Guest Review: Scicon AeroComfort Plus

This is a guest post (the very first on VeloNomad!) by Mars Sciavarrello.

Mars bought a Scicon Aero Comfort Plus after reading the VeloNomad Scicon AeroComfort Plus bike bag review.

Mars' Scicon Review

Am I glad I bought the Scicon Aero Comfort Plus? Hell yes!

Would I have been as happy if I didn’t take some extra steps to protect my bike? No way!

Whilst being an expensive bag, it provided the best option to meet my requirements in travelling through France and Italy for 8 weeks with an expensive roadie, my wife, my son, a suitcase on rollers each, plus Crumpler or backpack each. So 3 people plus 6 bags plus a bike bag, plus other miscellaneous items along the way.

We'd be flying, catching trains, driving hire cars and using taxi/limos during our trip.

Packed in Renault Scenic

Packed in Renault Scenic

Mars' Bike Bag Considerations

My considerations were:

• I needed a bag that was more compact and this was it. There was nothing smaller in dimension that could cater for my size bike (being 54cm), cater for a bike up to 60cm (could be a bit more), fit into rental/hire car options (we chose the Renault Scenic), and fit in hotel rooms (this is the main reason why I did not get the EVOC Bike Bag – those savings in dimension matter big time..CHECK
• I needed it to be agile, easy to get around and store when not in use…CHECK.
• I needed the ability to be able to store some items inside the bag beyond the bike itself such as clothing shoes, helmet etc…CHECK.
• I needed it to be light-weight so as to mitigate against heavy or excess weight penalties from airlines or if my wife or son (8yo) had to hold onto it or move it when I was carrying or moving the heavy luggage…CHECK.
• Cost, well I didn’t really care about this as if you look around you can get a good deal locally or via the net. I went with the local option and whilst still pricey, when you consider you are protecting something worth many $000’s it is a no brainer…CHECK [Ed: the local buy option is a good consideration with regard to warranty].
• Protection, and here’s the thing: if flying domestically you will have no issues but flying internationally you do need to augment the protection and this bag provided the space for that capability…CHECK.

With respect to extra protection: I invested in:

• Some foam blocks ($20 of off-cuts from Clark Rubber),
• Frame protection foam from the LBS they score from bikes delivered from distributors,
• Bubble wrap ($15 from Officeworks),
• Tape, zip/cable ties and a bike box from the LBS.

The bike box was used to cut a protector/shield to place in the inside of the bag between the bike and the inner sides of the bag housing the wheels so as to protect from potential hard knocks. A bit excessive you may say? Well not really as I had zero issues and my bike was always dialled, never any down time and therefore maximized ride time.

Packing the Bike

So now I had to learn how to pack it. I called in my mate and frequent flying Australian MTBO international regular Alex Randall.

Boy was this a good idea: simple tips in packing and placement of the dismantled components saved me heaps of time.

From placement of stem and bars on frame, to removal and protection of the rear derailleur in between the chain-stays, to zip tying the right crank arm to the rear chain-stay or the chain to the stay to eliminate movement, to using different quick release skewers to those provided (which are technically labelled as crap), Alex knew it all.

The internal bag frame was great and easily adjustable. I also liked the small pedal pocket to store the removed pedals and not lose or misplace them.

Bike packed safe

What I Didn't Like

Well the resilience/build quality of the bag was pretty much it.

On one outer side the fabric of the bag had begun to wear through from being rested against other bags during transit – an easy fix but this shouldn’t happen under any circumstance.

Also the lower corners of the bag began to wear through from rubbing on the ground.

It shouldn’t do this and needs some form of protection there to remedy against this.

As it is I will just cut up a Coke can and gaffer tape it to the corners, which will be an easy fix, but I shouldn’t have to do that for the cost [Ed: I highlighted build quality and this specific issue in my original review of this bag].

The Scicon Aero Comfort Plus did do everything I wanted.

It was easy to get into cars, store, move around, pack, unpack, repack etc, and my bike was in perfect, ready-to-roll condition each and every time.

All I had to do was unpack the bike, put it together, lube the chain and pump up the tyres – all too easy.

There were no mechanicals, no bent derailleur, no scratches, no damage, it was as perfect as pulling it out of the bike room at home and after the usual checks, rolling out to ride.

My score was 31/35.

Tims Comments

Wow, this is a great review.

Mars highlights very practical considerations for those planning trips with family and a lot of luggage. He highlights considerations for those moving around a lot and for those who want to quickly get their bike unpacked so they can ride as much as possible.

Mars also removes his handlebars from his bike when packing in the Scicon, something I mentioned in my review, but something I didn't do myself when flying domestically recently. I'd probably remove mine too if I was flying overseas with this bag.

Although Mars used a slightly different scoring framework to that which I typically use, he has covered off all the main areas and given a pretty good rating for this bag.

You can see my Scicon AeroComfort Plus review here.