OG Hen House Bicycle Travel Case, Black/Red

So far I have used this case to transport what is considered an "all mountain" bike which weighs about 32 lbs and has 26” tires. Everything fit as described and the bike made it both ways totally unharmed. So I couldn't be happier. The case is well constructed and held up to the rigors of my mishandlings, and the airports gentile touch. The shipping was very prompt as well.I have only a few criticisms or concerns which I think can be corrected. With the restrictions on size the wheel base on the “frame bag” is very narrow for a bike frame that is inverted and now has its CG high. This leads to the case falling over frequently when you are not holding the handle (not a big deal). Also with the two bags packed to 48 lbs (frame bag) and 36 lbs (wheel bag) the wheels bowed in when the wheel bag was strapped to the top of the frame bag and having the CG now so high because of the heavy wheel bag and the narrow wheel base the assembly tipped uncontrollably when trying to be pulled by the bowed wheels. I ended up attaching a shoulder strap to the wheel bag and pulling the frame bag which worked very well, just cumbersome with my additional carry on. I’m not sure there is a good fix for this since the Airports have dimensional requirements so the wheel base cannot be made larger. I plan to add some pink construction foam to the bottom of the case with a cutout for the seat tube to help keep the frame centered and brace the wheels with something like a square stock of wood so they don’t bow. Simple fix’s.Overall though I am very pleased. My bike and gear got there and back unscathed and I was not charged a “bike” fee. My criticisms are meant to be constructive, and should not deter potential buyers. It is a good product that will get your bike and gear there and back while giving you a chance to avoid the “bike” fees. A few more uses’ and it will pay for itself.

Got 2 armored hen house in Dec 2013. Travelled with it for the first time in April from Phoenix to DC. As I lined up to check my bag, the agent knew right away it was a bike and charged me $75 bike fees. She measured the bag length & widths at the widest dimensions and it was way over the 62in allowed. DON'T buy it because if you are going to have to pay bike fees, there are better cases that keep the bikes in 1 case instead of 2 cases like the hen house. It is false advertising.

Great product! But exceeds airlines allowed size.

I bought two of these Armored Hen Houses for our two Felt B16 triathlon bikes a couple weeks ago. The bags are extremely well made with very durable fabric and zippers that I have no doubt will last for many years. I couldn't be happier with the quality of these bags!! Some of the smaller parts are not as well made, such as the small plastic disks that plug into the wheel axles. One of these disks broke already while placing the wheel into the bag. Fortunately I don't think that part is really needed for the wheel's protection.We used Southwest Airlines for our first trip with the bags this past weekend to travel to and from Ironman 70.3 Austin. We paid no baggage fees at all, in either direction. On the flight to Austin, the agent knew they were bikes since she joked that we were "all bikes and no clothes". On the return trip the agent asked us what we had in the bags and I told her the round bags had wheels and the other two bags had carbon frames in them, which satisfied her.

Works as designed, but bulky to carry, get a luggage cart!and... PROTECT THAT DERAILLEUR HANGER! Best is to remove the derailleur hanger altogether, and armor that area well using something hard, like thick plastic sheets held together with "racing tape" (like duct tape but stronger). My derailleur hanger bent on the way to Switzerland, had to straighten it and it held, but I've had derailleur hangers break - and replacements are often not easy to find. PLENTY of space to store helmets, etc., and storing light clothing between the wheels in the wheel bag is nice. I used foam flooring cut to fit as lightweight armor for both bike frame and wheels. NOTE: You DO have to remove the fork - and there's grease there, so pack grease removing wipes and maybe a couple pair of nitrile gloves for re-assembly.Also check with your airline - many are now shipping bikes less expensively than before, and a hard case with wheels may be preferable, and is far easier to wheel through trains and busses in Europe... also once the bike is assembled these do nest inside each other but remain somewhat large.

Excellent product... have travelled with it four times already as a relatively new triathlete. Materials are very strong. The cost of travel is for two regular check-in baggage. When questioned I have said it is special exercise equipment as recommended by others. Once had to put the bag in a special area for somebody to carry it through a door as they considered it a funny shape but not oversized. For my first race overseas I had to learn how to take off the forks and rear derailleur so practiced this a bit and took plenty of photos with my phone to remember how the spacers look on the fork and stem. Lastly I purchased a 4-5 Newton pocket torque wrench from my local bike store, multi-allen wrench and a pedal wrench... and I'm pretty much fully equipped to go with this bag.

I just got this and it passed a dry run being checked as a bag without a bike in it. The Delta agent didn't measure it, ask what it was, or anything. Just threw a tag on and that was fine. I will be properly testing this for transporting my bike to/from Ironman Wisconsin and also getting a second bike home that I currently have stored at my offsite work location. I will update the review at that time.Fit and finish on the case is exceptional. Dissambling the bike to fit looks a bit challenging but that's the price of avoiding airline fees.If you have any questions about the case I would suggest contacting Ruster Sports. They are based out of Des Moines, IA and I talked to them on the phone for about twenty minutes to clear up any questions I had about the case before buying.