The Big Bike Travel Bag Shootout

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In this post I video-compare the EVOC, Scicon Aero Comfort Plus, Polaris (and OEM) Bike Pods and Airline Bike Box.

In this post I compared the latter 4 and now need to add the EVOC.

You can get the EVOC using the below links. Disclosure: these are affiliate links.

You can watch the video, then read the summary. I’ve assigned a score to each bag based on a number of metrics, which I’ve also weighted according to what I look for in a bike bag.

My overall scores are based on the following metrics. Your weightings may of course change according to what you think is important. To this end, I’ve made my score sheet available for download as an Excel spreadsheet, so you can change your weightings, apply my scores, and see how the scores change.

Keep in mind my raw scores are subjective as well. If I scored a bag poorly in terms of construction/design, this might be according to how it performed in my experience; you might score it entirely differently. As an example, one of my friends would score the Scicon a lot higher in terms of how it protects the bike. However, because I believe the Scicon needs a lot of extra padding inserted in order to protect the bike, I scored it fairly low.

Metric Weight
Compactness 15%
Robustness/Construction/Design 15%
Agility 20%
Price 5%
Weight 15%
Protection for Bike 30%


 

The Scores
Keep in mind the pros and cons of the last 4 bags listed are discussed in this post.

To summarise the EVOC:
Pros:

  • Very affordable (for what you get)
  • Excellent construction both in terms of quality and how it has been thought out
  • Extremely agile
  • Lots of padding
  • Durable

Cons:

  • Weight, though at 9kg, it’s not terrible. I mainly put this in the cons for balance as it doesn’t have any real disadvantages! This is a cracker bag!

So, to the winner! Clearly I rate the EVOC the highest. It’s overall utility is very high. It has loads of storage for the bike and cycling/casual clothing (enough for a few days away) and is very adjustable.

It’s been well thought out (fibreglass stringers) and protects the bike.

It is designed to survive the knocks of international travel (bash material) and be baggage handler and user-friendly (handles, wheels).

Metric Weight EVOC Scicon Polaris BikePod OEM bikePod Bike Box
Compactness 15% 4 5 1 1 4
Robustness/Construction/Design 15% 5 3 3 3 2
Agility 20% 4 5 1 1 0
Price 5% 5 2 2 2 5
Weight 15% 4 5 4 2 5
Protection for Bike 30% 5 2 5 5 4
Totals 100% 4.5 3.1 3 3.65 2.85

 

You can get the EVOC using the below links. Disclosure: these are affiliate links.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Tony Williams January 28, 2011 at 7:16 pm

Awesome reviews. Will be getting an EVOC as soon as I can for this years euro tour.

Tim - Admin January 31, 2011 at 1:42 pm

Hey Tony, thanks for the kind words! I hope they were useful (sorry about the poor video!).
If you want a hard case, Thule make a very good one. I will try and get my hands on one.
Tim

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About Tim Marsh

I am a mad keen cyclist who loves Cycling in France, loves doing Etape du Tour and am mad about good coffee. I love travelling and taking photos.

I also love helping people and making things easier for them, or to help them Get Shipped.