Team Bike Case anyone?

[brianlewis]

Anyone own a Team Bike Case (performancebike/nashbar)?
Thinking of getting one to ship my Giant OCR-C2 to Truckee, CA for the 2007 Sierra Sampler supported ride.  Would love to hear from those that have used this case and how much it cost them to ship usually.

Brian

[brianlewis]

Well I went to the local Performance Bike store and was able to buy it on sale for $249 without shipping.  Being a team member I got 25% back in a promotion they had.
Seems like a good case.  The locks are a little tricky to engage but they do work.  Looks like I'll need to purchase some additional foam and wrap areas of the frame and wheels to prevent any chafing.

[ptaylor]

I have a Trico Iron Sports Case, which is very similar to the one you are considering. I think all of these cases are much alike. My case came with fittings for small padlocks, but I had to buy the locks separately. I had to buy the recommended Masterlock locks via the Internet to get two keyed alike.

I have always shipped my bike UPS. Note that UPS may refuse to ship your case unless you have it locked.

I spent between $39.71 and $75.44 to ship my bike in 2006. The lowest figure was for an empty case dropped off at a UPS location and delivered to a business. The highest was for my bike and all the gear I could cram in, picked up by UPS from a business and delivered to a residence.



Paul

[Sailariel]

Does anybody have any experience with getting a bike box at your LBS and shipping UPS? The bike shop gets their new bikes that way.

[ptaylor]

Most any Local Bike Shop will be happy to give you a box, if they have one on hand. Let the shop know ahead of time when you want it, and they will usually save one for you. The only problem would normally occur at a small shop who doesn't get shipments of new bikes very often.

Also, most shops will disassemble, pack, and ship your bike for a fee. At the other end, any shop will unpack and re-assemble your bike, again for a fee.

Paul

[DaveB]

Instead of UPS consider Fed-Ex for your shippig.  Bike boxes or travel cases are assessed as "oversize" by UPS and the shipping is calculated as if the box weighed 90 pounds.  

I've done a lot of cost comparisons and Fed-Ex is always much less.