thefathippy wrote:
>
> Walrus wrote:
> > A mate of mine is flying to Noosa from Melbourne, but doesn't have a
> > bike case. Does anyone know of a shop that hires cases? Any other
> > ideas?
>
> I took my mtb from Sydney to Cairns recently, without problems.
>
> I went to my friendly LBS and picked up a used bike box for free.
> Bought some packing tape and restored it to box shape (it was squashed
> flat for storage).
>
> I took off the front wheel, pedals, rear derailleur, chain, seat and
> post, and handlebars. The bars I wrapped in bubblewrap and taped to the
> forks - I didn't remove any cables or hoses at all. I'd heard that
> swimming pool noodles (the hollow ones) were good for wrapping around
> frames, so I got hold of one, sliced it down the middle and taped it to
> the frame. I also had some old handgrip tube I sliced and wrapped
> around the rear shock. But I still wasn't happy. I found an old camping
> sleep mat - the compressed foam thingies - bewdiful. I cut this stuff
> up and covered the bits I'd missed - forks, bits of frame, and over the
> rear end. I also used some small bits over the axle ends so they
> wouldn't punch through the box. Then I taped all the other bits I
> wanted to the wrapped frame - pumps, toolkit, QR skewers, spare tube,
> shoes seat and post, etc. I taped the deailleur to the inside of the
> swingarm.
>
> It was a real PITA to cart around, and wouldn't fit properly in the
> taxi we hired from the airport (he just didn't shut the boot, holding
> it down with occy straps), but it worked well. The box arrived in
> Cairns undamaged, and suffered the most damage in the bloody taxi
> (boofheaded, ham fisted cabbie), but the bike was completely undamaged.
>
> On the return trip (both Virgin), there was a hole punched in the box,
> but nothing was missing, and again, the bike was undamaged. I think
> good padding and taping was the key. Of course, a Kona Coiler has a
> *slightly* more solid frame [1] than a carbon roadie ;^) - that
> probably helped too.
>
> Tony F
> [1] read as very solid and heavy, suitable for freeriding duties
The Qantas bike box comes with free handles for easy management,
especially if you're a short@rse lightweight like me ;-)
Tam