I've got the Planet X too. It's been away about 6/7 times and it only just starting to wear through a little. That's with a DH bike that's a bit of a stretch to get in there and funnily enough it's wearing where the dropouts/front axle sit. But after 6/7 holidays I feel as though I've had my moneys worth out of it, still reckon I'll get another few trips out of it with the use of some gaffer tape to stop the hole getting any worse.

Top bag! 

Nowt wrong with a well packed box though.

If it stays dry.

I used Wiggles DHB version which is very similar to the ones already linked.  I think the price now is less than I paid three years ago!

Pretty good and the bike came out the other end in one piece.  If anything, I'd say it was slightly too big - X Commie had the Planet X one and although only slightly smaller is seemed to fit things in slightly more snug.

Mike you tight asre

This is a good one, have had 2 road bike frames and a pair of whhels in it. 2nd set of wheels in seperate bag.

Another vote for a cardboard box here.

I've never seen one of those canvas bike bags up close - but I can't see how they'd offer more protection than cardboard?

Read the post he wants to get all his cycling kit in as well, cardboard box not realy up to it.

And if you have a nice bike cardboard will not protect against baggage handlers.

Saw a good one in spain some one had troubled to write fragile glass all over a package, local who obviously was interested inspected all the writing and not being able to read English threw it about 6 foot across the tarmac onto a trolley.

Bike bag with bike + week's worth of bike kit = crippling baggage charges

As an experiment, I once took a bike to Geneva with an old inner tube wrapped around the top tube and the bars turned 90degrees. No bag, no box, nothing. At the other end about twenty bikes in bags and boxes came out precariously stacked on a huge trolley (the ones at the bottom visibly compressing), while mine followed behind being rolled along on its wheels by a baggage handler. Result!

Of course, on the way bike Swissair insisted on it going in a huge polythene bag that they tried to get me to pay for, and then the jobsworth coach driver at Heathrow wouldn't let the bike into his (cavernous and mostly empty) luggage compartment, but other than that it worked fine  

Oh yeah, the Spanish coach driver wanted extra cash to put the bikes in the coach so I told him I'd be reporting him to his employers and the police for taking black money (I had lived in Barcelona not long before and developed a hatred of rip-off taxi drivers etc.). He still wouldn't take the bikes so I found some black grease from the suspension and smeared it over the white bodywork. He's still wouldn't take the bikes so the more militant of us unpacked them and rode to the hotel with the less militant accompanying the rest of the luggage in the bus.

my rohloff dropout got compressed and twisted last time i went to geneva. took about an hour of careful pliers, hammers and chisels to get it back to a workable state. its still stiff to get the axle and torque plate in i should probably replace it though, as its alu...

don't think a box or bag would have protected it, seemed the whole weight of the bike, box and luggage landed on it.

it i pack carefully, i've never had an issue getting bike and kit into a bike bag. hopefully driving out this summer though. 

XCman - I had read the original post. There's no reason not to put other riding gear in a box as well - there's loads of space and clothes will probably provide extra padding.

That's what I did the one time I've taken my bike abroad.

When we were waiting for our luggage at Crete's Heraklion airport we could see the plane on the tarmac - and the luggage handlers dropping the bags about 8ft from the hold into a flatbed truck - including my bike.

There was no damage, so I'll use a cardboard box again next time.

Hire! 

That could get expensive if you're there for more than two days.

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