Packing A Pole For Air Travel

As you probably know, most Pole bikes are longer than bikes with “standard” geometry, so how do they fit in a bike travel bag? Ryan (aka The Loam Ranger) has flown with his Evolink to many destinations around the globe and he shares his “top secret tips” for fitting these large bikes into normal sized bike travel bags.

Step by Step

1. Deflate your tires
2. Pull the wheels off your bike and put the axles back into place
3. Insert the pad separators between the brake pads, front and rear
4. Remove the pedals and put in bike bag
5. Put the frame pad (included with most bike travel bags) on the front triangle
6. Unbolt the handlebar and strap it to the frame pad
7. This is the big one! Take the air out of the front and rear suspension, which considerably shortens the length of the bike *
8. Put the bike into the bag
9. Do up all the straps within the bag
10. Pack your wheels into the bag
11. Go enjoy your vacation with your rad bike!Easy as that.

*If your bike has a coil shock, simply remove the rear shock and pack it into a soft bag for travel. If you have an extra large Pole frame and a standard or smaller sized travel bag that is causing fitment issues, in addition to deflating the suspension, you can also turn the fork around and unbolt the front brake caliper from the fork, which further helps to shorten the total frame length.

This example was done with the standard sized bike travel bag from EVOC. With other bike travel bag models, like the Bike Travel Bag XL or the Pro model, many Pole owners haven’t needed to take any extra steps when packing their bikes. Keep in mind that this is a general guide for packing a Pole for travel so not everything regarding packing a bike was covered — always follow the instructions that came with your bike travel bag.

The most important step! Deflate your front and rear suspension to shorten the total frame length.

All done and ready to fly.

Thanks for checking out this weeks video. For more information on the Evolink 140 featured in this video, click HERE. Be sure to check back every week for a new post. You can also subscribe to the Pole YouTube channel HERE.

Cheers!