Evoc Bike Travel Bag After 10+ Flights (and How To Increase Protection)

Corey Philip // 29 Mar 2024

Ready to do some travelling with your bike?

If you like riding a nice bike that feels just right for you, and avoid the headache of a rental bike, you’ll need to travel with your bike and get it there safely.  

Side thought: Bike rentals suck.  It takes an hour to pick up.  Mistakes happen with the reservation.  

In the last 2 years I’ve gone on at least 10 flights with mountain bike (seriously at least 10, probably close to 20) encompassing countless legs which means the bike had to get loaded and unloaded from the plane.  

In short my review for the Evoc bag is resoundingly positive.  The bike has had no damage when traveling in the EVOC Bag.  Frontier Airlines, Delta Airlines, I’ve been through them all and had no damage in the evoc bag.

My Specialized Stumpjumper in the Evoc Travel Bag. Returned from a long summer of shredding 2021.

What I like About The Evoc Bag

Wheels.  It’s got wheels on one end so you can drag it around.  Airline staff always comment on this at the bag drop, and I couldn’t imagine getting it around without wheels.  

It’s Easy To Pack.  Basically you just need to take off the wheels, then the handlebars, and then you’re pretty much good to good.  From there you just set the bike into the back on the the little stand.

Accommodates A Full Suspension 29r.  I’m not travelling with the smallest of bikes.  I’ve got a 29” Specialized Stumpjumper.  The frame fits into the bag with plenty of space.  The wheels are a tight fit but they do indeed fit.  Sometimes I have to deflate the tires a bit, other times they just slide right in.  It’s weird but if you’ve ever packed a bike you know what I mean; you can never pack it exactly the same way.

The Bag Collapses.  The bag is supported by some internal plastic rods / pipe.  These give it its shape.  When you’re not using the bag, you can remove these pieces and, an collapse it down into a manageable size.  This is nice so you don’t have to drag around and store a massive container.

Getting extra protection in the Evoc Bag

Although my bike has had no damage from travels, I actually feel like the bag itself is lacking in protection.  I rely on some strategic pieces of styrofoam to get some each protection.

You can ask your bike shop to save packing materials from a new bike.

Foam under the fork.  Most mountain bikes will have knobs under the fork.  In this area the evoc bag has basically no padding.  

Foam over the handle bar / lever / shifter.  When you place the handlebar in the bag one end points up and there is really nothing in this area protecting it, yet this seems to be an are of high impact if something gets stacked on top.  Here I take a square wedge of foam and place over the lever/shifter combo.

General covering.  Covering all the components is good practice just to prevent the componets from rubbing on each in the bag.  Namely you’ll find the handlebar can be kind of lose and moving around.

About the Author

Corey Philip

Mountain biker and trail runner. I work remotely and travel around riding awesome trails 66% of the year. Bike: 2020 Specialized Stumpjumper. Youtube | Strava | Instagram