Safe and affordable transport is essential when travelling with your bike. Your beloved ride should arrive at the destination unscathed and ready to hit the trails straight out of the box. Damage isn’t just frustrating and expensive—it’s also avoidable with the right gear. A good bike bag should be easy to pack, offer solid protection during transport, and be as light as possible to give you plenty of room for your bike and kit. And ideally, it should roll smoothly through the airport without giving you a workout before you even start riding.
The Thule RoundTrip MTB bag retails at € 799.95, tipping the scales at 14.3 kg. It combines a tough construction with smart features: the integrated work stand is designed to make assembly and disassembly easier, while sturdy wheels help with smooth handling. To round off the overall package, Thule rely on a the foldable design, which makes it surprisingly manageable to use the bulky bag in everyday situations. We’ve clocked up plenty of air miles with this bike bag to find out whether it really delivers on its promises when put to the test.
Die Thule RoundTrip MTB im Detail
With its price just shy of € 800 the Thule RoundTrip MTB bag sits on the pricier end of the spectrum, especially when compared to alternatives like the Evoc Bike Bag, which retails at just € 525. And it’s not just the price—at 14 kg, the Thule is no lightweight either. For comparison’s sake, a basic cardboard bike box weighs around 4 kg, and a lighter softshell bag like the Evoc weighs about 8.6 kg.
This brings us to one of the first drawbacks: many airlines have strict weight limitations for sports luggage, which is often capped at 32 kg. Some companies, like British Airways and Air France, even set their limit at 23 kg, and charge hefty fees for anything over. This means that in the worst-case scenario, you’ve only got 9 kg left for your bike and gear. If you’re flying with an airline that allows up to 32 kg, you’ll have a bit more wiggle room—around 18 kg to be exact. Our tip: depending on your bike and bag, it’s well worth checking the luggage policies of your chosen airline beforehand. Doing a bit of homework here can save you a lot of money and stress at the airport. The bag measures 144 cm in length, 38 cm in width and 98 cm in height, with a maximum wheelbase allowance of 1300 mm. That means that longer downhill bikes like the Atherton S.200 or Canyon Sender CFR may not fit, depending on the frame size. Most airlines specify a maximum total dimension of around 300 cm for bike bags, and with a combined measurement of 280 cm, the RoundTrip MTB easily meets those requirements. The RoundTrip MTB is a hybrid bag made from polyester. One of its most practical features is that the side panels can be folded together, allowing the whole bag to be slid neatly under a hotel bed. It’s a real space-saver when you’re travelling and short on storage. Included in the box is a rail system that locks into the case, compatible with the following axle standards: 15×110 Boost, 15×100, 20×110, 12×100 and 9 mm quick release.
To set up your bike, you can insert the three legs into the base mount. Once the rail with the bike is slotted into place, you’ve essentially got a work stand that makes it much more comfortable to assemble. If you’re happy to skip the stand and leave the legs and base mount at home, you’ll save around 1.7 kg in weight. Inside the bag, you’ll find plenty of straps to secure your handlebars, wheels and frame properly in place. There are also dedicated padded covers for your brake rotors and rear derailleur for extra protection. On the outside, the bag rolls on two rear wheels, while a removable, swivelling front wheel makes it a whole lot easier to manoeuvre through busy airports.
Thule RoundTrip MTB on test
Despite its hefty weight, the Thule RoundTrip MTB is easy to manoeuvre through the airport thanks to its wheels, gliding smoothly all the way to the oversized baggage drop. Just make sure to remove the front swivel wheel before checking in the bag —if you forget, there’s a good chance it could fall off and disappear somewhere between terminals. Build quality is top-notch across the board. The bag offers excellent protection, and our test bike arrived at the destination in perfect condition. For this test, we travelled with a Pivot Firebird in size XL, pushing the maximum allowed wheelbase of 1300 mm right to the limit—literally down to the last millimetre.
This left very little space for extra gear like a helmet or shoes. Even the big 29-inch wheels with chunky DH tires required some effort to squeeze in. Packing and strapping down the bike is fairly involved, but thanks to the integrated stand, the process is at least relatively comfortable. The stand does a decent job when it comes to assembling and disassembling the bike, and it’s handy for quick on-the-fly adjustments. However, it’s not a full-fledged work stand—stability just isn’t good enough for more serious wrenching. On our test bike, the mounting strap around the bottom bracket ended up uncomfortably close to the rebound dial, depending on the shock position. That’s something to watch out for, especially if your setup is similar.
Verdict: Thule RoundTrip MTB
The Thule RoundTrip MTB bag combines outstanding bike protection with superb build quality. The smooth-rolling wheels make airport transfers a breeze, while the foldable design means that the bag won’t take up precious space once you’ve arrived. The integrated work stand is a serious plus, making bike assembly and disassembly much easier when travelling.However, the robust construction and thoughtful features come at a cost—mainly in added weight and limited compatibility with longer downhill bikes. These are important factors to consider before buying.All in all, the RoundTrip MTB is a well-designed, reliable solution for safe and stress-free bike transport. Ready for take-off? Absolutely.
Tops
- Integrated work stand
- Smooth-rolling wheels for easy transport
- Excellent protection for your bike
- Foldable design for compact storage
Flops
- Heavy overall weight
- Limited compatibility with bikes featuring long wheelbase
For more details, visit Thule’s website.
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Words: Jan Pätzold Photos: Peter Walker
