As I recently discovered, safely transporting your bike on an airplane can be tricky. The bike I used for that trip was a 10 year old much abused Marin Hybrid Bike. But let’s say I was transporting a two or three thousand pound prized road bike. I wouldn’t exactly want to wrap it in a plastic bag and hope for the best.
That’s where a bike bag such as those sold by Italian company Scicon come in handy. A little while back the company got in touch with me to offer a Scicon AeroComfort 2.0 bag which retails at £363.04 for testing. I told them to send it over!
Packing your bike
With these bags there’s always a worry that packing your bike in there will be unnecessarily complicated and time consuming. Fortunately Scicon has created a video that explains the entire process. After you’ve completed it a few times, it should take you around 5 minutes to safely get your bike in there.
I really like the two separate compartments in the bag for the wheels. Not only can you easily store road bike wheels in there, you can also store larger mountain bike wheels. When you are spending so much for a bag it’s good to have that flexibility.
The only issue I came across during the packing is that wide mountain bike handlebars won’t fit (my bars are 59cm in length). However, that can be solved by loosening the bars and pushing them more tightly in to the bag. It’s an annoying extra step but then mountain bike bars are huge!
Overall, the bike packs in very snuggly inside the bag and as long as you follow the steps you’ll keep it very safe.
Features of the Scicon AeroComfort 2.0
There’s a lot to love about the Scicon AeroComfort 2.0. For a start, the wheels on the bottom make it easy to move the bike around when it is stored inside the bag. For anyone who’s transported a bike by plane that’s a huge advantage as a packed down bike is really uncomfortable to carry.
The strap provides another way of carrying your bike. Fortunately, it has lots of padding around the shoulder making it as comfortable as possible.
A TSA approved luggage lock is also included. If you are travelling to America this will no doubt come in useful.
There’s also a tag for you to add your name and address in case the luggage is lost along the way. Admittedly you may want to go for something a little more visible as on quick inspection this is hard to spot.
Finally, for when your bike is not being stored inside the bag, it does pack down in to a neat package that should fit under your bed. This is useful also for when you reach your destination and you need to store the Scicon AeroComfort bag while you are off cycling.
Safely transporting your bike
The single most important feature of a bike bag is of course to keep the bike safe. The Scicon AeroComfort 2.0 achieves this through clever design and this is where you can begin to justify the big initial expense in buying the bag. There’s padding in all the right places so you know your sensitive bike components will be cared for. Also, the way the bike is stored inside the bag feels very safe and secure.
If it’s good enough for the Garmin team to protect their bikes, then it will be good enough for most purposes.
Scicon AeroComfort 2.0 TSA review
Overall, I’m really impressed by the Scicon AeroComfort 2.0. Whilst initially the price tag may give you a bit of a heart attack, if protecting your bike is important to you and you’ll be using it a few times throughout the year then it’s worth the expenditure.
So who is this bag ideal for? If your bike is worth less than the bag, then this isn’t really the solution for you. However, if you are transporting an expensive mountain bike, touring bike or road bike then you’ll appreciate the Scicon AeroComfort.
Packing your bike is quick and easy and there are not too many difficult components to remove that would make set up at the other end a hassle.
The Scicon AeroComfort takes away the pains of storing and transporting a bike. For that we give it a big thumbs up and a London Cyclist seal of approval.
The Scicon AeroComfort is available from Wiggle for £363.04 and there’s plenty more information on the manufacturers website.
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May I see the picture with your bicycle inside the bag and it being fully zipped up as it appears as if you’d have to leave your handlebar sticking out?
I used a soft shell case once and my brand new Roberts was trashed en route to the Cape Argus Cycle Tour. Since then I’ve used the Scicon AeroTech and never had a problem. They do cost an arm and a leg though.
I’m pretty sure you can get a proper hard shelled flight case for this amount or get a cardboard box from a bike shop, much safer for your expensive bike than a bag which while being loaded and unloaded off of a plane can be damaged very easily, (baggage handlers don’t care how nice your bike is or what it cost or if someone else’s hard case lands on your flimsy bag)
just checked and a bike suitcase costs less than £160, that has got to be better and safer than any bag.
Being a triathlete who travels a lot around the world with a bike i can say that hard cases are a bad idea. As you say baggage handlers don’t care and that’s what you get at the other end a broken case. Trust me i’ve seen it many times travelling with the teams. Andreas failed to mention how heavy it is though very important when travelling with airlines, hard cases go very badly in that department and also the fact that it looks plainly obvious as a bike most airlines in Europe and America will ping you 200 USD for travelling with a bike.
I am inclined to agree with you gordon. £300+ for that really seems rather steep and after all it is still soft and will not cushion that well from baggage handlers and other luggage. A tough cased item would be better for me and at £160 seems a better purchase.
Now if I ever find the need to transport my prized possession to another country I may consider the case but for now I will just read the reveiws.
Nice reveiw btw Andreas but as Matt mentioned is it possible to see a picture of the full packaged bike so we can see how it looks?
thanks
surely it stands to reason that if they broke your case then they would have distroyed your bike if it was in a bag.
I have recently completed two overseas trips with this case. Both trips were from the US with destinations to Denmark and back, and then to Viet Nam and back. I have nothing but positive comments to make. I did not have any issues e.g. damage etc. to my “expensive” road bike. Also, because of the wheels on the case it was very easy to carry through the airports and other venues – while still need my other arm to handle my suit case. My wife is actually making a trip today leaving from North Carolina and headed to Denmark – using my case to take her “expensive” road bike. I say expensive – not crazy expensive, but the bikes cost enough that we care a lot about them possibly being damaged. Hope this helps.