DAKINE  Bike Roller Bag

Great way to fly with your bike to warm riding destinations in the winter. I’ve used this for travel for the past 3 years. Just check with your airlines for their checked sports bag rules (and weight). I can get my road bike or gravel bike in under 50 lbs. and still have room for helmet and bike shoes.

I really wanted to like this bag, but it’s completely unusable for my road bikes. First, there’s no instructions on how to pack a bike, just three small visuals that are not helpful. There are some YouTube videos, but, surely Dakine could provide better instructions. Second, my road bikes simply did not fit properly in the bag. The wheel bags fit my wheels fine, but the rotor protectors were much too large for my road bike rotors, I don’t think any protection would be provided. Then, the top tub protection just didn’t fit my bikes at all. As such, I decided to return the bag and not even risk traveling with it. I’ll go back to my Scicon Aero Comfort even if it’s a little bulkier.

I cannot recommend this bag. If this was pre-TSA times, I'd have given this a 5-star rating. Great quality and easy to pack and maneuver. But TSA inspection ruins this bag I used it on one round trip flight for me and my girlfriend. I took time to pack everything very nicely. When I arrived at my destination, and back home, the bike was rattling around in the bag and my derailer hanger was bent. The PROBLEM: TSA has to inspect the bag contents for safety. In order to open and inspect the inner wheel pouch, TSA has to remove the straps/clips holding the bike frame in place and then move the frame out of the way. When I arrived at my destinations, the straps holding the frame in place were removed and re-clipped by TSA, but they were completely loose (you have to clip and tighten the straps when packing the frame) and the frame was free to bounce around inside the bag. I will be returning and purchasing a bag that doesn't require the frame to be unclipped for TSA inspection.

I've traveled twice with this bag so far, once from Medford, Oregon to Phoenix and the second time from Medford to Dallas. Both times I was transporting a Raleigh RXC cyclocross bike. Both times, the bike arrived unscathed. To address the other reviewer who had issues from the internal straps being loosened by TSA during their inspections, I had the same happen to me on this most recent second trip. I plan to leave a note in the bag next time, asking TSA to cinch the straps back down when they're done with their inspections. Hopefully this will correct the issue. As for the other reviewer who says that this bag is unsuitable for road bikes, I beg to differ. A cyclocross bike is essentially ninety percent road bike, and my cyclocross bike with disc brakes (a point of concern for the reviewer) fit just fine. I even packed one of my road bikes in this bag prior to that first trip (before I changed my mind and packed the cyclocross bike instead), and it fit fine as well. As for the overall performance of this bag, TSA inspections notwithstanding, I am very happy with it. On that second trip, I had a layover in Phoenix, followed by a connecting flight to Dallas. That connecting flight was delayed by ten hours due to weather, and as a result of the airline's rerouting and changing of flight reservations, the bike bag took a trip to San Diego, then Charlotte, before finally arriving in Dallas, all while I was stuck overnight in Phoenix. I was so prepared for the bike to be in multiple pieces when I too finally arrived in Dallas and picked it up. To my surprise and relief, it was just fine, which was fortunate, since I was competing in a race the following day! No product is perfect, but this one has served me well thus far.

INSTRUCTIONS would be nice. There is NOTHING in the package about how to pack the bike. A couple of YouTube videos from people who have never used the bag. Looks like a great bag otherwise. Leaving on my first trip now, so fingers crossed.