Over the course of my cycling life I’ve used over a dozen different types of bike cases and each have their pros and cons. For me, I think the best qualities a bike case can have are:
- It needs to be a softshell so it can break down for easy storage
- It needs to be light (so you don’t use your baggage allowance on the bag itself)
- It needs to be protective in all the right places
- It needs to have wheels. No matter how light your set-up is, it’s awkward lugging around 15kg along with another bag in the airport or train station
- A built-in workstand? The thought never crossed my mind … but I love it!
Now, a workstand is obviously not required to build up or take apart your bike, but since it’s already an structural part of the Thule Roundtrip Pro case and minimal extra parts are required to make it work, it certainly is a “nice to have” feature which sets this case apart from the rest.
The case itself is technically a soft shell, which I like. It has very good protection on the undercarriage as well lightweight corflute on the sides. It’s a little bit on the heavy side at 9.5kg, but the heavy duty set of wheels makes up for it and makes for easy manoeuvring. The bag breaks down into something quite compact for easy storage while the bag isn’t in use (remember, if you’re travelling you don’t want a massive hardshell case to be lugging around).
Read: Flying with your bike: Tips from a baggage handler
We didn’t have the case long enough for a long-term wear test (which is when most issues tend to come out) but looking at the bag closely it appears to be well built and like it will last dozens of trips. We welcome the comments of owners out there who have travelled extensively with this bag.
The only problem I could envision with this setup, which has a front fork-mount and aluminium frame/railing, is when you have a bike with an external battery underneath the bottom bracket. While it’s possible to lengthen or shorten the railing such that the rubber block sits in front of the bottom bracket, it’s not an ideal scenario. This inconvenience will affect a minority of users, but this is just a heads-up to potential buyers.
All up, this is a fantastic option for those looking to buy a softshell case that takes minimal disassembly for the bike and offers protection in all the right places.
Find out more about the RoundTrip Pro on the Thule website here and check out some of our photos of the case below.
The workstand takes only a few moments to remove from the bag and set up. An ingenious idea by Thule.
The bag alone weighs a total of 9.5kg
Heavy duty wheels and handles for easy transport around the airport and train platforms. A must when trying to carry a lot of luggage.
A heavy duty plastic undercarriage.
The Thule RoundTrip Pro has a rugged nylon shell with an aluminium rail to protect the bike during transport, which also turns into a removable assembly stand. Two nylon wheel bags are also included.
The bike fastens onto the railing by using the quick-release mechanism which can be adapted to fit road, cyclocross and mountain bikes up to 116.8cm wheelbase. Thru axle adapters for 15mm and 20mm axles included.
The railing inside the case (doubling as the workstand base) protects the chainring with a firm rubber block. Tip: always put the chain in the big ring when transporting your bike
The only issue with these types of workstands is if you have a Di2 battery mounted underneath the bottom bracket.
Corflute side panels for protection and can be removed and broken down for easy storage.
The bag breaks down easily for convenient storage (it wasn’t until later that I found out there’s a much more tidy way of packing the bag up).
WRAP-UP
- Integrated workstand is an ingenious idea
- Very good protection in all the right areas
- Collapses down into something small for convenient storage
- Large wheels makes for easy rolling
- Slightly heavy if you're trying to keep you baggage weight under 20kg.
- Frame railing doesn't work well if you have an external battery underneath the bottom bracket.
