Orucase/ bike travel questions?

[Jcgill]

Hello,

I recently purchased an orucase and am about to fly from midway to denver and back with my caad10 inside it.
I packed my bike as the orucase directions say to.....

But now i am beginning to get nervous, i guess I imagined the bike would fit better or differently inside the case?

I even went above and beyond what they said to, i removed the chain completely, removed the rear mech, front brake and put them in padded pouches i made. I bought foam pipe insulation and covered every frame tube in the poper size for the diameter of the tube, and i machined aluminum spacers to go in the fork and rear dropouts with qr levers!

My main concern is if you feel the edges of the case, i can feel my 50t chainring up against the case "wall"

Am I overthinking this? I cannot imagine everyone raving about orucase and others if they had issues with damage etc.
The case is great, just getting nervous to turn it over to the airlines.....


Thanks,
Jon

[OtayBW]

I've noticed these. Look like an interesting idea. Like to hear your experience when you get back.

[eddief]

is it under 62 inches:

Will my case be under 62 linear inches?

Many airlines specify that bike fees only apply oversized luggage, or luggage that is greater than 62 linear inches. Here at The Airport Ninja it is our mission to create cases that suit a wide range of bike brands and bike sizes. We suggest that you email us with your bike make and size before ordering if you have any questions about your case dimensions. We can certainly accommodate the largest of frame sizes, including full suspension 29ers, however the case will be larger.

[Jcgill]

Mine is technically 64 linear inches, but the odd shape of it makes it hard to measure accurately, taking the measurements at the largest areas yeilds 64 inches......measuring smaller areas can make it technically 58 inches.
It looks like a normal suitcase as opposed to evoc and scicon cases, and the black makes it pretty discrete, hoping to sneak by for free and have my bike in one piece after the roundtrip!

[hokoman]

Originally Posted by Jcgill

My main concern is if you feel the edges of the case, i can feel my 50t chainring up against the case "wall"

I just packed a bike in a softcase travel case. The chainring rubbed up against the bottom of the case, so I shifted the chain onto the big ring so it wouldn't rip up the inside of my case. I used a lot of pipe tubing and blue tape for everything else.

My one concern with the orucase is that the baggage handlers are rough with bags, and they stack them pretty high on the luggage carts. I've flown about 400k miles in the last 2 years and my luggage looks terrible and my stuff does get smooshed inside... and I am pretty good at packing. My bags are usually between 50 and 70lbs each. Imagine 3 of those stacked on top of your bike.

[.RJ]

Some airlines will allow you to mark it as 'fragile' and hand carry it to a different line, I think same as the oversize baggage line although no extra fees.

[572cv]

Originally Posted by Jcgill

Hello,

I recently purchased an orucase and am about to fly from midway to denver and back with my caad10 inside it.
I packed my bike as the orucase directions say to.....

But now i am beginning to get nervous, i guess I imagined the bike would fit better or differently inside the case?

I even went above and beyond what they said to, i removed the chain completely, removed the rear mech, front brake and put them in padded pouches i made. I bought foam pipe insulation and covered every frame tube in the poper size for the diameter of the tube, and i machined aluminum spacers to go in the fork and rear dropouts with qr levers!

My main concern is if you feel the edges of the case, i can feel my 50t chainring up against the case "wall"

Am I overthinking this? I cannot imagine everyone raving about orucase and others if they had issues with damage etc.
The case is great, just getting nervous to turn it over to the airlines.....


Thanks,
Jon

I've done a few trips now with the Orucase, both domestic and foreign. The case fits the bike just so. I think the tightness of the fit helps it to be protected. That said, some miscellaneous observations:
- I was nervous about the big chain ring, and made sure that 1) the chain was on that ring as it sits down in the case, and 2) that there was an extra layer of 1/2" thick dense foam under the chain ring. That worked fine, no damage to ring or case.
- I used some plastic spacers too. They were fine.
- I did not cover the frame with foam. There has been no observation of any consequence.
- A little more protection for the wheel axles seems in order, mostly to cushion the case. Same foam as above, or some dense cardboard seems to have been ok.
- Next time I change my cables, I'm going to add maybe 1-2" to the length to give the handlebar assembly a little more room to schooch around the frame and top tube.
- My experience with the orucase has been very good. My only concern is how well it will hold up. It did save me a fee on the domestic flight, so good on that!

[Jcgill]

Update:

First flight was a success!

I placed a piece of foam pipe insulation along the bottom of the chainring to pad the teeth prior to leaving this morning.

I arrived at midway airport in chicago and the skycap asked what was in the bag; i said a trade show display. He said ok and that was it, he put the tag on and away it went. No $75 fees, it counted as one of the two free checked bags on southwest.

I arrived in denver and the bag was placed in the oversize luggage pickup area as opposed to going on the luggage conveyor. I picked it up without any issues.

I noticed the zippers were in the center as opposed to one end as i had zipped them, and the top cinch straps were loose. At the hotel I opened it up and inside was the generic letter that tsa had searched my bag. (Which I assumed from the zipper position.)
Everything inside the case was EXACTLY as i had left it, nothing was moved, nothing was disturbed, nothing was damaged.
Took around an hour to reassemble the bike here in the hotel.

The case held up really well also, there is some minor scuffing which is to be expected, but all the straps and seams are as new.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Jcgill

My main concern is if you feel the edges of the case, i can feel my 50t chainring up against the case "wall"

I have a related story that may serve as a cautionary tale:

Years ago I carefully packed my De Rosa in my Trico Iron Case and shipped it by Fed Ex (might have been UPS, I'm not 100% sure) to Bozeman, then back to St Louis. When I put everything back together at home I noticed that I now had a significant wobble in the big chainring, clearly visible inside the f-der cage. Upon inspection of the case I noticed chainring tooth marks in the plastic of the case.

I assume that at some point, while it was in transit, the case was dropped on the lower long side and the bike slid downwards within the case until something stopped it. In this case, that was the chainring.

Moral of the story: be sure that you have plenty of stiff / strong padding on all sides of the bike so it can not shift within whatever it is you have it packed in.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by Jcgill

I arrived at midway airport in chicago and the skycap asked what was in the bag; i said a trade show display. He said ok and that was it, he put the tag on and away it went.

Perfect answer...

[deepakvrao]

Originally Posted by 572cv

I've done a few trips now with the Orucase, both domestic and foreign. The case fits the bike just so. I think the tightness of the fit helps it to be protected. That said, some miscellaneous observations:
- I was nervous about the big chain ring, and made sure that 1) the chain was on that ring as it sits down in the case, and 2) that there was an extra layer of 1/2" thick dense foam under the chain ring. That worked fine, no damage to ring or case.
- I used some plastic spacers too. They were fine.
- I did not cover the frame with foam. There has been no observation of any consequence.
- A little more protection for the wheel axles seems in order, mostly to cushion the case. Same foam as above, or some dense cardboard seems to have been ok.
- Next time I change my cables, I'm going to add maybe 1-2" to the length to give the handlebar assembly a little more room to schooch around the frame and top tube.
- My experience with the orucase has been very good. My only concern is how well it will hold up. It did save me a fee on the domestic flight, so good on that!

Looking at switching from Pika to this.

Mailed them and they said that the standard was 69", and the 62 has less protection. My wife's is a small bike [50cm], and mine is a 54. What would you suggest?

I really dont want to have to buy the Oru and then still get caught on the sizing, but I dont want to scrounge on the protection either.

[Jcgill]

When I emailed to inquire before buying they told me this:
They basically have 3 standard sizes: small for 54cm or smaller, medium for 56-58 bikes, and large for 58 and larger. And they can do full custom if you chose.
I ride 54cm in production bikes and 55cm is preferred if available or custom.
I told them to give me the next size up medium case just so i had a little wiggle room to be safe and in case i get a different bike to travel with or want to take a cx bike one day.
Not sure if they did give me the medium or not, but it was a bear to fit my 54cm caad 10 in for the first time. Now that i know the “tricks” it is a little easier and I think next ime i will pull the crankset to make the bike sit a little lower in the case. Also i will add a little slack to the cablehousing to allow the bars to move around after pulling the stem (next time they need replacing)
I think Eli told me each size adds 2 inches to the case itself, so I doubt a sky cap can spot a 2” difference. The sky caps at the airports do ask what is in the bag and i said a trade show display and they didn’t flinch as they tagged it and put it thru the conveyor. Also for what it’s worth i have never seen any airport employee use a tape measure on luggage, so I think that is how this passes because it looks close enough to the 62” limit they just pass it along to keep the line moving rather than delaying the people behind you in line.
At Denver international the sky cap did snap back what do you display?
I was wearing an oakley shirt so i said oakley sunglasses, he went on to rave about how he loves his oakleys and sent the oru case along with a smile and zero fees.

I personally do not see how case sizing can affect protection...it’s basically a circle bag with a slit on the top like a purse, and then it has an 8 inch wide padded strip around the inner circumference. I think the snugness helps protect things as they do not bounce around.

Hope this helps,
Jon

[deepakvrao]

Thanks Jon. Any idea what your bike measures from rear dropout to head tube top?

[SpeedyChix]

Any other updates from Orucase users? How would an Orucase do packing a hydro-equipped drop bar bike?
Recent trips have been shipping an S+S case out rather than flying with it. How does the Orucase do protecting the bike when using UPS or FedEx?

[nooneline]

I've used an Orucase exclusively for a lot of domestic bike and bikeracing travel, for about 4 years. Never been charged.

The only issue I've ever had is one time, I packed my bike so that my chainring was sitting in the seam between the bottom and the side - instead of being protected by the thick layer of vinyl (or whatever) sewn in, it was on the seam. Must have been put down sturdily, and I had a bent chainring tooth to show for it. A shop took care of it in five minutes, and ever since then I've been a bit more careful.

My wife's 54cm bikes actually fit in our cases a little easier than my 50cm ones - mostly because she has a bit more cable/housing and room to maneuver her handlebars.