Thule

Roundtrip MTB Case

Thule Roundtrip/Backcountry Service

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

I purchased the Thule roundtrip bag from Backcountry after a lot of research, conversations and comparisons. I wanted to make sure that I purchased the right bag for my bike. Protection, portability and ease of use were all vital. Thule roundtrip was the bag. I unboxed it after it arrived and did a test fit with my bike (Ripmo v2 size XL). It fit securely in the bag with room to spare with one exception. It was necessary to remove the rear derailleur which was slightly disappointing because I expected to not have to remove it. Everything else was functional and high quality so removing the derailleur was a minor disappointment. One of the last steps before zipping up everything and getting it ready for transport is attaching the handlebars. Two straps with velcro sit to the left side of the front fork. One of the straps was missing Velcro which made it impossible to secure the handlebars. I went to the Backcountry site and used the chat function to share the situation with customer service because the defective strap was a dealbreaker for me. If I spend $1,000 on a car I expect it to have warts. If I spend $1,000 on a bike bag I expect manufacturing precision. Sarah was the first person I chatted with. She was understanding, sympathetic and offered to replace the defective bag with a new one. I was quite satisfied with that proposition. Before sending me a new bag she asked me to provide pictures of the defective part for “documentation and verification”. I emailed the pictures to her but she couldn’t view them because my email was quarantined in her phishing folder. We tried again. We tried a third time. Despite three volleys she was unable to open the emails I sent. Sarah offered to transfer me to a “bike specialist”. Enter Elizabeth. I was forced to start from the beginning with Elizabeth because apparently Backcountry customer service can’t see chat history. Or they opt not to read it. Regardless, after getting Elizabeth up to speed she was on board with replacing my bag with a new one after the defective part was verified with photo evidence. Elizabeth sent an email to me and asked me to reply to it with pictures attached. I did. She received the email with pictures attached but couldn’t open them “because of the format”. The pictures were provided in jpeg format which happens to be the most common format for digital pictures on the planet. Repeated attempts were unsuccessful. Elizabeth offered to transfer me to a “bike specialist”. Wait, I thought you were a bike specialist? Nevermind. Enter Joe. Joe wasn’t so much a bike specialist as a hatchet man. I asked him if it was necessary for me to start from the beginning and he took mercy on me by offering to read the chat from the start which was now running for 1 hour and 7 minutes. Solid Joe! Solid. Joe quickly determined that “we don’t need to start shipping bike bags all over the country” and told me to contact Thule, the product manufacturer. I told Joe I didn’t purchase the product from Thule & it was unlikely they would ship me a replacement. He assured me Thule “will replace the defective part”. I took this opportunity to clarify the situation with Joe and informed him the strap is an integrated part of the product and sewn into the wall of the bag. He acknowledged that. I asked him what I would do with a "replacement part". Should expect to receive a replacement strap from Thule, remove the old strap (which was attached to the bag originally with an industrial sewing machine during production) and then sew the replacement strap into the bag without damaging the bag or losing functionality? I also shared with him that I don’t know how to sew and I don’t own any sewing equipment or supplies. Joe said yes this is the best course of action. I was colossally disappointed with Backcountry customer service which consumed 90 minutes of my Sunday and left me in the exact same position as I was before I contacted them.

Great, but rotor bent.

A great soft case for mtb. A very well thought out design. My only issue when using was arriving at my destination with a bent rear rotor (180mm). Not sure rotors can always be protected when using a soft case.

Outstanding product.

Bought a Thule because every time I use something they make it exceeds expectations. Wasn’t disappointed. They think of everything. Possibly a perfect product.

Best Bike Bag -A+

Makes travelling with a bike easy! I ride an XL - 29er and it fits no problem unlike other travel bags I have used in the past. Would highly recommend. Thule had it to me in 3 days, amazing customer service.

Amazing product design!

WOWOWOW, I have used this for several trips and I owned the old roundtrip cases in the past. I purchased the MTB version because I have varying category bikes and after reviewing the fit and size I opted for the larger MTB case; worked out great for all my bikes for air travel. I have to be a bit creative to fold my road bars in the MTB case due to cutout/straps meant for flat bars but overall excellent design and easy to use. The inside pads that are snapped to the case have much room to accommodate a wide range of bike sizes and fit, it's really well designed. I was even able to fit my regular 56cm gravel bike with dropper into the case WITHOUT having to remove the seatpost! The only thing I wish they had done was make the removable wheel snap and roll away instead of a fully removable item and required to be removed prior to drop off, I have to triple remind myself to not loose it in transit! When not in use the folded mode is really neat!

Best Bike bag I ever had

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have been using my Thule RoundTrip Bike bag for about a year now and absolutely loving it. I always feared traveling with my bike because I did not want the frame to get damaged. This bike bag really protects your entire bike. I travel stress free knowing its safe. Not only is it well protected but it also has a built in bike rack that makes taking apart and re building your bike ten times easier.

Does a great job

The design and construction of this bike bag is very nice. I just returned from a trip and it protected my bike perfectly both ways. It's very sturdy when all zipped up. I have a large carbon bike and the total weight of the bag and bike was 62.4 pounds, well within the 70 pound limit from the airline. The front wheel made it very easy to navigate while traveling. The bike stand is extremely useful and made the breakdown and reassembling my bike easy. Recommend you get some brake pad spacers to use when the wheel is off the bike. Besides that, rest assure your bike is protected.

Best investment

I have been traveling with bikes for more than a decade and have always struggled with bags. The new design makes fitting my MTB or whatever bike I need in it super easy with plenty of space to stash other stuff. The third wheel makes it really great to move around with other baggage in tow and being able to collapse it all for storage is mega helpful with tight spaces. all in all 10/10

Very Cool Design

The bag is absolutely awesome. So easy to pack and protects everything so nicely. No need for extra material to protect the bike. The reason it’s not 5 stars is because there is no good top handle to pull the bike around the airport and it’s SO HEAVY. It’s almost impossible to get this bag under 70 lbs so it’s very pricey to fly with. So it’s durable and good protection but be prepared for over weight charges.

It's the best bike bag I tried

Great protection for the bike but the best feature of this bag is that it's foldable and it takes just a little space in the closet when not in use.