At some point we all begin to crave new riding pastures when the same old home roads and trails start to feel a bit stale. For some, a car is sufficient to break new ground, but for those of us who want to travel further afield, be it domestically if you’re in the States, or overseas for those of us in Europe, air travel may become a necessity, and with it the danger of baggage handlers and oversize luggage fees. That’s where bike boxes come in.
The Topeak PakGo X is a premium hard case that resembles a giant rolling suitcase. It’s one of the options we’ve got listed in our list of the best bike travel cases, and now we are ready to dive a little deeper into what it’s like to use. We’ve handed it off to multiple airlines and our bike has lived to tell the tale. Keep reading to hear all the details and design features of this premium offering and see if it might be right for your next cycling adventure.
Design and aesthetics
The outside of the Topeak PakGo X looks almost exactly like a standard rolling hard-case luggage, just super-sized. The skin of the bag uses Makrolon Polycarbonate which is another name for Lexan, or hard plastic to you and me. Typically, you’d find it used in clear applications, but that’s not always the case. The best comparison would be the large water bottles used in office water towers. It’s the same material and the bag has a similar feeling when pushed on.
It’s exceptionally stiff depending on the design but there’s also a bit of give depending on the thickness and support structure. If you think of those water bottles, you’ll recall that they have a series of ribs across the body. The PakGo X uses five ribs for the same reason; to add some structural rigidity, along with a large ‘X’ on each side.
At each corner of the bag, centred in the outstretched arms of the X, is a rubber bumper. When closed, the bumpers help support the weight of the case against the floor, and in case an airline decides to stack the case.
As you look around the case, there are a number of smaller design details that also contribute to the look of the bag. In use, the Topeak Pakgo X stands upright atop four 60mm wheels. Each wheel is multi-directional and designed for upright use rather than asking that the user pull the bag using one of the three handles. You’ll also notice a TSA approved combo zipper lock and on one side is a metal “Topeak”…
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