Scicon Aero Comfort Plus Review

The Scicon Aero Comfort Plus is a good bike travel bag, but there are some issues with the bag that warrant your consideration.

The review is very indepth, so for those who want to cut to the chase, check the video portion of the review out. Otherwise, read on.

Remember, this is a subjective review, based on transparent objective measures, and real world experience. You may disagree, you may agree; either way, I'd love your feedback.

Preface to review: I've personally taken one of these bags overseas (France, 2009). Some of the comments in this post have been informed by feedback from my very good friend Craig over at UberDomestique who has taken an ACP overseas and on domestic trips a number of times, as well as from the experience of my friend Wade over at Cycling Tips who has given me some useful feedback.

I also want to highlight the fact that I am pretty obsessive about user experience so it's on that basis I make a lot of these comments. So whilst they seem a little negative, they're intended to be totally constructive and hopefully improve the product (which can only be a good thing).

Since making this review and posting the longer version on YouTube, Scicon have told me that they've addressed many of the issues I mention below, in the 2012 version of this bag, the Aerocomfort 2.0 TSA (the TSA denotes that it has a TSA compliant lock). I'll be looking forward to getting my hands on the new version to review.

It would be easy for a brand to get upset by a review like this, but to their credit, Scicon saw the value in it, and the constructive manner I intended it. That indicates to me that Scicon is a brand that listens, takes feedback on board and fixes problems – and therefore worthy of support.

What I Look For in Bike Bags

Before we dive into the review, I want to quickly mention what I look for in a bike bag. All of these things, except price, contribute to the overall utility and affect the user experience of the bag.

Not all metrics are equal, and some of these metrics are more important that others. Obviously some of you may think some of them are not important at all. There is a downloadable spreadsheet at the end of the post so you can play around with the weightings I give each metric. The overall score is a weighted average, not simple average, so if you apply your own weighting to each metric the scores across all bike bags in the VeloNomad coverage universe (EVOC, Scicon and bike pods) will change.

You can check out all the VeloNomad bike bag reviews.

1. Agility/portability
2. Convenience
3. Stability
4. Compactability
5. Weight/Size
6. Robustness/Build Quality
7. Protection for bike
8. Adjustability
9. Storage
10. Securing the bike
11. Overall design considerations
12. Price
13. Summary
14. Who Should Buy This Bag
15. Where to Buy

Cutting to the Chase – Video

The video review gives you a complete rundown. I forgot to mention a few of the things in the list above, but after 10 takes, it was more important to get this out there rather than get it perfect.

 

What Comes with the Scicon Aero Comfort Plus

The bike bag ships with the following items. All are pictured below throughout the post.

• Bike bag cover, for storage.
• Frame protectors, foam.
• Rear D/R protector (more comments on this below).
• Skewers, front and rear.

Agility/Maneuverability

This bike bag, hands down, kicks butt in the agility stakes. On 4 castors, it turns on a dime and is never a hassle to move around.

The side straps are fine for the occasion lift of the bag.

Where it excels is airport queues, particularly check-in, as well as transit and transfers. No lifting, no carrying, no dragging, it just goes with you.

I love its face off in the agility stakes (I wanted to go Spinal Tap and turn the rating up to “ileven” but it's got to be a 10).

10/10 in agility.

**Update 10 Feb 2012 – I took this bag from the Gold Coast to Melbourne over Christmas 2011. It is SERIOUSLY AMAZING in terms of agility and getting around the airport. I am yet to find a better bag in this regard.

The castors: responsible for the excellent maneuverability/agility.

Convenience and Packing

This relates to how easy and convenient it is to get your bike into and out of this bag, and set up ready to ride. I consider this important on shorter trips, for example, flying into Adelaide from within Australia, for the Tour Down Under. You land in the morning, arrive at the hotel, probably can't check in, but can quickly be on the bike out to the stage.

This bike bag is also great in that regard. The bag stands up, you take your wheels off and secure the bike to the two stands in the frame. Super easy. Pack your wheels, take the rear DR off, take the pedals (see below) off, do some straps up, zip up, done.

You can leave the pedals on – especially if you have small form factor pedals (e.g. Speedplays) – and could probably get away with leaving Shimano pedals on. I personally would take them off given it's a 5 minute job.

You might rotate your bars forward as well, to protect the hoods and levers, and loosen your hoods and levers off. It's not necessary, but might be safer. I just add loads of bubble wrap to this area.

I'd remove my seat and post and rear D/R too.

Once you do all these things the time investment approaches other bags.

These things need to be done to protect the bike and these impact the convenience score.

7/10 in convenience.

Below you can see that all you need to do is open the bag, insert the front forks arm, take the wheels off, and the bike is “in”.

Stability

This bike bag is pretty stable. Quite wide laterally, it would take a fair bump to knock it over (unlike the Polaris bike pod).

It has a tendency to tip forward if the front castors hit a bump. Put more weight on the back, though – this will help stabilise it.

8/10 on stability.

Compactability

The Scicon Aero Comfort Plus packs down into a fairly small package (given its size). You could further compress it with some occy straps. It comes supplied with a bike bag bag, and the bike bag is easy to roll up and get into the bag.

This is useful if you have a hire car, campervan or want to leave your bike bag stowed out of the way in some accommodation.

8/10 for compactability.

Below you can see how the bag packs down compared to a wheel.

Weight/Size

Another important factor in bike bags is the weight and size. This bike bag weighs 7.5kg on my scales (6.9kg claimed). It is one of the lightest on the market.

The size is about as small as you could hope for given how the bike is housed.

10/10 for size/weight.

Robustness, Longevity and Build Quality

My opinion is that the Aero Comfort Plus manifestly fails in regard of longevity and robustness (due to design decisions and quality of parts). This is due to flaws in a few areas.

Castors

As I mention in the video review, I've heard numerous stories of castors going missing in transit – the castors have locknuts! Craig over at UberDomestique reports he has lost a wheel even after tightening every castor before his trip. I've personally had a castor (on a bag I borrowed for a trip in 2009) come loose. Luckily I found out it in time.

I've heard some people replace the stock castors but on a bag at this price level (which I cover below) you shouldn't have to do things like this.

Finding replacements used to be a crapshoot – Craig has been looking for one for months. They're threaded so you need to find the right part. For the Aussies, not even Bunnings has something!

You can now buy replacement castors from Wiggle.

Below you can see how the castors are secured to the frame.

Zips

Whilst Craig over at UberDomestique will disagree with me, my opinion is that these zips (internal and external) are inadequate. They feel too flimsy for a bike bag. The EVOC uses very robust, large gauge YKK zips which are bomb proof. I think the Scicon ACP zips are inadequate given the context in which they are used – a large form factor bike bag.

This isn't a deal breaker, they could easily be swapped for bulletproof large gauge zips by the manufacturer. If they break on your watch, have big zips put in.

This zip on the wheel compartment is broken. The bag has not been used nor the zip ever touched (by me).

External front strap buckles

The external strap used to tow the bike bag – hence an important part of its utility and usability – uses a plastic D ring and clip. These break.

They are also exposed to potential risk in transit (impact). Scicon tell me they've addressed this in the newer version, by adding an external pocket in which to stow the strap prior to handing it over to the airline.

My suggested fixes:
For minimal cost these could be swapped to aluminium which would hugely add to the quality and longevity.

Internal straps

As I see it, there are two problems with the internal straps.

Firstly, they attach to the internal side wheel compartments (top tube strap) and sides (front and rear straps), thus the force holding the bike is more lateral rather than down.

What I mean by this, is that you tighten the straps and they pull the sides in and the bike down a little. If the straps were attached to the bike bag frame, rather than the bag sides, they would provide extra down-force on the bike and secure it further inside the bag.

To me this is a fundamental design flaw.

Secondly, the straps – tongue and clip – break and also just decouple. In 2009, I arrived in Frankfurt and found the straps had come undone and the bike had come off the stabilisers (more on this later). The bike was flapping all over the shop and resting on the rear D/R (oh, joy).

You want to your bike to be absolutely dialled in and secured in rock solid inside your bike bag.

My suggested fixes:
Change the straps to be attached to the internal frame of the bike bag.
The rear strap could go over the stays.
Change the straps to be velcro or, metal buckles.

Internal Material

The internal fabric is of not sufficient quality in my book. I've heard numerous stories of the internal fabric ripping after a couple of trips. Again this is not acceptable.

My suggested fixes:
This is an easy design fix – the internals could be surfboard bag foil – this material is super robust.

External Material

The external fabric is of not sufficient quality to withstand the travails of international travel – it's primary use case! It can be prone to show noticeable evidence of knocks and result in serious wear and tear after one trip.

My suggested fixes:
This is an easy design fix – external edges most prone to contact should be rubber bash guards. This includes the areas near the wheel hubs, the base, the front and back extremities, and the top.

Base material and Base

The base material appears to be the same as the rest of the bag albeit a thin layer. For such an exposed area, this should be much more robust.

There are a few issues here.

If the bag gets wet, any gear you have in the bag may get wet.
This is quite an exposed area – if the base is torn, any gear you have in there could fall out.

My suggested fixes:
Again, an easy fix. Make the base rubber bash guard material, or a harder plastic. This won't impact weight but will improve longevity.

** NOTE: Scicon tell me they have made the base of a waterproof material in the new version of this bag as well as making it anti-tear. I can't confirm this but will take them on their word here. This is therefore a positive development.

I am going to give longevity/robustness a 2/10. I'll have to confess I have a bit of anchoring bias caused by the EVOC (EVOC bike bag review here). It is a bulletproof bag.

Here the base material is seen as lightweight and I think, a high risk area for damage. You can see it bunches up when the bag is open.

Protection for bike

Bike frame

There is adequate padding in the sides of the bike bag. There are two removable medium density pads (yellow) which protect the hoods. There is virtually no padding fore and aft to protect the forks and rear of the bike. Nor is there padding for the seat, though I am told by Scicon that this has been addressed in the 2012 version of the bag.

In my opinion the top of the bike bag could have medium density foam added to help protect the top of the bike, as well as the areas around the forks and rear of the bike.

The bike bag ships with 2 foam cylinders/pads which are to protect the frame. These are essentially redundant (apart from protecting your top tube from the internal strap) – an impact has to get past your wheels first, to get to your frame. They would protect against internal knocks only. Whilst it's not essential, you might want to fit them as a precaution.

The wheels fit into slightly padded compartments (zippered) – 1 per side – which helps protect the bike frame. I'd rather my travel wheels (Mavic Open Pros, or Ultegra) take a knock than my frame.

There is no hard plastic disk to protect the wheel hubs in my version, though Scicon tell me the 2012 version of the bike bag addresses this which is great news.

To protect your bike, I'd add some bubble wrap, an old sheet or towel to the forks, the rear stays and the seat. Note, most other bike bags except hard case bike pods, need to have extra padding.

Hoods, Levers, Bars

As I mention in the video, in 2009, I got home and found my bars bent and the right hand side (RHS) shifter/hood assembly (Ultegra) had been smashed inwards. Lesson: always loosen your hoods off a bit. If you crash or they get knocked hard, they'll spin round rather than break (hopefully).

Whilst this isn't a bike bag problem (it's a baggage handler problem) the primary purpose of the bike bag, apart from providing a way to transport your bike, is to protect it from the travails of international travel.

However the very design and nature of this bike bag exposes your bike to potential damage in this area. To reduce risk, loosen your stem nuts off and rotate your bars forward so the hoods are effectively at the “bottom” of (or underneath) the bars. Alloy bars and stem are highly recommended for travel.

Rear Derailleur

The bike bag ships with a rear D/R protector that is supposed to sit inside the rear skewer and protect your rear D/R.

I have two problems with this. Firstly, the hanger has a funny shape that prevents it from sitting flush against my Look (and presumably other bikes). The means it sits “off” the frame, and the provided skewers aren't long enough so basically its rendered not usable.

Second, the bag is not long enough to provide enough room for the rear D/R cable. Your rear D/R cable and probably rear D/R will get knocked. Don't say I didn't warn you. Even with padding, you risk damage.

The solution to all this is to learn how to (if you don't already know) remove your rear D/R. Wrap it up in bubble wrap and tape it to your down tube, the rear stays or wherever you're comfortable putting it.

This will free up extra space for padding for the rear of your bike.

Seat

I'd remove my seat and post, or, lower them right down. In the pictures below, my seat is about as low as it can go (due to the seatpost geometry and the down tube geometry). If you can slide your seat post down, you can leave your seat in, particularly if you have an alloy post and/or bike. Wrap an old sheet or bubble wrap around them.

Protection gets a 5/10.

Adjustability

The Scicon will house most road bikes, given that the front arm that the forks attach to slides forward and backward (inside a metal sleeve). With my XS Look frame bedded into the bike bag, there is still ample room to accommodate bike frames up to XL.

Integrated seat post bikes are not recommended for this bag in my opinion. Bigger ISP bikes will struggle to fit in, and expose the bike to potential damage.

The only question mark here, which I highlight in the video, is the amount of “play” or spare room in the front of the bike bag. With my XS frame in the bag, there is about 10cm of spare room in front of the forks into which I can put padding. If you have a larger bike, particularly one where the geometry results in the forks being thrust forward more (head tube angle, rake), you might have an issue.

The rear metal support structure is an arm through which a skewer (supplied) passes and secures the rear of the bike. The rear stand is not adjustable but there is ample room between it and the rear material of the bag for some padding, if you remove the rear D/R (more on this later).

You might struggle to get a mountain bike in this bag (my personal feeling is you're better off looking at an EVOC bike bag for a mountain bike). The wheel compartments may be a tight fit, but again, Scicon have apparently addressed this problem in the 2012 of this bag.

7/10 for adjustability.

Storage

There is ample space in this bag to store some of your gear. I'd be packing soft stuff like kit and clothing, in order to help protect the bike.

There is only one internal pocket which in my opinion is in an awkward position and is not big enough. Bike bags need big, big stash pockets and lots of 'em! Scicon tell me they've added more internal and external pockets on the 2012 version of the bag including an external pocket for the towing strap. Great news! I love it when companies fix things that need fixing!

9/10 – loads of room.

Securing the bike

As I discuss at length above, the internal straps and how they secure the bike, are manifestly inadequate. I discuss how they ought to be fixed above.

The skewers in my opinion, don't do an adequate job. On my 2009 trip, despite doing them up tight, the rear of my bike still came loose from the rear stand (despite the straps!) and the bike was all over the place, banging the rear D/R.

2/10 for securing the bike.

Overall design considerations

The Scicon Aero Comfort Plus admirably succeeds in making it very easy to get your bike in and out of. I can't think of another bike bag that provides such a rapid pack/unpack process.

The zips are in the right spots. The straps are adequate in number and properly located.

The bag is balanced and stable. It moves around easily.

The bike stands up which is great. No need to lie it on its side.

No need to take your pedals off (perhaps take them off if you have Shimano pedals).

From a design, ease of use, and overall useability point of view, it's well thought out and executed.

I don't rate this as all these elements are discuss above.

Price

Let's face it – this bike bag is at the upper end of the price scale. Certainly not the most expensive, but a long way from offering excellent value for money, especially given the flaws I have mentioned.

Given the price (circa AUD$600 online), I expect better as per my comments above.

HOWEVER, it's important to note that Scicon have identified many of these issues and are rectifying many of them in the 2012 model.

4/10 on price.

Summary and Overall Score

The agility and weight of the Scicon Aero Comfort Plus are bloody fantastic. Probably market leading. I cannot speak highly enough of how easy this bike bag is to wheel around airports. It's a joy.

The weight is a huge plus given airline baggage limits these days, and it's SO easy to get your bike out of the bag and set up ready to go in double time.

There are obviously some fundamental issues with the bag, which by themselves ordinarily wouldn't be an issue, however they all add up and detract from a quality user experience for this bag.

The material at the front hangs over the castors so expect that to experience some wear and tear.

The design is let down by the flaws I mention above. These are generally quality and robustness issues relating to material/parts choice. As with anything in life, compromises must be made. However, I don't think the internal straps are an area to compromise – they are a fundamental part of making sure your bike survives a trip. The same goes for using plastic buckles and small gauge zips. These contribute to a lesser lifespan and reduce the value for money proposition.

The good news is that Scicon seem willing to fix these issues and indeed have addressed some of them in the 2012 version of the bag. It's great that a company will take feedback on board to help improve their product.

Overall score: 5.55/10 weighted average (see table below). The score gets punished by the quality and longevity issues. For a bag this expensive, it should perform better in these areas. Download my bike bag scoring spreadsheet to tweak the numbers yourself.

Summary

Metric	Weight	Scicon
Agility	20%	5
Compactness	15%	5
Weight	15%	4
Robustness/Construction/Design	15%	3
Protection for Bike	30%	2
Price	5%	2
Totals	100%	3.1

 

Who Should Buy This Bag

If you are price conscious (or even if you aren't actually), fly with your bike a lot and want something that is going to last multiple trips, this bike might not meet your expectations. The EVOC will probably be the bag for you.

If you don't travel with your bike much – say once per year or less – and want something that is going to be hassle free, then check this bag out. For those doing predominantly short haul and domestic bike travel, this bike bag is very suitable.

This would be perfect for the UK readers who head to France, Spain, Italy or Belgium for a quick weekend (you bastards!) or the Aussies punching out a bit of delightful Tour Down Under in (r)Adelaide (take that Brits! The Coonawarra, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale and Barossa all in riding distance!).

As with most bike bags, the bag won't last forever, and will cop some serious knocks and thus sustain damage due to the travails of international and domestic air travel and the robustness/longevity issues I mention above.

Where to Buy

Ordinarily I wouldn't be comfortable putting an affiliate link up given the review above. However some people will still want this bag and indeed it will suit some people, so, the links below are affiliate links. The affiliate links on this site and the small commissions help keep the site going and importantly help create reviews like this. A review like this is a pretty significant investment in time. If you don't want to click an affiliate link, head on over to Google to find where to get it.

• Wiggle stocks the Scicon. If they show it as discontinued, search for Scicon Aero Comfort, as the 2012 version might have arrived by the time you're reading this (I will update this post when they do have it).
• ProBikeKit stocks the Scicon

Thanks to Scicon for this review bag

I want to give a HUGE thanks to Adriana from Scicon for sending this out to review.

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Scicon AeroComfort Plus Review by VeloNomad.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at velonomad.com.

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