The next time you head out of town on a vacation, take your bike! If you’re traveling somewhere exotic and want to get around, see the sights, and experience the local trails, the best way to do that is on your very own bike.
I’ve traveled quite a bit, and I’ve often had to scramble to find a bike box, stuff my bike in it, and hope it arrives home as well as it looked when it left. Dakine has a solution for that issue.
The all-new Dakine Bike Bag is more like an entire packing system rather than a bag. It can fit everything from a downhill rig to a road bike, as well as your gear (such as helmet and shoes). Also, you get everything you need to safely place your bike in the bag, with separately reinforced bags for both wheels, as well as a bag for your rear triangle and front fork.
One neat feature is the added mesh pouch that is attached to the rear triangle bag: it’s big enough to store all the tools needed to build your bike.
Unlike some hard case options, the bag itself can be folded down to one third its size when not in use.
Other key features include 4″ urethane wheels and a stopper that, when packed right, allow the bike bag to hold itself upright when you’re standing in line.
Added padding lessens the chances of damage, and two handles per side make it easier to load and move around.
Fully loaded, the bag takes on a 51x30x12.5in profile.
To properly pack any bike, thoroughly clean your bike before taking it apart. Next, carefully remove your pedals, and your saddle and seatpost post (as a unit). Remove your rear derailleur from the derailleur hanger and wrap it in a rag.
If you have a master link, you can pop the chain off with ease. If not, you can leave the chain on. Remove both wheels. Take the bars off the bike. The easiest method is to remove it as a unit. Just remove the top cap and the one or two bolts that hold the stem on the steerer tube.
Next, carefully bag the rear suspension, fitting the retention strap around the seat tube of the bike. In my case, I remove the front fork and set it in fork bag. Since I remove my DH fork, I carefully place all my headset bearings in a bag for safe keeping.
Place the front wheel in the sleeve provided first, then bag it up. I then carefully place my bars alongside of the frame, while placing that in the bag next.
I place my fork on the opposite side of the bag, and then lay the other wheel on top of that. There is plenty of padding to separate all the equipment and preventing any contact and rub damage.
Once the bike is in the bag I then find spaces to place my pump and other gear.
Plan to spend about 2 hours packing this bag.
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a high-quality alternative to cardboard boxes and miles of duct tape, Dakine offers a durable, well-built bag that is designed to protect and transport your valuable bike.
MSRP: $375.
Thanks to Dakine for sending over the Bike Bag for review.
2 Comments
Nov 20, 2014
-It is light, so you can put almost any bike (from XC to DH) and still get under the 50lb wt limit that many airlines adhere too
-It is foldable. I thought this was a dumb reason to buy a soft case, until I used it a couple of times. Putting 2-4 hard cases in a rental car and a hotel room is next to impossilbe
-I think it actually protects my bike better than any hard case I have tried. This is due to the very thoughtful wheel bags with foam inserts for disc brakes, and several other bags for fork, bar, etc... Your frame and fork won't get damaged in transit b/c they are designed to take abuse....it's the delicate stuff like rotors and spokes and deraillerus that do. With hard cases, I had to take a lot of things off my bike and still wrap them to protect them. It took forever. With this case, all I do is remove the rear D and the wheels, and it is good to go. Assembly/Disassembly only takes about 20 minutes (not 2 hours Syd, what the heck?? :) , even if I take the stem/bars off for extra protection (which I do)
-My Niner fits in this case with room to spare
-The wheels and design are well thought out, and it makes lugging it around the airport a breeze. I parked in the DIA economy lot and hoofed it half a mile to the terminal last time...my suitcase was more of a drag than hauling my bike!
-It is easy to store at home. You can hang it on the ceiling in your garage or roll it up.
Mar 10, 2014