[Review] Packing B132 Soft transport bag for plane travel by "Aussie on a Brompton"

"Ralph & Robinson have been packed for some days, awaiting their trip “home” (& their participation in the BWC 2013). We’re almost ready to go, just “fine tuning” what & where everything else will go. The pressure’s off really, because the theory seems to have worked out, with my expectation that we could get by with just a Brompton bike bag & a single cabin bag each.

For more than a year I’ve been looking at bag systems, wondering how to cope with the air travel baggage allowances for economy patrons such as us. Buying Robinson & inheriting a Brompton B bag was the start but I later realised that the bag was an earlier model & was an extremely tight fit (maybe from the Brompton SWB-days?) let alone having much space for travel clothes, etc. Researching other choices wasn’t very encouraging but then I noticed the new Vincita bag for Brompton (B132 model). This bag from Thailand seemed a similar style to the Brompton B bag – but much larger. It was even thought by some users to be too big & the manufacturer had also produced a more tapered-shape bag. My preference was for the earlier bag & as it was still available, I crossed my fingers & ordered one. If it worked out, the plus point was going to be that it seemed astonishingly good value; even with a large air-freight cost it was half the price of a B bag! When it arrived it looked like it was going to be ideal; good quality, spacious & well-engineered?

When Ralph was obtained, it came with a (well-worn) B&W hard-case. For me, one factor against using it was the issue of storing/transporting it while traveling around by rental car. Once Ralph was equipped with Ergon grips & come the final planning for a trip to the UK, the possible use of the case was resolved when I found that the lid wouldn’t close – I was going to be up for some bike disassembly! Back online to Vincita & an order for another B132 bag, this time not bothering to request the earlier large bag & expecting that the later bag would be suitable."

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