
But there are no details listed on the dimensions for this bicycle bag. I’ve tried the Sporty chatbot on their website and this was the result: ‘We unfortunately do not have the Dimensions however it will fit on a 29er or any Standard Road bike.’
DWB Cardboard Box
Billed as a DWB (Double Wall Board), this Bicycle box is used to store or transport your bicycle and protecting them from damage and scratching. They are confident that it is a very strong box. And it measures in at roughly 145*25*80 cm (actual dimensions are 1460mm x 260mm x 790mm).
What more can one say about a cardboard bicycle box, other that you can obviously easily write your name and contact details on it with a koki pen. Score.
Heavy Duty Cardboard Bicycle Box
This double wall (heavy duty) cardboard box can accommodate either your bicycle or a 60 inch TV. In terms of rolls of toilet paper, that is 11 rolls in length, 3 rolls wide and 9 rolls high. Good to know! Oh, and please note that these boxes are folded in half when you order them online from their website and it gets delivered to your door.
Dimensions are 120*30*85 cm (with a volumetric capacity of 357 liters, or about 76.5 kgs in Triton-speak). It weighs only 2.8 kgs and the unmade or flat dimensions are 143*114*1.3cm (probably irrelevant, but now you know).
Folding Bicycle Mountain Bike Carry Bag
Here is a lesson in reading the fine print of Takealot descriptions: This carry bags fit *folding bikes (Frame 14″-20″). And, like almost every other item listed here, also claims to be, guess what — durable and lightweight. It has compartments, can separate the wheels and brackets to avoid scratching your frame. And the outer bag can hold small tools, which is convenient for travel.
Specifications are 85*30*70 cm (actually, 69cm) for the bag and 33*16cm for the pouch. And it is made from double-layer fabrics-600D Oxford cloth waterproof material, that is Rip-resistant.
Outdoor Elements Bike Travel Bag
The Outdoor Elements reinforced fork mount protects and secures the bike inside the bag while aluminum strips within the side compartments gives structure to the bag. The rubberized 10cm wheels and multiple handles makes for easy rolling over various surfaces.
As for dimensions, it only mentions the collapsible size of 36*39*25 cm and not the fully opened size (!). But is said to fit cross country, mountain, enduro, freeride and downhill bikes up to 29″ wheel sets, plus gravel, road and triathlon bikes. And it weighs 8.3kgs.
Scicon Soft Bike Bag Travel Basic
Minimal and lightweight — also on your pocket. If travel with your road bike by car, bus or train is on your agenda, the Scicon Sports Travel Basic soft bike travel bag is your choice. The lightweight bike bag comes with a removable, rigid base and provides the right level of protection that is needed to keep your road bike safe. With separate, internal wheel pockets and a large main compartment for the frame, everything finds its place.
No dimensions specified though, but it looks a tad smaller than the Outdoor Elements 29er bike bag above.
Scicon Aerotech Evolution X TSA Bike Travel Case
If you have spent a significant amount of money on a delicate carbon bike and you intend to travel by plane, it’s definitely worth investing in a decent bike box. The Scicon Aerotech Evolution X TSA Bike Travel Case is suitable for bikes with integrated seat post and the whole things weighs 12kgs.
The clever Suspended Frame System (SFS), holds your bike frame firmly in place, providing extra stability and safety, just like a car’s seat belt. It is disc brake ready (the multi-axle system allows mounting your bike wheels with standard quick release and 12mm thru axle skewers) and TSA approved. Two reinforced Travel Sentry® approved TSA key locks ensure the safety of your bike as well as access to the bike travel case to customs authorities in the USA, Canada and many other international airports.
Also no dimensions listed on the website, but if I remember correctly this was the bag I used to pack Anna Watkinson’s tri bike in PE and the fit was snug, but perfect.
Scicon Aerocomfort Tandem Bike Travel Bag
The Scicon Aerocomfort Tandem Bike Travel Bag is the most expensive bicycle box on this list by far, but then again it is also the only tandem box featured here. We’ve recently moved a couple of tandems and with very few new tandems currently being sold in South Africa, original cardboard boxes are also not available from bike shops. One could simply stick together to standard cardboard bicycle boxes, but this Scicon model is a vastly more elegant solution…
The bike bag comes with an internal structure to secure your tandem bike. Equipped with internal wheel pockets, all you need to do is to remove the bike wheels, insert them in the wheel pockets and fix the frame on the internal structure. The maximum distance between dropouts that the bag can carry is 180cm.
Bikebox*
Exactly what the name says, but with a twist. This box is designed to be used repeatedly. It is made from 100% waterproof Polypropylene sheeting (1200gsm), weighs a mere 5 kg and when folded it uses 80% less storage space than other Bike Cases. It also includes Bike Guards (which is Special Bike Protection Inners to protect all the vital parts of your bike during transport).
Let’s play! It is strong and waterproof, affordable, lightweight, waterproof, recyclable and produced in South Africa. And with a EUROBIKE Start-Up Award Winning product you know that you are in good hands. You can even fit a set of optional extra wheels.
And now for the dimensions. The Small Bikebox (Road) comes in at 120*78*25 cm (folded to 76*78*7 cm to store under your bed). And the Large Bikebox (MTB) is exactly the std dimensions we like to use, at 140*80*30 cm (folded to 83*77*7 cm). And it weighs just 5 and 6 kgs respectively.
PS, what is the volumetric weight and why is it important?
When you are shipping a bicycle, the outer dimensions determine the total volumetric weight. The calculation is usually the length times the width times the height (l*w*h, all in cm), divided by a factor of 4000 or 5000, depending on which carrier you use, to give the total volumetric weight in kg.
When the bicycle is boxed, the handlebars are usually turned (to lessen the width) and the wheels are taken off (to lessen the total length) and in doing so the total volumetric weight of the bicycle is vastly reduced. In short: smaller bike box, cheaper to transport, especially to outlying / remote areas 😊
Summary: Which bike bag is the one for me?
Below is a table showing the different bike bag dimensions, and prices. They are ranked by the total volumetric weight in kilograms, and we used a factor of 5000 for the calculation.
What can we see from here? The standard bike box dimensions we used in quotes are 140*30*80. This is also exactly the same as the recommended reusable BikeBox (Large). Moreover, the smaller (Road bike) version comes in at 125*25*78. Finally, the overall average dimensions (to be taken with a pinch of salt) are 133*31*83 centimeters.
Now, go travel…
2 Comments
I use the Scicon Aerocomfort TSA hard shell Tandem Bike Travel Bag. I have traveled with it from Thailand to USA and USA to France back to Thailand back about three times so far since 2020. On board I have a specialized s-works 15K USD. The case is protective looking at the impact on the outside it has received. I had a large scratch on the box that occurred in Qatar during a transfer. The box is solid résistent and easy to move around. Fully loaded I usually average 28 kg and pay the extra fee in advance when exceeding. Some airlines have different weight and oversize rules. I will mention in this article something important that was missing: most taxi car service at airports around the world don’t have the room to accommodate the size of the case. So I strongly suggest users to pre-book or book at airport special car services. It cost a little bit more but the package is precious. I have also taken my case all other Europe on the TGV Eurostar and also in USA east coast train. Good luck all
Thanks Dominique , I’m glad to hear you could fit in so much international bike travel amidst all the covid curveballs. Yes, I believe pre-booked the extra cargo/weight is a bit more cost effective than doing so when arriving at the check-in counter. And great point on the TAXI services – I’m glad to report that the humble Skoda Octavia managed to swallow 3 whole bicycle boxes on our way to the Athens airport 🙂