TESTED: Thule RoundTrip MTB Bike Bag

Words and photos: Mike Blewitt

About 10 years ago, getting the right bike bag was a big part of having an awesome mountain bike trip to Rotorua, Forrest, Melrose or somewhere further afield. Fast forward 10 years and we're itching to ride Maydena, Blue Derby, Fox Creek, Nannup, Bright, Falls Creek, Smithfield… and the list goes on. The other key change is the bikes we are riding. The trails we ride are more committing due to our bikes being a lot more capable. They're longer, wider, and almost always have 29” wheels. And that can mean fitting your new trail or enduro bike into the bike bag you bought during the age of the iPhone 4 can be difficult – or impossible.

Thule are helping to solve this problem, with their dedicated mountain bike bag, the RoundTrip MTB. What it lacks in imaginative naming, it makes up for in features. The RoundTrip MTB takes the concept of the RoundTrip Pro, which was a compact bike bag I really like. The RoundTrip Pro used a bathtub style base with 2 wheels, sides that were reinforced with removable core flute, and the piece de resistance, a modular bike stand that secured the bike into the base of the bag, and was used to pack and assemble the bike easily at each end. The only downside with the original model was that it was best suited to road and gravel bikes, or medium sized XC bikes. The new Thule RoundTrip MTB changes all of that.

A closer look

I had the new bike bag delivered to my place, and the box was flat, about 1.5m long and 40cm wide, if that. While bike bags are often shipped in a compact way, the Thule RoundTrip MTB is also designed to fold down and pack flat. The core flute sides are replaced with the more familiar padded internal wings, and the sides fold at designed areas. There are hidden straps to cinch it down so storage is a cinch. Which is likely how the bag will spend most of its time – so it counts.

The RoundTrip MTB still relies on the removable stand, which has a tripod leg system. The base unit is longer, and the front mount works with just about every axle standard we know of. From quick releases through to 110x20mm. The bath tub base remains, which adds protection up the lower part of the sides, and the bag is wider and longer than the previous edition. It's also about 4kg heavier.

Given the bikes inside could also be heavier, Thule have added a removable third wheel. It stows inside the case while in transit, but in the terminal it means the bag can be wheeled flat, not lifted and towed.

Packing the Thule RoundTrip MTB

Packing the bag involves building the work stand and removing the front wheel. Then you simply remove the pedals and rear wheel. Thule provide a section of material to velcro close over your drivetrain. Drop your seat, and it's time to put the ensemble in the bag.

Our full packing details for the Thule RoundTrip MTB are right here.

By removing the base bar of the stand, it now clips into the base of the bike bag, and the tripod is detached and stowed. Your bike is now held securely in the bag, with not chance to shift forwards or to the side. Excess movement is often what causes damage in transit. The bag has a series of padding flaos that velcro over each other, wrapping your swing arm are and then the mainframe. Next up, the bars come off the stem (or one piece unit off the steerer) and are held in place outside of the internal padding. There's also a strap to hold the fork into the frame so pieces of your headset don't go missing in your bike bag!

Finally, the wheels sit either side, with heavily padded slots meaning you can leave your rotors on. That's super handy, especially for anyone using 6-bolt rotors. There are a couple of pockets for your pedals and essential tools – and even a QR code to scan that takes you to an instructional video.

All zipped up, the bike bag is really neat. The handles are flat so they won't snag and get damaged, and the wheels sit within the footprint of the bag.

In use

Moving around with the bike bag was good, it's easy to roll along and the packing and building is straight-forward, but it has it's constraints. With the Trek Fuel EX (14.5kg) as shown, the bike bag was just under 29kg. And that's without any clothing, spares, bike shoes, or – anything except the bike and bike bag. Herein lies the dilemma – what's your luggage allowance on your chosen carrier? I have silver status with both Virgin Australia and Qantas. That means 1 piece of luggage at 32kg with Qantas. And two pieces at 23kg with Virgin. So for Qantas, that means buying a second piece of luggage for your ticket, which is fairly normal when travelling with a bike. For Virgin, it's harder as your maximum per item is 23kg. Rex also has a 23kg per item limit. On Jetstar you'll pay by weight so there is more scope there. Overall, there are options, but compared to a lighter bike bag or even the humble cardboard bike box, you may feel restricted.

That said, I struggled getting that same Fuel EX into the older Thule RoundTrip Traveler bag I have (circa 2014). The modern trail bike is tool long, even with the suspension deflated and compressed, the fork turned to reduce the wheelbase and the rear mech removed. And travelling with a cardboard box is the tight arse travel way, but is also one of the most inconvenient options at each end of travel, unless you own a van or wagon and don't mind getting luggage trolleys.

While packing a bike bag is one thing, building the bike again is another. The integrated bike stand makes this really easy, and will shorten the time frame of arriving at the destination and hitting the trails. And I'm certain the bike bag design will mean there is almost zero chance of any travel damage if you've followed the directions.

Our take

The Thule RoundTrip MTB is the most thoroughly designed mountain bike travel bag I have used to date. It makes packing, transporting and building a mountain bike easier than anything else I have used – including the Scicon AeroComfort 3.0 (which struggles with a large modern XC bike). The Thule RoundTrip MTB would suit people who's chosen carriers accommodate higher luggage thresholds, and people who want a bike bag that is easy to pack, easy to move, easy to build your bike from and easy to store. It's a top spec bike bag that really delivers on functionality, protection and ease of use.

RRP: $1499
From: thule.com

Hits:

• Thoroughly designed and executed MTB specific bike bag
• Easy to move during transit
• Easy to store
• Can fit a wide variety of bikes.

Misses:

• Total bag weight won't work for everyone