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Fat-Bike Travel Case

bikeprousacase

A few of you have asked us about travel cases for your fatties. This makes perfect sense, because people take bike or ski trips all the time, so why not take a fat-bike trip to an incredible world class destinations like Anchorage? Well that’s where I happened across the only existing solution to putting your fatty into one giant sized bike carrier for transport via airline or UPS. Our Amigos at Speedway Cycles in Anchorage had a few of these Bike-Pro USA double downhill bike cases that can fit a fat-bike and wheels, with room to spare.

We like to be thorough in our journalistic endeavors so I contacted Bike Pro USA and talked to their customer service department and asked if a fat-bike would fit inside their double downhill bike case. They had never heard of a fat-bike before. I explained that I was writing an article about it and asked if I could talk to someone in Sales or Marketing to see if we could get an official fitting into one of their bags. The helpful customer service person transferred me to Earl. I explained my situation to Earl and he remembered selling Greg some cases and shipping them up to Alaska, but didn’t have a concrete answer as to whether a fat-bike would fit in his case. I asked Earl if it would be ok, if we sent a correspondent out to the office to see if a fat-bike fit and take some pictures. Earl said “No Problem!” Bike Pro USA is located in Phoenix, so I picked up the bat-phone and texted Dirty from drunkcyclist.com. I asked him if he knew anyone that could do a little investigative reporting in the Valley of the Sun and he stepped up to the plate and volunteered his ample skill-set. So we now take you to the sunny Southwest, where Dirty has the rest of the story…

It’s not often this desert rat gets a chance to cover something fat-bike related. So I jumped in the car and took the short drive over to Bike-Pro USA. Earl met me at the door and escorted me to their conference room, which also doubled as a display area for their product. They make a lot more than just bike cases here! Hanging on the walls were probably 50 different products. Everything from first generation Camelbacks, to bike cases, first aid kits, and baby bibs.

I am fairly active in local cycling circles, and I had no idea there was a sewing factory making bike gear right here in my own town. The building is about as nondescript as they come. Situated in an industrial park with only a small sign on one door. Earl informed me that even though he is an avid cyclist, bike cases are only a fraction of their business since the airlines have continued to increase their fees. As I snooped around the room a bit, I noticed that all of the workmanship was top-notch and it filled me with an enormous amount of “Made in the USA” pride.

We decided to drag the Double Downhill case outside to, as Earl put it “Give the folks in the snowy regions some sunshine”

I popped the wheels off my bike, took off the stem and bars, and set the frame inside the bag. The first thing I noticed was that this bag is big! My medium frame fit comfortably with enough room for a large or maybe even an extra-large. The bag actually has fork mounts to hold the frame in place, but I neglected to bring a 135mm adapter, so you will just have to use your imagination.

image 1

I had removed the pedals from the bike out of habit, but with the amount of extra space, it probably wasn’t necessary. Once I put the wheels in, everything fit perfectly. There was even a good amount of room to spare for extra gear and accessories.

image 2

Earl and I chatted a bit more and I asked him if I could get a tour of his sewing factory. He was more than happy to show me, so we drug the case and bike back inside and went for a walk. The factory was buzzing with activity and I tried my best to stay out of the way.

bikepro factory shots

I had sent Gomez a picture from my phone of the bike all packed and his response was “Would you ship your bike in it?”. My answer is, without a doubt, yes. Plus knowing that it’s made in the USA, by a cycling enthusiast, makes it that much better.

Muchisimas Gracias to our amigo Dirty! Visit his page http://drunkcyclist.com/ and click yourself silly!

MSRP on the case we tested is $688. For more information about Bike-Pro USA visit – http://www.bikeprousa.com/

 

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2 Responses to Fat-Bike Travel Case

  1. jdub March 1, 2014 at 8:06 pm #

    I flew to Anchorage in 2012 for the White Mountain 100. I ended up packing my fat bike in a regular hard case bike box that I borrowed from a friend. The only catch was I could only fit one wheel in the case. I put both tires/tubes in the case and took my front wheel as a “carry-on”. On the way out I put it in the overhead compartment. On the way home the stewardess put it in their luggage closet for me (got to love the folks at Alaska Airlines). I got some funny looks walking through the Chicago airport, but the folks in Anchorage didn’t even blink an eye.

  2. Prox aguilo July 27, 2021 at 5:48 am #

    How to order for fatbike hard case.. tnx

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