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Ground Effect Tardis review

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$103

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Ground Effect Tardis

BikeRadar verdict

4.5 out of 5 stars

"The best non-padded bike bag we've tested"

2 comments
Sun 11 May 2008, 1:00 pm BSTBy

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With bikes ever harder to transport on planes, there’s no doubt the less noticeable they are at the check-in desk, the less forehead furrowing will ensue. As its name suggests, the Tardis is small on the outside and big on the inside so it's less obviously a bike when you rock up to check-in. 

The frame is placed upside down, with the seatpost and handlebars removed, the rear mech taped up inside the stays and the two wheels packed on either side in sleeves. This in itself provides plenty of lateral support, though to best play baggage handler roulette, you should also bolster it with pipe lagging, clothes and locally sourced cardboard.

At 115x70cm, the Tardis is as easy to carry with its shoulder strap as it is to fit into a car boot, or tie to an Indian taxi roof rack (touring racks and forks on 60cm+ frames will need to be removed). Fork spacers are provided, chunky zips can be locked and there’s reinforcing in the right places, with padding round the wheel axles. The real beauty, though, is its pack size: the bag folds down into a fat A4 size parcel, weighing just 1.6kg, and can be easily stowed in a pannier, or posted ahead for the end of a tour.

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User Reviews

There are 2 reviews on this post

Showing 1 - 2 of 2 comments

  • Hi,

    I can vouch for these bags... they're great. Last year I flew into Bordeaux, caught the train down into the Western Pyrennees, cycled until my legs gave way and then caught another train to Barcelona a long weekend and the flight home. Because of the logistics I needed a bag at each end, as well as on the trains, and this bag seemed to fit the bill. It added to the overall weight of my kit, but I was travelling fairly light with a Camper Saddlebag and it pack down small enough to fit under the 'long flap'- and if I was really concerned about weight I'd have gone on a diet :-)

    Having the bag with me was also useful in the hotels, as I just packed the bike into the bag and stored it safely in my romms without having to worry about complaints from 'da management'.

    Overall, it's a good bag - it's not featherweight, but offers a reasonable amount of protection. Note that for both flights I also packed a fair bit of cardboard and old Karrimat around the bike for added protection. I also stacked the bulk of my kit into the bag for those flights.

    Cheers, Mombee.

  • The bidniss. Bought mine in NZ to bring my bike to UK, so no green worries about 'supplier miles' either. Tape a bit of closed cell foam around the dropouts & stem (at bag's corners), spacers in the calipers, pad wheels against frame, chuck a bunch of clothes in there and a couple of sheets of cardboard and it's about as bomber as a hard case, plus you can pack it away. Bike arrived in perfect nick.

    Not the lightest, but then it's proper heavyweight material - swings and roundabouts eh.

    The wheels show up when packed, so it's relatively obvious that it's a bike, which IMO is a good thing: the baggage handlers see it and tend to puit it on top of the pile.

    Comes with dropout spacers BTW. Disk caliper spacers would top it off as perfect.

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Specification

Name:
Tardis
Built by:
Ground Effect
Price:
$103.00

Weight (g):
1600 g
Dimensions:
115 x 70 mm (w x h x d)
Padded:
No
Shell Material:
Cordura

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