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review
£699.00
VERDICT:
Super-tough aluminium bike box that's easy to pack; a strong contender if you want peace of mind when flying with your bike
Weight:
12,800g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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- Bad
- Appalling
The Buxumbox Tourmalet is a strong aluminium bike case for carrying your bike safely when you fly, and it's very easy to pack too. The price and possibly the weight are hurdles.
- Pros: Strong, durable, easy to pack
- Cons: A little heavier and pricier than most rivals
Several changes have been made since we first reviewed the Buxumbox Tourmalet three years ago, the most significant being that you can now get it with fixing points for bikes with thru-axles as well as open-ended dropouts and that assembly has now been moved to the UK – Okehampton in Devon, to be more precise. I’ll tell you about other changes later on.
> To buy the Buxumbox Tourmalet, click here
The Buxumbox Tourmalet is made from 0.5mm aluminium sheets with thicker aluminium used for the edges and corner caps to provide extra strength. It’s all recyclable. The walls are thin enough to flex slightly when you push on them and they will dent and scratch if you – or, more likely, baggage handlers – aren't careful. Still, you might think that those war wounds add to the character. The overall look is industrial.
The Tourmalet's lid and base are separable; you open the catches and lift the top half completely off. Packing your bike inside is easy, even if you're not mechanically gifted. You remove both the wheels, the pedals and the seatpost. That's all very simple. You store the seatpost and saddle at the bottom of the box, held in place by elastic cord.
This is the front fitting for a bike that uses open-ended dropouts...
...and here is the one for a bike that uses thru-axles
The box can be set up to accept bikes that use either quick releases or thru-axles – you state which fittings you need when you make your order. If you want fittings for both systems, that’ll cost you an extra £24. Swapping between them takes a minute or two with an Allen key and it’s perfectly straightforward.
This is the rear fitting for a thru-axle bike
Fixing a bike in place with quick releases is a little simpler. You fix the rear dropouts to a mount at the back and clamp the fork to another mount at the front. You can move the rear mount backwards and forwards to set it to the correct position for your bike's wheelbase.
With a thru-axle bike you have to fit little alloy spacers where the wheels would normally go, tighten them in place with the thru-axles, then position the bike on the front and rear mounts.
Either way, it's pretty easy.
You remove the handlebar from the stem and stow it alongside the head tube and fork. The wheels go into their own bags that sit either side of the frame and you slot an aluminium rod from one side of the box to the other through them. This rod can't shift once you've put the top of the box on; the upper section holds it in place. It's an important part of the design in that it stops the box – and therefore your bike – getting squashed if it finds itself at the bottom of a pile of luggage.
Then you simply put the top on, do up the latches and you're done. It took me less than 10 minutes first time and a 58cm road bike fitted very easily. It's a completely stress-free process.
The box runs smoothly on sealed bearing wheels, the mounting points of which are recessed so they're unlikely to get knocked off in transit. The box's sprung handles are recessed too, as are the bottom halves of the latches with the upper catch sections sitting proud of the box sides by a few millimetres. It would be good if they were completely recessed to avoid damage, like they are on a roadie shipping case, but I really can't imagine them getting knocked badly because they're so low profile.
The Tourmalet doesn't come with integrated locks but you can run a cable lock between the latches so they can't be turned.
I’ve flown with this box several times now and it has always done a great job. Its main feature, as you might imagine, is its strength. Your bike isn't going to get damaged in here. It'll handle all kinds of abuse without any trouble. Yes, the walls have a couple of scrapes but there's no danger of your bike getting hurt.
One addition I'd have appreciated is some form of shoulder strap. Yes, a bike box gets pushed around most of the time, and that works very well when you're at the airport, but there are occasions when you need to lift it – going over a gravel driveway, for example, or up and down steps. I made my own strap with a length of webbing strung between two of the handles and it worked just fine.
How big a bike can you get inside? I usually have 57-58cm road bikes and they all fitted in easily. Buxumbox says you can get a 61cm bike in there.
If that's not big enough, the Buxumbox Ventoux will take a 63.5cm bike, although that one weighs in at a claimed 15kg.
Weight & airline charges
Speaking of weight, the Tourmalet is now a little lighter than previously, although at 12.8kg it is a bit heavier than most other bike boxes out there. For comparison, the Bike Box Alan Premium Bike Box that we reviewed recently was 11.6kg. Is that extra weight going to be a problem?
The EasyJet bike box weight limit is 32kg (you have to pay on top of your normal ticket fee) and you're not supposed to put anything else in the box other than your bike according to the airline’s rules and regs, so it doesn't really matter if your bike box is 12.8kg, assuming your bike weighs less than 19.2kg. This box is designed for road bikes. If 19.2kg road bikes exist, no one is flying them out to France to ride up Alpe d'Huez, surely.
Ryanair has a weight limit of 30kg for bike boxes (you have to pay extra for any bike box), so that gives you 17.2kg for your bike.
With British Airways, charges are applied for bags over 23kg and up to 32kg, so you can take a bike weighing up to 10.2kg in the Tourmalet as part of your normal allowance before you have to pay extra.
So, those are a few airline bike policies as they stand at the moment, but make sure you check the terms of your ticket before flying (even of the airlines mentioned above, just in case they have altered).
Other updates
As well as the ability to accommodate thru-axle bikes and a lower weight than previously, the Tourmalet has updated, slightly less shouty graphics and the latches and handles now have a black powder coating. Buxumbox is also offering a powder coat finish to the whole box in a colour of your choice for an additional £90.
If you want a custom option, that’s possible. For example, Buxumbox has modified two Tourmalets to take a 29er tandem that uses S&S couplers.
Priced at £699 (plus shipping), the Buxumbox Tourmalet is more expensive than most other bike boxes out there. The Bike Box Alan Premium that we reviewed recently is £438 while the updated version of the Bonza Bike Box is £499. On the other hand, the SciCon Aerotech Evolution X TSA Bike Travel Case is £699 at full retail price (you'll find it cheaper), the same price as the Tourmalet.
You can certainly get cheaper bike boxes that'll look after your bike well, but you might like the fact that this one is made in Britain from aluminium rather than plastic.
Overall
This is a really tough bike case that's super-easy to pack. It's a strong contender if you're after total peace of mind when flying with your bike, and it should last an age.
Verdict
Super-tough aluminium bike box that's easy to pack; a strong contender if you want peace of mind when flying with your bike
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Buxumbox Tourmalet bike box
Size tested: One size
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Buxumbox says that the Tourmalet is designed "For the travelling roadie – compact and lightweight but with generous capacity".
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Here's the spec:
Dimensions (LxHxD): 1129 x 781 x 305mm
Typical maximum frame size (c-t): 610mm (24in)
Suitable for Road, Track, TT & Cross
Disassembly required: Wheels/skewers, bars/stem pedals, seatpost
Pack/unpack time: 10 min/10 min
Latches: 4
Handles: 4
Wheels: 2 fixed, 2 caster
Includes two wheelbags
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
I'd have liked the option of some kind of shoulder strap.
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
It's a tough aluminium box. The catches are very slightly raised in part, but you'd be massively unlucky if they were ever damaged.
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
6/10
A kilogram or two lighter would be useful.
Rate the product for value:
6/10
It's one of the most expensive bike boxes out there, no two ways about that. On the other hand, you're pretty much guaranteeing that your bike won't be damaged.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It's strong and it's easy to pack.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The strength, ease of packing.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
I'd have liked some sort of shoulder strap so I could carry it over rough surfaces and up and down stairs more easily. It costs a lot, too, but it should last ages.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
It's a high-quality bike box that's easy to use. The price drags the overall score down a little but you will probably get years of use out of this box without any trouble.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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32 comments
Cant wait to spend £700 and see this box come out of the luggage conveyor looking like a crumpled coke can on first usage!
At road.cc we've used it (and the previous version) quite a few times now. That hasn't happened. Maybe we've just been lucky.
The pictures shown here were taken after use, by the way.
Again nonsense by abedfo, you need to see how well these boxes are made. Its not coke can gauge aluminium. Because of its size it goes through oversize bagge, so its manhandled, and doesn't go on a normal conveyor belt
Built the same way as flight cases are made, oh and that's a clue, its designed to be used to fly your bike, which is why Matt Brett, its not a matter of luck, its a well designed and thought out case. Plus its made in Britain FFS
As usual lots of internet experts who think they can judge a product by looking at a few pictures on their monitors
Well here's an image of a Buxum box thats done 130 flights
18921110_1200395193404338_5669759211253181151_o.jpg
Um, we know. That's why we wrote the review. Nice one, maviczap
Much of the aluminium in wings of the plane you fly on is no thicker than this box.
It's nice, but would be much better if the label said,
"If this box should dare to roam, box its ears and send it home."
So I'll pass.
Rich's wife is currently getting pumped by a hedge fund manager with an extensive Assos wardrobe and an F10. It's going to take him some time to get over it.
Nice - except for one major problem (in my opinion)! I eventually decided on the SciCon Aero Comfort 2 bag to transport my beloved bike - after much, much homework... The reason (well 2 actually): 1. It's weight of around 7Kg leaves lots left over with Easyjet's 32Kg limit. 2. Because, apart from removing the wheels, the bike's bars & stem & seat/post are left in place!
Once the cabling etc. is perfectly in place, no one in their right mind wants to disturb this area if they can possibly help it! (I made a frame out of old bed slats (that fixes to the bag's metal frame work) to surround the bars, stem and saddle, so even if the bag is dropped upside down, nothing is damaged!)
As for Easyjet not allowing anything but the bike in the bag/box... I did a dummy run to my local airport (pre-holiday), and showed the staff exactly what was in the bag with the bike - so I didn't get turned away on the day!
In my SciCon (with the bike) I had:
Helmet, Shoes, tools, spares (everything), Gels (x24), Protein bars (x24), Protein powder in a tub, High5 in a tub, several Co2 canisters, Foam Roller (for muscles after a ride) and pretty much everything but the kitchen sink!
I showed the supervisors I spoke to (and took the names of - in case they were not on shift when I went) the contents. They even took me to the special check-in that large items go to - where I showed them the contents too! No problems or rejections (other than asking how many Co2 bottles I intended to take).
And just to add - whilst I'm on my little soap box - Easyjet, on the day, treated me and my bike/bag like a VIP. I can't recommend them highly enough!!!!!
Oh, and even with the bike having it's handlebars facing forwards (as they are when being ridden), there was no problem with the bag being too wide! But of course, a Mountain bike would be different!
Hi Darth
I hope you do not run into my problems. One skewer blew out to 25mm, and rendered the carcass useless.
One wheel imploded into the Carcass. Box is 1 year old and 5 trips.
Did I get it replaced by Wiggle? No! Wiggle CEO Stefan Barden offered £50 towards a replacement box and told me that was generous. Stefan used to sell frozen fish fingers. Wiggle does not do Warranty or phone calls.
Rich 71 appears to have a very large chip on his shoulder. Is he Australian?
its not crazy expensive I have seen a bike box that cost 50000. Built by fairwheelbikes in the USA!
A serious traveller with bike would invest in a frame with S+S couplings or similar - my Chinese titanium frame with couplings cost less than this box and has flown countless times without damage and is classed a normal luggage
But surely this is for the serious biker who travels?
I commented on the weight when it first appeared, and I'd love to see how it fits in anything other than a van.
Crikey - Mine fits easily in the boot of a Toyota Avensis estate. It's not much bigger than my old Scion bag.
I like the box and how the dropouts and forks are held in place and I would consider this as an upgrade from the Canyon flight box I have. But I really hate all that f**king branding plastered all over it and if was going to be a travelling billboard for this company I'd expect them to pay me - not the other way around. Why does everything in cycling have to have large logos plastered all over it?
It could be vinyl wrapped easily and that stuff is cheap as well.
Just looked on the buxumbox web site, and the new graphics are much more restrained and actually pretty smart. Plus, they now have a custom powder-coating option with a palette of 165 colour/gloss/matt/satin combinations, for an extra premium of £96. Not cheap, but... having tried a ProBikeKit-badged version of the Bonza bike box, I can see the value in the extra cost.
You won't get that through the airport screening without it being opened, much better to buy a poly-carbonate or soft bag, also at 13+kg it's not very green on the air miles is it?
nonsense, mines been through with no hassle, its only thin aluminium, xrays just the same as a polycarbonate case.
Ever seen the EasyJet bike box video. Even if you can't afford this, then invest in a hard shell case you tight wad
They do custom painted as an option, so you don't have to have their logos, its a small company, who'll do most things to the buyers spec. Logos never bothered me
No bigger than most hard cases, it just looks big
That'd be me too. Although I invested in their Galibier case for my previous S&S frame, as its designed for S&S frame, as I didn't like any of the other plastic cases for my bike, and I'm not going to trust my bike to a soft bag in the hands of baggage handlers. I now have a Chinese S&S frame, which now fits nicely in my Buxum case.
As others have said I always cram extra kit, gels, tools in my case, never had an issue, whether its in a normal bike case or in my S&S case.
Fully loaded I can get my Buxum Galibier case under BA's 25kg weight limit, meaning I don't pay any extra fees, although they made me check it in via the oversized bagge, as it is a bit wider than your avarage suitase.
It also makes it easy to use on Eurostar trains
Not quite right Peter - I have one of these and have flown into and out of LGW and LHR about five times. It has never been opened at screening or in transit. I really like mine and highly recommend.
One for the real pros, me thinks. In the same way I don't think my headlamp should cost more than my bike, neither should the carry case
You'd have to travel with your bike an awful lot to want to spend the kind of money any of these bike boxes cost. It's not as though you can't hire them.
Yet more self indulgent shit for selfish wealthy whores with more money than fucking sense in their thick skulls
get a couple of cardboard bike boxes and double up you fucking bastards
You really told that box.
Yes, great money-saving idea. For extra protection, I like to wrap my bike in fresh £50 notes and pages grom the financial times before putting it in the box.
What an idiot
No-one's forcing you to buy it. I've got three bikes which are collectively worth about £25K and I fly, probably, 6 - 10 times a year on cycling trips so a box like this makes perfect sense to me (and many others like me)
Oh, just remembered I have one of these !
I'm half tempted to buy one now.
Absolutely charming.
Tony Blair once said, 'Education, education,education'
It seems to have passed you by, and hence your inability to express yourself without swearing. Sad really.
Whilst I disagree with Rich's opinion of this product, the concept that using swearing somehow means you are incapable of expressing an opinion or nullifies any opinion you have is flawed. Seriously fucking flawed.
Also, although you can quote Tony Blair, it appears you can't quite get your head round using the quote function on an internet forum.
Little things like that are something you should possibly consider before you next deride somebody's lack of knowledge.
Dear Rich 71
Have you tried Yoga Rich? It calms the mind, and dissipates anger.
Good luck my friend, you are not a happy shopper.
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