Gear Of The Day: Pika Packworks EEP Bike Carrying Case
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Gear Of The Day: Pika Packworks EEP Bike Carrying Case Gear Of The Day: Pika Packworks EEP Bike Carrying Case Pika Packworks EPP bike carrying case is a compact, protective womb for your bike that you'll be proud, and confident, to hand off to the airlines By Liz Reap Pika Packworks EPP Bike Carrying Case © Liz Reap You gotta love a guy whose inspiration for designing a bike carrying case was to skirt oversize baggage fees. Meet Mark Smedley, the former mountain bike pro who grew tired of shelling out his hard earned cash back in 1993 to and said, "There must be a better way." There is. And it's the Pika Packworks EEP.
Gear Of The Day: Pika Packworks EEP Bike Carrying Case Gear Of The Day: Pika Packworks EEP Bike Carrying Case Pika Packworks EPP bike carrying case is a compact, protective womb for your bike that you'll be proud, and confident, to hand off to the airlines By Liz Reap Pika Packworks EPP Bike Carrying Case © Liz Reap You gotta love a guy whose inspiration for designing a bike carrying case was to skirt oversize baggage fees. Meet Mark Smedley, the former mountain bike pro who grew tired of shelling out his hard earned cash back in 1993 to and said, "There must be a better way." There is. And it's the Pika Packworks EEP.
I'm no fan of handing my bike case over to the TSA. It's torture for me to watch them crack open a hardshell, poke around, shift the wheels and frame out of whack, then smash it together again and pass it off to baggage handlers, where lord knows what happens. It's not like that with the EEP. First of all, it doesn't look like a problem, so it's not treated like a problem. The bag's intuitively designed around the geometry of a bike and packs like a stand up fork mount, minus the hardware. In 15 minutes, I can have my bike broken down and ready to go. Remove the wheels and pedals, pull out the seat post and handlebars, then fill in the spaces. There's padding where you want it, sleeves where you want them, and hooks and straps to hold it all in place. It's soft, sturdy, made of 1000 denier cordura nylon on the outside, 400 denier nylon pack cloth on the inside. Reinforced external straps make it easy to grab and it fits in rental cars, buses or team vans surprisingly easy.
I know what it's like to love your bike to the point of wanting the best for it. Having an EPP Bicycle Carrying Case is that kind of thing. It's like having a tailor make your bike a suit-a thick, padded, indestructible suit. READ: How To Pack Your Bike For A Trip. To order one, all you have to do is give Mark a call. He'll humbly tell you he's made the EPP for the US Postal Service, Team Saturn, BMC and Colavita, if you need endorsements. Don't be turned off by his website. Smedley likes simplicity and has it all figured out. After one quick conversation about how you ride or what you didn't like about the last bag you borrowed, he'll set you up straight. The EEP comes in three basic sizes: Standard ($335), Stretch ($345), and XXL ($365). Packworks can also accommodate integrated seat posts ($395) or triathlon frames with unique geometry for a little extra coin.
Mark's a one-man show, and does the sewing himself. Seriously. And he's always got bags in stock, so turn-around time isn't an issue. Want to fly your colors? He'll even silkscreen logos on the sides if you give him a few weeks. To ORDER or find out more about the Pika Packworks EPP, call Mark Smedley at 801-363-0304 or drop him an email at Mark@PikaPackworks.com. Info: PikaPackworks.com READ: How To Pack Your Bike For A Trip. The Gear Of The Day archive: All gear, all year, click here. If you need more cycling videos, news, interviews, bike and product reviews, training plans, and fix-it articles sign-up for the weekly Bicycling and Mountain Bike newsletters. Click here to get your weekly cycling fix. If you have an opinion about this story or just want to chat, argue, debate or question a huge group of like-, and unlike-, minded bikers worldwide, check out the Forums at Forums.Bicycling.com.
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