Reddit reviews Trico Iron Case - Bike Travel Case

Cardboard is cardboard. You just have to take the front wheel off, lower the saddle, turn the bars, and take off the pedals. A $40 piece of unused cardboard offers no additional protection. You just need to pack it properly. A used box works fine for most folks.

Of course, luggage does get damaged at airports. For a $2500 bike, you might consider a reusable iron case They're not cheap, but an investment to consider if you'll be flying more in the future.

Otherwise, you might check with your homeowner's insurance to see if they cover damaged luggage. Sometimes credit card companies offer luggage insurance for tickets purchased with their card as well.

I’ve stayed in the same hotel on the first and last nights of my trip and had them store the box (a Trico IronCasefor me. A few years ago I left from a different city than I started in, so I shipped the box (again, the IronCase) to myself at the hotel I was staying at the night before I flew out. When I did a trip in Europe last year I took a leap of faith and put my bike in a plastic bag for the flight over and back. It packed down small enough that I could stuff it into a large Royal Mail envelope and send it to the airport hotel. (My bike was fine, but the bag was totaled when I got back to Chicago, so I just stuffed it in a trash can and wheeled my bike through the airport.) In all cases I communicated with with the hotel way in advance, at the time I made my reservation.