Scicon AeroComfort 2.0 bike bag

Having taken the Scicon AeroComfort 2.0 bike bag across both the world by plane, and London via the underground, I am suitably smitten. Its cavernous size and ease of use make packing a breeze and travelling stress-free.

Riddle: When is a bike not a bike? When it's inside the Aerocomfort 2.0 and it simply becomes luggage. No, it's not particularly funny, but it makes travel via train an absolute doddle; no more stressing about booking bike spaces, simply wheel the over-sized case on its wheels into the guard's wagon and you are done.

The bag is sufficiently large that as well as your bike and its wheels you are able to add a few other items in the floor space to bulk it up, at 9kg plus the weight of a bike you may be getting close to the plane limits, so be careful with this one. If you cram too much stuff inside the case it can be a bit of a pain to transport, so it's worth experimenting to find what works for you.

Putting the bike in the case is straightforward enough. The first attempt, including reading the instructions, took about fifteen minutes and after a few goes it can be done (mistake-free) in about five. Simply remove each wheel and attach to the quick releases inside the bag, effectively bolting the frame to the base, and cover the rear mech with its big guard. Then remove the wheel quick releases and put them inside their own little pocket, put the wheels in their internal sleeves, put foam on handlebars and chain-stays, then secure it all tightly with the four internal straps. Other than the wheels there's no need to undo anything else, including in my experience, the pedals.

As long as the straps are tight the bike will stay put; it really is very securely fastened down, with five separate points of contact, and the whole case is kept tightly closed by an internal strap between the wheel slots.

All the fabrics are heavy-duty and have shown no signs of wear despite aircraft and coach holds. I have snapped one plastic D-hook, but that was easily replaced with a mini-carabiner. There's a good chance it was caused by my impatience and tugging too hard to get through crowds.

It comes with a TSA-approved lock, ensuring it can be kept secure in transit with a simple four-digit code. (TSA approval means security staff can unlock and relock it again without breaking anything.)

The castors make travel relatively easy, though if the ground is rough or bitty then there can be issues '' I have a one mile walk between train stations on my commute with it '' but in general they are pretty good.

At £475 (shop around, natch) it's a big purchase, but if you are a frequent traveller then the ease of use is almost certainly worth it. I liken it to the cost of a lock. Would I spend that amount on a case for a £500 bike? Probably not, but for the best bike, or if you are away on a foreign sportive then it seems prudent.

Verdict

Expensive, but more than capable of doing its job; travel just became much easier