Test 2015: Bike cases for road bikes from Storck World - Storck Bike.Guard Curv: lightweight bike case for road bike tours

With a bike weighing 8 kilos and a case often weighing 13 to 14 kilos, there is hardly any room to pack a helmet and shoes or a floor pump and tools. The Bike.Guard Curv, designed by Markus Storck and built in collaboration with the case specialist B&W, weighs just under 9 kilos and still weighs a light 10.8 kilos with all the optional inner pockets. The interior of the case is well thought out. Instead of a lot of foam, in which the bike would otherwise sink, adjustable frame mounts keep the cargo shockproof inside. Wheels, small parts and tools can be stowed safely and scratch-protected in the pockets. The case is closed with cross-over straps. Thanks to large wheels at the back and steerable wheels at the front, the case is easy to manoeuvre and looks very handy - until it has to be lifted. On two flights, the suitcase slipped out of the hands of airport workers, landed roughly on the tarmac and the shell tore easily. What is clearly missing are handles that are immediately recognisable as such and easy to grasp.

Reference/Info www.storck-world.de | www.b-w-international.com

Price from 799 Euro

PLUS lightweight; large packing volume; tidy interior
MINUS Difficult to lift/carry; comparatively expensive