Why aluminium?
It’s a wonderful sustainable material – extremely strong in the grades we use (mainly 6061, as used on high-end frames), light weight (panels are just 0.5mm thick), versatile (we use it as sheet, extrusions, turnings and stampings) corrosion resistant and eminently recyclable. And oh, it looks good too!
Doesn't it dent or scratch?
Yes it will, but only in a good way. And that’s also what makes aluminum such a great material – each cycling journey will add a patina of use and earn the odd distinctive scar but without impacting strength or structure. We like to think we look better with age. Here is one that’s earned its stripes.
You say just 0.5mm - won't it puncture?
In the hundreds of flights and hundreds of thousands of miles we’ve clocked up in testing, this hasn’t happened once – our experience is that a Buxumbox can take far more abuse than moulded plastic or semi-rigid boxes.
Of course, no material is indestructible and there is always a balance to be struck between strength and weight. If a panel is breached due to, for instance, wilful neglect on the part of a baggage handler then it would not spell the end for your box – panel repair/replacement is straightforward and supported by the factory.
What's with the fixed mounting of front fork and rear dropout?
We want our boxes to be as flexible as possible in terms of the range of bikes they will accommodate – part of that means picking mounting points that are common to all, i.e. the front and rear dropouts. This enables the bike to be mounted firmly and securely in a manner that is as familiar as inserting and removing the bike’s wheel.
We cater for the full range of axle sizes in both Quick Release and Thru Axle standards.
I hate packing - please tell me that packing your boxes is painless.
It’s painless. In fact, making these boxes simple to use, highly versatile and quick to pack is a design fundamental. You don’t need a degree in applied mental gymnastics here – we’re all about these boxes being intuitive to use. The Tourmalet takes less than ten minutes to pack or unpack and the Ventoux under five minutes, with the absolute minimum of disassembly required.
Will airlines charge for a bike box?
Probably yes – policies do vary by airline. The good news is that there is a trend by airlines to offer transparent pricing polices for items of Sporting Goods rather than simply applying excess baggage rules.
You can normally find policies and rates by searching for Sporting Goods or Bicycles on your airline’s website.
Will my bike fit in? Even tri-bars and integrated seat posts?
We have all the bases covered – there are three distinct models according to your type of bike and preference for size vs pack time. Please check out the Which Box? to see which box best for you.
For tri-bars, these will need to be loosened and rotated down in Ventoux box. The Ventoux will also accommodate seat tubes up to 635mm, covering many ISPs – and for giants, we can produce extended height versions on a build-to-order basis.
We’d always recommend using the smallest box the bike can fit in to – for that reason we even provide three height options for the compact Tourmalet model.
Can you produce custom boxes?
Yes – within certain physical limits and the limits of physics! As well as producing custom sizes and hardware features for large or unusual bikes (even tandems), we can provide custom decals and logos – for an individual individual or a club/team.
The most popular customisation feature is to have the box powder-coated in a colour of the customer’s choice – examples of recent production can be found on our blog page and Facebook.
Please contact us on [email protected] with your specific requirements.
Can you help if my box is lost?
That is our aim! Each Buxumbox carries a plate with a unique serial number and our contact details. We know who owns each box – keep your details current with us and we will be able to reunite you when a loss is reported. Please contact us on [email protected].
How can I buy?
We were hoping you’d ask that. Right now sales are exclusively via www.buxumbox.com – check out our Products page.
A distribution model of direct-to-customer sales allows us to stay close to our customer base and provide maximum value.
Anything else?
If there’s anything else you’d like to know, please contact us on [email protected] – we love to talk.
I’ve used many other boxes but this surpasses them by far. They thought of everything and top of the list is style and function. You couldn’t want more. – Xterra World Champs Competitor