A cheap solution are "fertilizer bags" made from a woven HDPE or PP fabric.

There are zippered bags of the same fabric that are specifically made for
airline travel and have the maximum dimensions for check-in baggage (€ 1,50 in Germany) These need to be reinforced with belts or duct tape.

Another idea is packing the bags with your bike in an unpaddded bike bag (around 2kg) that you use as a sleeping pad while on the road. and reinforce with disposable
padding material (cardboard) for air travel.

Cheers,

Hi,

I had a good experiemce with this combo:

http://www.fietsvakantiewinkel.nl/2www/flightbag.php

I could order the flightbag plus the fieshoes (bikecover) for 25 euro last year. But now it seems that you can only order the combination of all three components, i.e. bikecover plus flightbag plus derailleur guard:

http://www.fietskaarten.nl/?artikelid=478002

As I have a Rohloff Speedhub (expensive but highly recommended!) I don't need the derailleur guard.

Good luck and happy trails,

Jörg.

Hi -- I am always looking for ways to get around the airlines taking my money. My partner and I often travel with our bicycles and panniers -- so, we pack the bikes (and, if you are traveling domestically, consider and research FedEx and Greyhound for sending your bike -- much cheaper) and we don't pack too much in them since they could easily get overweight. I do pack my helmet and tools in the box with the bike. Then, I nest my panniers and put what I can in them and put them in a cloth shopping bag -- this is my carry-on. I pack bike shorts and essentials and whatever I can in a very lightweight backpack (mostly stuff I want to make sure gets to my destination with me)-- this is my under the seat carry-on. If we are camping and have more stuff -- we go to the thrift store and get an old duffle bag and pack in that -- together -- and that is our one checked bag. Then when we get to our destination, we throw away the duffle bag or if we can find a thrift store, we off load it there. We carry the shopping bag and the backpack -- very handy for off the bike excursions. If you don't want to hassle with the shopping bag and backpack -- do the thriftstore thing with them, too. Then, on the way home, we go to the thrift store again and get a duffle for on the way home. This last trip, we couldn't find a thrift store, so we went to a sporting goods store (a big box, chain!) and they found an old duffle in the back that they couldn't sell, so they sold it to us for six dollars. So, that is what works for us. Good luck!

We find that between two of us we can fit everything into 1 bike box each and then walk on with a fairly heavy carry-on bag while wearing lots of extra clothes!

In Australia, we discovered that QANTAS bike boxes (sold by the airline) are heaps bigger than the recycled boxes we usually get at bike shops making it heaps easier to fit everything in. Just make sure you buy some good quality taps and plastic bags for covering dirty things before your get to the airport.

I just came from New Zealand to Europe and the best solution and very simple is a big big duffel bag wich is made of some sort of camping tent material. Just one zeeper all around and one handle. Colapses to nothing and you can store it at the bottom of one pannier when not in use. Just look them up in internet, i bought mine in a kathmandu shop in Australia so maybe try the online shop.

It lasted 2 plane trips after showing scratches and holes but not so expensive.

Sounds like a duffel bag is the way to go. I'll keep an eye out for a thin but tough one.

Thanks, folks.