Home Made Bike Travel Box?

RE/

Quoted message said:

Anyone attempted to build such a thing?

I am contemplating building one out oa aluminium. That will enable it to be stroing enough and
light enough.

Hard shell cases here in Australia are excessively expensive and the price of the aluminium is a
lot cheaper.

As anyone out there tried doing such a thing?

What are the possible pitfalls?

Didn't do it myself, but I went to a guy who made cases for large musical instruments (like
drums...).

The resulting case worked pretty well over about 10 years of intermittant trips from Philadelphia to
Germany and various cities in the USA.

3 pitfalls that I can think of:

1) This was before "real" bike cases became widely-available and this thing didn't have any wheels -
making it somewhat of a hassle to get around an airport with.

2) It was big enough that not just any vehicle could carry it. I paces the aisles at Frankfurt once
for about three hours waiting for somebody to take the little VW Golf they came in back and
return with a station wagon.

3) Also size-related: it's too big to pass as regular luggage.

Next time I take a trip, I'm going to try removing my FS' pivot arm and see if I can get everything
into two regular-size pieces of luggage.
--
PeteCresswell

Gurrie said:

Anyone attempted to build such a thing?

I just made one large enough, and generously so, for a frameset. 4mm plywood with inner
reinforcements along edges and corners, cordura outside, carpenter's hinges, while hatches and
everything else were got from junking my oldest suitcase. The day before yesterday it was taken on a
plane to Montreal, via London.

Quoted message said:

What are the possible pitfalls?

I hope none, but to be honest I should wait till tomorrow when I hear from my friend. Moisture may
be a pitfall if made out of wood; but, nowadays, it is possible to have a perfectly water resistant
wrapping on the outside. By the way, a tight sealing wrapping is being recommended on all pieces of
baggage for safety reasons, nowadays.

Sergio Pisa

In aus.bicycle Gurrie said:

Anyone attempted to build such a thing?

Quoted message said:

I am contemplating building one out oa aluminium. That will enable it to be stroing enough and
light enough.

Quoted message said:

Hard shell cases here in Australia are excessively expensive and the price of the aluminium is a
lot cheaper.

Quoted message said:

As anyone out there tried doing such a thing?

Quoted message said:

What are the possible pitfalls?

Quoted message said:

All advice appreciated.

Aerolyte would undoubtedly be able to make an aluminium case tough enough and (relatively) light.
I've got an aerolyte guitar case that seems pretty much indestructible.

I'm not sure that they'd be any cheaper though.

Aerolyte Industries Pty Ltd Instrument Cases 5 Cygnet Terrace, Kingston Park, SA, 5049 Telephone
(08) 8378-2117

Cheers.
--
Nick

"Gurrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Anyone attempted to build such a thing?

I am contemplating building one out oa aluminium. That will enable it to be stroing enough and
light enough.

Hard shell cases here in Australia are excessively expensive and the price of the aluminium is a
lot cheaper.

As anyone out there tried doing such a thing?

What are the possible pitfalls?

All advice appreciated.

Yes I did. To travel from Oman to NZ.

It was trashed!

It was Al angle (25mm) with 24G Al pop rivetted on to it. Top and and bottom were strengthened with
the same Al angle across lengthwise and 2 across sideways. Sides I strengthened with diagonal braces
(this was a mistake). The bike was laid on pieces of 50mm nice squishy foam and this saved it. The
box was was light, though! I'll take a photo and post it if you are interested.

The problems were:

- The sides got crushed as there was no substantial member going from top to bottom. Two of these
instead of the diagonal member would have been a lot better.

- I had some small wheels pop riveted directly to the bottom. These just got pushed straight back
into the box. The Al ripped.

If I were to do it again I think I would have somebody weld a frame for AL angle and attach the Al
sheet directly to that. It would make it much stronger.

I am sure that these baggage handlers see the fragile stickers and that acts as a red rag to a bull.
They love to see how far can throw, drop, or otherwise do whatever they can to damage it.

FWIW

Dave

Quoted message said:

"Gurrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Anyone attempted to build such a thing? I am contemplating building one out oa aluminium. That
will enable it to be stroing enough and light enough. Hard shell cases here in Australia are
excessively expensive and the price of the aluminium is a lot cheaper. As anyone out there tried
doing such a thing? What are the possible pitfalls?

DaveH said:

Yes I did. To travel from Oman to NZ. It was trashed! It was Al angle (25mm) with 24G Al pop
rivetted on to it. Top and and bottom were strengthened with the same Al angle across lengthwise
and 2 across sideways. Sides I strengthened with diagonal braces (this was a mistake). The bike
was laid on pieces of 50mm nice squishy foam and this saved it. The box was was light, though!
I'll take a photo and post it if you are interested. The problems were:

-snip sad litany-

Your experience is not unique. The general approach of rigid (aluminum, fiberglas, etc) has been
abandoned in favor of moded poly-(what? like milk bottles) . That material, foam-filled and then
banded with big nylon straps, may be tossed/dropped quite a long way without damaging the bike. When
these type cases appeared, the retail prices went from $500-$700 to about $300~$350. Not dirt cheap
but they really work now. There are a couple of brands in that style, one is Trico. You may be able
to rent/borrow one through your local club or touring group.

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Quite happy to make the announcement. The dedicated box I had made for the Pinarello frameset,
which, fully loaded more personal items, I dispatched to Montreal, Canada, has safely got to
destination. Perfectly intact, I was told!

Sergio Pisa

One of my club has just returned from the ITU Worlds in NZ, which makes twice my Scicon Aero tech
case has been around the world and its been back and forward to the US twelve times now and I'll be
in Tampa in early feb, so hopfully not unlucky 13!

One of the box wheels got crushed which broke the base of the case but nothing that was terminal and
couldn't be ignored, no damage to the bike. I bought mine here in the UK
wiggle.co.ukv2 product detail.aspOpen ↗

The best price Froogle can find is 585 US Dollars thstore.comProductInfo2 2sport.asp%3FID%3DH SCIOpen ↗
71%26GroupID%3D377&fr=Ab2yOHxXEhbBd6UIMw0r0lIAAAAAAAAAAA

Well worth the investment if you plan on travelling a lot, or maybe you can get the club or a
couple of you invest! Make sure you get the latest box which has the combination rather than key
lock! ++Mark.

Thanks for the tip.

Got a quote and they are suprisingly cheap when compared to a bike box - around 70% of the cost of a
bike specific box.

Something to certainly think about.

"NickZX6R" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In aus.bicycle Gurrie said:

Anyone attempted to build such a thing?

Quoted message said:

I am contemplating building one out oa aluminium. That will enable it

to be

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

stroing enough and light enough.

Quoted message said:

Hard shell cases here in Australia are excessively expensive and the

price

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of the aluminium is a lot cheaper.

Quoted message said:

As anyone out there tried doing such a thing?

Quoted message said:

What are the possible pitfalls?

Quoted message said:

All advice appreciated.

Aerolyte would undoubtedly be able to make an aluminium case tough enough and (relatively) light.
I've got an aerolyte guitar case that seems pretty much indestructible.

I'm not sure that they'd be any cheaper though.

Aerolyte Industries Pty Ltd Instrument Cases 5 Cygnet Terrace, Kingston Park, SA, 5049 Telephone
(08) 8378-2117

Cheers.
--
Nick

homemade box is a good idea and a simple project. 18 gauge aluminum? 4 foot level. cardboard from
the furniture store. a carpenters square metal ruler (woolmort) razor blades(woolmort or HDepot)
epoxy probably loctite from NAPA pop rivets and gun optional(oval head stainless machine screws are
nice reinforced mailing tape a long bread knife(to cut tape) etc. search for "DIY touring bags" in
tech or search tech: DIY touring bags.

the cardboard is for templates. one makes the box with cardboard full scale. take a few boxes apart
to see how the box is cut out then folded together. cut the templat5e precisely with the
level/razor. the beauty of it is that after a coupla templates the builder is no longer a novice.

the final template goes on the aluminum.tape it down. I last bought a sheet 15 years ago: $20? be
precise. cut the the corners insides. and check out a sheet metal book from the library or school
tech center.off course. knowledge is power. tubafours and clamps make up a brake to fold the metal
corners and the reinforced edges(glue or screw)bend and pound from the middle out. and check out the
pro boxes for ideas. and add. almost always the DIY finds that marklet pressures leave out the bells
and duh easily screwed in by the DIY

DIY touring bags" and search tech: chain guard $2

Thanks.

"g.daniels" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

homemade box is a good idea and a simple project. 18 gauge aluminum? 4 foot level. cardboard from
the furniture store. a carpenters square metal ruler (woolmort) razor blades(woolmort or HDepot)
epoxy probably loctite from NAPA pop rivets and gun optional(oval head stainless machine screws
are nice reinforced mailing tape a long bread knife(to cut tape) etc. search for "DIY touring
bags" in tech or search tech: DIY touring bags.

the cardboard is for templates. one makes the box with cardboard full scale. take a few boxes
apart to see how the box is cut out then folded together. cut the templat5e precisely with the
level/razor. the beauty of it is that after a coupla templates the builder is no longer a novice.

the final template goes on the aluminum.tape it down. I last bought a sheet 15 years ago: $20? be
precise. cut the the corners insides. and check out a sheet metal book from the library or school
tech center.off course. knowledge is power. tubafours and clamps make up a brake to fold the metal
corners and the reinforced edges(glue or screw)bend and pound from the middle out. and check out
the pro boxes for ideas. and add. almost always the DIY finds that marklet pressures leave out the
bells and duh easily screwed in by the DIY

DIY touring bags" and search tech: chain guard $2

In article <[email hidden]>,

(g.daniels) said:

homemade box is a good idea and a simple project. 18 gauge aluminum? 4 foot level. cardboard from
the furniture store. a carpenters square metal ruler (woolmort) razor blades(woolmort or HDepot)
epoxy probably loctite from NAPA pop rivets and gun optional(oval head stainless machine screws
are nice reinforced mailing tape a long bread knife(to cut tape) etc. search for "DIY touring
bags" in tech or search tech: DIY touring bags.

Great sounding project. Heavy, relative to soft bags, though, isn't it?

Lunch boxes fit nicely on the back of a rack. Cut horizontal slots near the bottom of the long sides
of the lunch box in each corner. Thread your favourite old clip-on straps through to secure the box
to the rack.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

use a 3-4-5 triangle measure to get the corners at 90 degrees. with a razor, the measure works at??
128? look ma, ima pattern maker!! don't trust the square. the bags are fabric and forgiving of
mismeasure aluminum is not.

Maybe read the whole thread...cannot back a bike into any lunch box I know of!

"Ryan Cousineau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:rcousine-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

(g.daniels) said:

homemade box is a good idea and a simple project. 18 gauge aluminum? 4 foot level. cardboard
from the furniture store. a carpenters square metal ruler (woolmort) razor blades(woolmort or
HDepot) epoxy probably loctite from NAPA pop rivets and gun optional(oval head stainless machine
screws are nice reinforced mailing tape a long bread knife(to cut tape) etc. search for "DIY
touring bags" in tech or search tech: DIY touring bags.

Great sounding project. Heavy, relative to soft bags, though, isn't it?

Lunch boxes fit nicely on the back of a rack. Cut horizontal slots near the bottom of the long
sides of the lunch box in each corner. Thread your favourite old clip-on straps through to secure
the box to the rack.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club