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Review: EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro makes travel easier — if you can get it in your vehicle

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro rear fully
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Now that traveling is back to somewhat of a normal setting, more and more riders are traveling with their bikes. The potential problems that circle flying with your bike are varied, and no one wants to open a bike bag to discover damaged equipment. That’s why if you fly to races or go on trips with your bike regularly, a nice bike bag or travel case is paramount.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro Ready to roll

I drive to most of my races but I’ve been lucky enough to fly to some as well, and packing a bike bag has never been without anxiety — until now. The new EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro is a travel companion that wants to help you travel in peace and not receive a bike in pieces.

What is it — EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro

The new EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro is a bike case that looks to take the disassembly and uncertainty out of air travel. The collapsible bag is specifically designed for drop-bar use — hence the dramatic bar-shaped padding near the front of the box.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro getting packed with bike in tray

The idea is to get the bike packed and stored safely with the least amount of mechanical turmoil and time. After a few trips with the EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro, it’s safe to say they hit the mark.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro fully collapsed

Construction

The EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro isn’t a hard case or a softshell bag, it’s truly a mix of the two with some ingenious structural supports. For those that know their way around bike travel; hard cases protect well but they weigh a ton and can be hard to transport/store — soft shell cases are usually lighter, slimmer, but are susceptible to damage and water.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro inside detail fully built

The way EVOC designed the Road Bike Bag Pro, the case is collapsible and arrives flat with the handlebar protective layer as the only awkward piece. The EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro case collapsed comes in at 130 x 53 x 25cm and weighs around 25lbs.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro inside detail no bike

Inside the box is everything you need to pack and ship your bike. The bottom of the bag is a rugged plastic, matching the material of the handlebar supports. The remainder of the case is a mix of reinforcing fabric and ripstop style padded material on the inside.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro rear fully

For transportation, the EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro rolls on two fixed inline skate style wheels in the rear and an optional removable front wheel.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro front wheel attached

EVOC rightfully recognize that most bike racers would lose the front wheel within seconds, so they added a small stowaway bag for it — very clever and cool.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro deraileur attached to bike

On the inside of the bag, you’ll find; a metal frame where the bike will attach without wheels, EVOC padded wheel bags, various flat graphite sticks for structure, and finally, PVC style tubing for extra protection.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro graphite sticks

It sounds like a lot — and it really is. I can safely say it took me more time to build the EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro than get my bike packed and inside it. It’s similar to other bags I’ve used but the graphite sticks threw me for a loop.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro fiber glass sticks insert

Each stick fits snuggly (very snuggly) in slots around the outside of the bag. They provide structural integrity, and are very resilient to hits, bending but not denting or cracking. Another advantage of graphite sticks is they are very lightweight and add little weight to the case.

How to Pack your Bike for Travel

After setting up the sticks and getting the case to stand up in form, the next step is to set up the metal guide stand for your bike’s dropout configuration. I travel with my do-it-all ‘cross bike most of the time and found the 142 x 12 drop-out dummy axle holder fit nice and snug.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro drop out rear detail 2

There is a small amount of configuring what level to put the dummy axel in — there are four in the rear and two in the front. These are set up in various heights to make certain your chainring doesn’t pass under the metal frame. Some bikes are easier to fit than others, but no matter what — all bikes will fit.

Like the MTB oriented EVOC Bike Travel Bag Pro, the rear support is designed to protect the rear derailleur and derailleur hanger from impacts. To do so, simply shift the rear derailleur inwards until it makes contact with the vertical support – now any impact won’t be able to bend the hanger.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro fork details 2

After you remove your wheels, you attach the frame to the bike stand mounting the front end first and moving the rear to meet the dropouts. The sliding dropout on the metal frame is super nice and you never have to fight with pushing or pulling into place.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro all trayed up and rolling

When the bike is secure, the handlebar cover buckles over the cockpit assembly. This may not look like much but I’ll assure you, this material is super tough, plus it sits inside a hardshell case when all is said and done. One of the best parts of this bag is that you don’t have to make any changes to your bar and stem position. That way your fit remains untouched, and it’s ready to ride at your destination.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro hadle bar padding installed

When I travel, I usually take some tools with me and remove the rotors from my bike just in case. So after removing the rotors, and pedals I stored them away in my Green Guru bag and pack the wheels.

The EVOC wheel bags are generous, but they didn’t fully cover my 35mm gravel tires, so I decided that a 28mm road tire would have to do. You may have better luck with larger tires by deflating them before cramming them into the bag.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro with road wheels

I found it easier to add the wheel to the case and then add the metal bike frame into the bag. Before you put the wheel in you’ll need to add the last layer of protection to the EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro — the PVC rod. This plastic rod slides in right in the middle of the inside of the bag and is much easier to install than the graphite sticks.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro side view about to zip

Once you have the PVC rod in on each side, you’re ready to pack. The wheel goes in, then the frame, and then the other wheel. The EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro comes with straps to hold the bike, wheels, and cargo in place.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro saddle view of full bag

The bike should slide easily into the bag, though I’ve heard some stories of riders needing to drop the seat post a bit to fit.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro brace solo

Once you’re positive the bike fits, you add the bracing rod through the rear triangle. This is a super cool feature that adds tons of rigidity to a delicate area of the bike frame.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro Case detail back ziper

When you are satisfied with the pack job, you’re all good to zip up. The EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro zips really nice with a burly zipper with a combo lock — good for keeping people out of your stuff if you get help up, but you might want to set it after TSA security check-in.

Real-life travel with the EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro

The EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro is super easy to pack up but it wasn’t as easy to fit it in my car with the family. The plastic handlebar section makes it a bit tough to finesse in and out of the car, so if you’re traveling with it, make plans ahead of time and spare your family the headache.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro roll with the family
When you’re stuck in line at check-in, and you have kids to cart around. The bag’s size and difficulty to steer from the top are notable.

Wheeling the bag around the airport was easy enough, the extra wheel in the front helps move the bag easily. The top-heavy nature of the bag can make it hard to roll around if it’s not your only bag and you’re trying to keep your kiddos in line.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro top view

Hopefully, you’re not lugging the bag around the airport for too long, but the professional look and style will get you some looks. Plus — most people are kind enough to give you room to pass.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro combo lock

I’m usually worried about how my bike will come after going through TSA and Home Land Security, but this simple pack job put me at ease. When I picked my bag from the conveyer belt it showed little signs of wear or abrasions. When I opened the box, everything was in place, as I packed it — this is rarely the case when I use my hardshell case where I use my Tetris skills to organize and TSA has to recreate my pack job.

EVOCs Road Bike Bag Pro rear fully

EVOC Road Bike Travel Bag Pro Review

If you’re in the market for a bike travel bag that packs away much easier than a full hard shell but has most if not all of the hard shell benefits — this is your bag. The price is a bit steep, and if you’re thinking you won’t use it much, I would consider renting a bike instead. If you like to travel with your own gear and do it often, the EVOC Road Bike Bag Pro is a top choice. Plus you can lend it to your buddies for a six-pack when not in use.

Price: $945.00

https://evocsports.us/

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11 Comments
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John
John
2 years ago

Any comment on axle compatibility, frame size max and min, acceptance by various airlines, overall dimensions when assembled/packed, will a flared bar fit, will a flat bar gravel machine fit, how much additional space exists for packing soft goods, can the wheel bags be swapped for different ones and still fit (I.e. intercompatibility?)… there is so much this review didn’t touch on which is pertinent to travellers – but thanks for the rotor removal comment and plug for the recycled tube bag.

Jaap
Jaap
2 years ago

@Jordan, what saddle height were you able to fit in there? (and 3 pictures aren’t loading)

mud
mud
2 years ago

Of course a monstrosity like is subject to oversize charges – for United, that’s $150 each way for domestic flights, $200 for overseas. That should be a part of any review. Small folding bags like OruCase or Post Transfer case are not only much cheaper but don’t incur oversize charges when flying (they are marginally over 62″ but are so close they are rarely measured). They are also much more compact to store at home.

Gleas
Gleas
2 years ago
Reply to  mud

Ive been flying with this bag for a year and have never been hit with an oversize fee. Fully packed it is under the 50 pound weight limits and the 115 linear inch size limit so Delta and American both consider it standard luggage and charge 30$. As far as United, I’ve given up flying them now that they are the last major airline who still gouges you for glying with a Bicycle regardless of size.

alex rodriguez
alex rodriguez
2 years ago

It was looking ok, not great, till I got to the price. Even at half the price I would not go for this case. Removing bars is very easy to do, so that bar shape is not really buying you much convenience and it is very inconvenient to try to carry in a vehicie. I’ve travelled with both a soft case and a hard case and the hard case is the better when carrying a full size bike. yes, it required taking more apart, but the carry convenience is more than offset by the extra time it takes to fit the bike in the hard case. You would be better served by doing a S&S coupler retrofit to a frame which will cost about the same as this case. Or get a Ritchey Breakaway frame.

MiCk
MiCk
2 years ago
Reply to  alex rodriguez

Correct, not everyone needs this case…
But, In a world of heavily integrated front ends (both road & tri) many new bikes are a nightmare to try & disassemble for travel. This case addresses that issue.
Yes… it is a PITA to set up this case, and with a simple, traditional bike I will take my Biknd case, but come race travel with my race bike, I’ll defer to this case every time (said as a 30+ yr mechanic)
At my shop, this case out sells everything else combined since it’s introduction.

tinkertowncycle
2 years ago

I have an opinion….

lilne
lilne
2 years ago

Wow- thanks for the amazing review. I was himming and hawing about whether to get this but I feel a lot more confident now hearing exactly how you did it and your real life experience with it. Thanks for breaking it all down. I do wonder about the rear axel. I’m guessing my small rear axel will shift a bit but hopefully that’s ok.

lucas
lucas
2 years ago

would using this case with an xc bike (removing the handlebars) work? looking for one case that can be used for multiple bikes and am dealing with the integrated headset/handlebar fiasco for my principal race bike.

Zach
Zach
2 years ago

Thanks for this review. I’ve been eyeing the old version of the pro bag (no hybrid plastic top, so handlebars are removed) and this one and thinking about fitting things in cars. I have one kiddo, and at home we have an outback, so no problem, I think. I usually put the 2/3 section of the rear seat forward and can fit a bike with wheels on and him or other configurations of things. But when traveling, we try not to rent big SUVs. What size vehicle were you able to get it into? My biggest concern is when I go to Spain this summer and what size small SUV we can get. Of course, I can always strap it up top LOL. Any advice on this front specific to type of vehicle? Thanks again. Zach

Jason
Jason
8 months ago

Not great success for me. First flight with it and the plastic cracked. Evoc customer support were quite useless. Taking it to the landfill tomorrow and ordering something different.

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