EVOC already makes one of the most sought after travel cases for packing up your mountain bike to head off on trail adventures far from home. And now the German bag & clothing maker has an even bigger pack – the Bike Travel Bag XL – which they are calling the first travel case designed specifically for fat bikes and the exploding market of plus-sized tire mountain bikes. With internal mounts optimized for wider axle spacing and integrated wheel bags that can fit up to 4.8″ tires, EVOC is prepped for riding in new places around the world on trails where only fat tires can take you…
Bike Travel Bag XL
EVOC’s brand is all about equipping riders with protection for any adventure, so the bigger bag makes a lot of sense whether for riding through the snows up north or exploring technical, untamed mountain tracks in some exotic locale.
At first it seemed that it wouldn’t be such a big issue to solve, but with wider Boost, then gigantic fat bike axle & BB standards, the entire bag and its internal attachment systems had to be redesigned. And trying to stuff 4.8″ tires into built-in wheel compartments, it brings back painful memories of trying to stuff 29ers in cases originally designed for 26″ bikes back in the day, and at the same time still cramming cyclocross wheels into road wheelbags.
The Bike Travel Bag XL shares the same general layout and construction as the standard travel bag, with separate side access wheel compartments, and can now work with bikes with a wheelbase up to 125cm/49.2″ long. Wheel wise it is designed to work with either proper fat 26 x 4.8″ tires or even 27.5+ or 29+ x 3.5″ tires. Inside the Variable Frame Fixation Equipment (VAFFE) setup is adaptable to almost any bike or frame layout, offering reliable security with the rigid foam blocks that protect frame & fork, plus straps that secure the bar out of the way.
The 320l overall Bike Travel Bag XL rolls on a pair of wide-set roller blade/skate wheels and a light aluminum rail reinforced base frame. The bag measures 143 x 42 x 84 cm (56.3 x 16.5 x 33″) and weighs 9.6kg (21.2lb), just over 1/2kg (~1lb) more than the standard sized bag. It still packs down relatively small – 143 x 42 x 28 cm (56.3 x 16.5 x 11″) – making it a bit more reasonable to store at home when not in use.
The new 475€ Bike Travel Bag XL comes only in EVOC’s olive green/black world map print for now, and should be available this fall in time for travels to escape winter.
