Triall3 Sports Bike Case

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I needed a unicycle carrying case for airline travel, and wasn’t satisfied with using a cardboard box because I didn’t feel it would provide much protection, so I searched the forums for a solution.

I saw that John Childs had recommended the Triall3 Sports Clam Shell Wheel Safe. After checking some reviews of this case elsewhere on the net, and finding them to be all positive, I went ahead and purchased this case from a retail outlet called trisports.com. Total price including shipping was $286, and the case arrived in 5 days after ordering. I saw some lower prices from competitors, but these companies had some negative reviews, and trisports.com seemed to have a fair number of happy customers so I went with them.

Attached are some pictures of the case. The case consists of two pieces of a hard black plastic (?) material which go together like a clam shell, and is secured with two metal locking tabs (see photo). There are two red adjustable straps made of a strong fabric which go around the case and these appear to provide extra protection against the case coming apart accidently, rather than a primary means of holding the case together.

There is one carrying handle. It wasn’t too hard to lug around for short distances such as inside the airport, but for longer distances it would get tiring to carry.

Inside there is plenty of foam cushioning and lots of space to store gear. I was able to fit my 24" Muni with Hunter frame and Gazz tire (deflated), air seat, seatpost, Camelback, gloves, pedals and cranks, shin pads, and extra tools. The only piece of equipment I could not fit was my helmet which went into my duffel bag.

I just got back from an airline trip and the case and all the contents survived unscathed. There was one problem when the case was being unloaded into the baggage claim area. Because it was so big, it got stuck on the conveyor belt and blocked all of the baggage behind it for a while. A baggage handler had to walk up the conveyor belt and unstick it.

Afterwards I found that one of the red straps had gotten stretched a few inches – I guess it got snagged on something. But still the case showed no sign of coming apart and the strap stayed in place.

Overall I am pretty happy with this case and it seems to be sturdy outside and provides good protection for the contents. My one complaint is the straps could be better designed not to snag on stuff and loosen up like they did during transport on the airline. Perhaps I can find some metal straps that would fit more snugly against the case.

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2

Locking tab. Looks small but appears to do the job.

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3

Inside of the case with all my stuff packed in. Red rag is wrapped around Profile axle to prevent the splines from getting nicked.

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4

The TriAll3Sports case works well. I know my uni is going to be safe inside it. No need to worry about something damaging my uni on the flight and ruining the vacation.

Some problems and issues:

  • It is inconvenient to carry. It has no wheels so you have to carry it. I rent a cart at the airport for a dollar or two instead of carrying it or dragging it around.

  • The handle on mine broke off. It is currently replaced with a nylon webbing strap.

  • It cracked down at the bottom where the feet are. It must have gotten some really rough treatment during a flight. Maybe a baggage handler dropped it. I have a little thin piece of wood reinforcing that area of the case now. It might be wise to reinforce the base of the case where the feet are with thin plywood or something similar before it can crack from abuse.

  • The locking tabs have gotten bent during baggage handling a few times. Easy to bend back into shape. It looks like the new cases have some sort of Velcro flap that might protect them from getting banged up or snagged.

  • And it’s easy to load in a lot of extra gear and tools along with the uni. That makes it very easy to accidentally exceed the 50 pound weight limit for standard luggage. Be careful about that. If it is more than 50 pounds they’ll charge you extra. I weigh the case before heading to the airport and make sure that on the return trip I don’t put anything extra in the case that wasn’t there on the trip over.

Mine has clearly gotten a lot of abuse during the luggage handling process. The fact that it’s a large hard shell case is probably part of the cause. A soft shell bag that says “fragile” might not get thrown around as much as a hard shell case. And a soft bag wouldn’t get stuff piled on top of it.

If the muni wheel doesn’t fit in easily I deflate the tire and cinch the tire down with 4 nylon webbing straps. Then it fits in the case without causing the sides to bulge.

I never had any problems with the red straps getting loose. Make sure they’re snug to begin with.

Overall it’s a good case but eventually it will worn out from lots of flights.

5

john, unless you pay extra for gentle handling, you stuff will get toss about regardless. i’ve traveled enough with my dad, who brings golf clubs everywhere, to know that a good sturdy case is the only way to avoid damage. either that or don’t bring anything fragile. or at least make sure it’s small enough to carry on, which a uni clearly won’t be.