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Minimal teardown
A bike travel case where the handlebars stay on
The Vault Pro is a hard-shell bike box built so the bike stays a bike. Handlebars, derailleurs and cassette stay where they are; what comes off is both wheels, seat post and saddle, pedals.
Most bike cases ask you to choose. A soft bag packs quickly but protects with padding alone. A compact hard case protects well but only because the bike comes apart to fit it: bars off, sometimes the fork out or the frame split, then a rebuild in a hotel room and a bike that needs checking over before you race it. The Vault Pro was designed to refuse that choice.
It is a full-size hard shell, 54 by 19 by 29 inches, in high impact polypropylene. Inside, the frame is held at the axles by the VaultLock adapters rather than resting on foam, so the case carries every load and the bike carries none. Because the box is sized for a whole bike, the teardown is the smallest one a checked bicycle can have: 3 parts, none of which need a mechanic.
What comes off
- Both wheels They go into Vault wheel bags inside the case. The bags are sold separately.
- Seat post and saddle Comes out as one piece. Mark your height before you pull it and setup is unchanged at the other end.
- Pedals Airline requirement Required by airlines on a checked bicycle, not a packing preference.
What stays on
- Handlebars
- Derailleurs
- Cassette
No cable disconnection, no fork removal, no frame splitting, no handlebar rotation. Integrated cockpits, internal routing and electronic groupsets travel exactly as they are ridden.
And it still makes the weight
A full-size shell usually costs you at the scale. This one is 31 lb empty. A performance road, gravel or TT bike is commonly 16 to 19 lb, so the case with a 17 lb bike in it is about 48 lb, inside the 50 lb standard checked-bag weight most carriers use. Gear packed around the bike is what pushes it over, so watch the scale as you pack.
At 102 linear inches it is inside the published oversize limit on most carriers that publish one. The airline-by-airline table on the home page has the numbers for each.
Check your airline before you book.
Will your bike fit with the bars on?
Road, gravel and TT bikes in all but the very largest frame sizes. Three tape-measure checks settle it: wheelbase up to 44 in; bottom of the front chainring to the top of the seat tube under 28 in; bottom of the fork to the top of the handlebar stack under 28 in. That last one is the check that matters for a bike whose bars stay on, and 28 in is the internal height at its high point. If you are unsure, email info@vaultsportsbox.com before you order.
Watch it packed, bars on
One video per bike type, start to finish. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
Road
Packing a road bike
The full pack, start to finish, on a road bike — wheels off and bagged, fork onto the front adapter, rear axle into the road sleeve.
Gravel
Packing a gravel bike
Same box, gravel geometry. Uses the gravel rear sleeve rather than the road/TT one — the part most people get wrong the first time.
Triathlon / TT
Packing a triathlon bike
A TT bike with aero bars and deep sections, which is the tightest fit of the three and the one worth watching before you pack.