First impressions can be deceiving. When I first layed eyes on the Serfas Bike Armor Transport Case, I thought… “I’ll have to take an extra bag for all my gear.” This case is compact, arrived already filled with 3 huge blocks of foam, and I was heading to Belgium for the Classics...
My first trip to Belgium to ride the cobbles of the holy land seemed like a great time to battle-test a hard-shelled travel case for my bike. After all, I was taking a brand new Ristretto from Co-Motion for a World Cup test, and I much preferred to let the cobbles destroy the bike than some baggage-ape.
Behold the Serfas Bike Armor Transport Case!
Corrugated Roots
For years I’d been traveling to Europe with my trusty steed packed in a cardboard bike box. I’d even developed my own method of using two boxes, specially cut, to create extra protection for my rigs, which performed perfectly and provided the extra room I need to bring home up to 50kilos of bike gear and extra goods purchased on trip. Mrs. Pez would have been proud of all the extra stuff I could pack.
So upon opening the Serfas case, I was a ‘might skeptical about getting anything more than my bike inside, contrary to assurances from The Serfas folks that the case does indeed hold plenty. But more on that later…
The case opens completely, and comes with everything you see here. Batteries not included - heck, they're not even needed!
WHAT IT IS
The case itself is made from an industrial strength – “Airline-proof” plastic, comes in two halves that sort of “clam-shell” together, and includes three huge chunks of foam and 4 nylon straps to secure your bike and goodies inside. There are two wheels on one end for rolling, in-molded side handles, and a heavy-duty nylon strap to pull it along.
The case dimensions are 47"x30"x11", which fits into UPS standards for those who prefer to ship their bike ahead to their destination. One thing I noticed checking in, was that this time the airline clerk never asked if I had a bike in the box, whereas before, my perfected double-cardboard case was a dead give-away. I always wondered why they cared what was inside – were they going to alert the baggage-apes to give my box some extra “treatment”?
Ape-Proof: Latches made of heavy-gauge stainless-steel are lockable.
Anyway – I was ready for ‘em. Once the case was packed up, I was happy to pass it over to whatever the airline could do to it – the whole thing packed down nice and tight.
PACK ‘ER UP!
So back to my packing adventure. Because the size of the case is smaller than your standard bike box, you do need to remove a few more pieces of your bike than you may be used to. The case comes with pretty good packing instructions, but I admit to venturing off the dotted yellow line and improvising my own method.
The bike goes in! The wheels are underneath the bottom foamy, and there's lot's of room for gear.
To pack, you remove both wheels and skewers, and place the wheels into the bottom of the case, on top of one of the big foamies. Then add another layer of foam. Don’t forget to put your skewers in your own “small parts bag” – I use and heavy duty ziplok bag to collect the nuts, bolts, wrenches, pliers, cages, etc that I’ll need for re-assembly later.
Next, pull out the seat and stem, pedals, and handlebar. And here’s where I had to act like the banana-grabbing chimp and call upon my inductive reasoning (or is that deductive?). Anyway, I had to remove the cables from the brakes, detach my rear derailleur, and loosen the front derailleur cable, so I could get the handlebars placed securely by the fork.
Basically, this required a bit more dis-assembly than using a cardboard box, where I used to simply remove the front wheel, and the bars would fold down beside the forks with no release of cables. But I got the bike placed inside, and then used the handy nylon straps to cinch the bike down, using the well-placed steel hooks mounted inside the case. I also used my own foam tubing to wrap around the frame tubes for extra protection. The third layer of foam went on top, and I dropped the other case-side into place and locked it shut. This bike was not moving until I said so in Belgium.
In-molded carry handles make lifting onto baggage carts way easier.
Next up was what cost me some sleep the night before, as I pondered how I was going to pack my extras like helmet, shoes, energy bars, extra clothes, water bottles, etc. etc. Sometimes you just gotta roll up our sleeves and get down to business… which in this case meant about a half hour of fitting the extra gear into the empty spaces in, and around the bike frame. I tried a few combinations until I sat back – surprised but satisfied – admiring the relatively huge amount of extra stuff I was able to fit into the case. I was sold – it looks compact from the outside, but does hold a ton of stuff. No extra bags needed!
SERFAS CASE: 1, MR. BAGGAGE-APE: 0
I emerged in Brussels bleary-eyed and disoriented after 12 hours of flying through the night - never recommended but unavoidable when traveling from our west coast to Europe. However, when you’re about to take on 12,000 cycling mad Belgians the next day in the cyclosportif Tour of Flanders, you gain an amazing sense of clarity when it comes to rebuilding your bike. The good news was that the bike and contents emerged exactly as I had packed them. Nothing moved, nothing was scratched or damaged in any way… inside the case.
Outside, the case sustained some minor damage – two of the rubber “feet” were mangled but everything else was intact.
The wheels – which I thought would be the first casualties, were there, the strap was there – and again – my bike was intact and in place. The only addition I made was to use duct tape to seal up the ends, which were bulging slightly due to my over-zealous pack job.
Moving case around the airport was pretty easy. It has the wheels so you can tow it, but I found the whole thing too heavy to manage with my suitcase and carry-on, so I opted to put it on an airport baggage cart with my suitcase. Lifting is helped by in-molded side handles, but you gotta look for 'em since I actually only discovered upon my return… doh!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the Serfas case.
There’s way more storage space than I expected, it really is sturdy, and protected everything very well. I’m recommending you get one of these if you’re flying with your bike, and it’s unlikely I’ll be going back to my double-walled cardboard bike box. The price of $350US is in line with comparable cases, and seems reasonable for a lifetime of bike travel security.
Serfas Bike Armor Transport Case Details
• Size requirements meet UPS standards
• Bike securely encased in foam
• Two heavy-duty rollers located on end for easy transport
• Super tough polyproplene shell
• Four stainless steel locking latches offer the ultimate in security
• 31 lbs
Size: 47"x30"x11"
MSRP $350
Check out Serfas online at their website: www.SERFAS.com
The first fourteen stages of the 2010 Giro d'Italia are going to be the standard, delicious Giro fare. The final final seven days are going to be the ... More....
Four nights down, two to go. The racing was hot in Grenoble, the sideshows, arguably, just as hot. Edmond Hood was on the scene, working hard, making ... More....
The dust has yet to settle from the storm of Interbike, but the rains have started here at PEZ HQ, and that means time to strap on that piece of rain ... More....
Yes – it’s been a couple weeks since our last post, but we’re back and rollin' with more Interbike goodies, and the wait is worth it – Here’s what’s ... More....
So we're back from Interbike 2009. The hangover is very nearly gone, the feet are not close to normal, the back is still sore, but nothing itches ... More....
Zen masters let go of ego; teenagers are in the middle of creating one. That makes it a good time to coach mental skills with teens, and also a good ... More....
Cyclocross season is steadily progressing from the early season of warm and dry race days to the downright miserable and ugly weather that define the ... More....
As fall is settling upon the Northern Hemisphere many cyclists are looking forward to both the crux off their off-season and starting to plan for ... More....
With Lombardia and the end-of-season emphasis on all things Italia, what better way to begin the off-season transition than enjoy some quality miles ... More....
Post-Giro Roadside: I love Scotland; but there’s no Gazzetta in the morning, most of the coffee tastes like John Wayne brewed it beside the ... More....
Post-Giro Roadside: The Centenary Giro has only been over for a few days, but my personal trip to the Corsa Rosa ended back on Stage 5. With ... More....
Roadside Recap: As we make our merry way through the rounds of the PEZ Looks Back, Ed is up for his retrospective on the Tour that was. As the ... More....
Amongst all the gloom and doom of sponsors pulling out disenchanted with doping scandals, and races folding, winter track racing does have its ... More....
They may sound like a lounge singing duet, but there's no schmaltz to these guy's mission; they're trying to build a career playing to that most ... More....
The best team pursuit rider, ever? With national, world junior, Commonwealth, world senior and Olympic titles to his name, Aussie, Luke Roberts ... More....
Here at Pez we pride ourselves on being on the case of who's up and coming - but sometimes even Pez misses the boat. The first we heard of Tom Faiers ... More....
The cheer from the cabin next door to ours - below the Grenoble velodrome - told us that the result Flanders had been holding its breath for, had ... More....
An epic day of rain, pain, and suffering is now behind me, and I’ve got the lactic acid as proof after suffering through a super-tough, 3-climb stage ... More....
Sometimes my best rides have been those with the least forethought, the least amount of time, the most luck, and just plain looking for the squiggly ... More....
Soup, on many levels, is one of the best things to eat this time of year. It’s warm, it’s a great way to stay full without over-eating (when ... More....
The Wounded Warrior Projects Soldier Ride provides rehabilitative cycling events for severely injured service members. Soldier Ride is not about ... More....
Race report: Alejandro Valverde stayed upright to seal his Vuelta victory – the first Grand Tour win of his career. On such a short stage, ... More....
Race Report: Today David Millar won his 5th stage in all his Vuelta’s, he was given one of the swords that Toledo is famous for along with the ... More....
John Murphy has been promising big things for a long while now. The rider has moved consistently up the ranks over the past six years starting as a ... More....
They call it the ‘World Championship of Six Days’ – Munich. And the 2009 winners were – Bruno Risi and Franco Marvulli (Switzerland) from world ... More....
It’s still the off season, but BMC are gradually plugging the holes in their 2010 race roster, while Lotto are trying to do the same for their 2010 ... More....
America will never be Belgium, but as of 2009, it does have its own hardman Classic. In its first professional edition, the Tour of the Battenkill ... More....
Here at PEZ, we adore the mud-filled fun of the cyclocross season, but it's an all too rare event to be able to cover the racing like we do during ... More....
I was at the coffee shop the other day answering questions about those funny gold cranks on my bike (which, during the winter when I am riding my ... More....
We love bike racing at PEZ. We really do. Just like our favorite pros though, there's a time at the end of every season for pause, a time for ... More....
