Bike Boxes and Bags · Cycling ·Jul 31, 2026

My Shokbox Pro Packing Guide

It's not often we get to go on a camp abroad, but a round of the Junior CX World Cup was held in Benidorm, and British Cycling used the opportunity to gather everyone for some warm weather training. The week before would have been even warmer, coming from -4c on Sunday to +12c on Monday still felt like a great improvement.

Having to take two bikes, and not wanting to remove my bars because of the integrated headset, I needed a solution. Thanks to Adventure Kit Hire, I got a couple of Shokbox Pro bike boxes. They have a wider section which means you can leave your bars on, you don't even need to rotate them.

Full disclosure: Adventure Kit Hire gave me a good deal on the box hire. They've supported me for trips before and I'm really grateful for it. They are proper sports people, and if you can collect from Gatwick yourself, you can avoid the shipping fees too.

There isn't much info about these boxes online (I only found one video) but they're actually easy to pack and very sturdy. One of the biggest benefits is how insanely easy they are to move around an airport, despite their size.

Quick guide to packing a Shokbox Pro

Remove wheels, pedals and optionally the rear mech
Wrap bike in protective jacket (optional)
Put wheels in their bags
Place it all in the box

Now in more detail.

Step 1: Strip down the bike

Start simple: take off your wheels and pedals. I usually take off the bottle cages too, since they can come under undue pressure once packed. Block your brakes if you have discs, I just use some cardboard, since the plastic blockers always end up lost.

We took off the rear mech as well, since my bike is an XS. We couldn't get it sitting quite right with the mech on so it had to sit a little further back to clear the anti-crush bar.

There are two of these bars, which stop the box being squeezed when it's on its side. One of them is where your rear triangle sits, since the bike goes in upside down.

Step 2: Wrap the frame (Optional)

The box comes with a bespoke padded jacket for your frame, nice to have, but not something I'd call essential. Because my bike is small, the wrap didn't quite sit right, so we ended up leaving it off. If you do use it, there are loops for the forks and a velcro strap at the back to hold it in place.

Either way, with the wheels going into their own padded bags on either side, you don't really need extra protection. I didn't even add bubble wrap, which I normally do, the internal padding is already that good. So if the frame wrap doesn't work for your bike either, don't worry about it. Just leave it off.

Step 3: Bag your wheels

The box comes with two wheel bags, each with a tyre cover, a nice touch, since they keep the inside of the bags clean and help the wheels slide in more easily. Remember to tuck your pedals into the wheel bags too; there's a pocket in each one for exactly that.

Step 4: Place wheels in box

Slot the wheel bags in on either side of the box and pull the elastic restraints across so they can't shift or fall out.

If you're running discs, place them facing outward, since that gives you a flat surface to work with. I didn't need to remove my cassette. I also always drop an Apple tracker into my bike box, just in case the airline loses it.

You should still have room left for a helmet, a couple of bottles and a saddle bag, though not much more than that, since the box itself is on the heavier side. It's all in service of keeping the bike protected, though.

Step 5: Place bike in box

This step is easier with a second pair of hands. My bike is a small gravel bike, so it's a slightly awkward shape - long and low - and the padding sticks out a fair bit as a result.

Open one side of the box and drop the bike in upside down; you can tell which end the handlebars go by looking at the shape of the padding. You want both sides of the box standing up almost vertically, like a clam shell, so everything stays in place while the hinge at the bottom does most of the moving.

With a second person helping, open one side slightly further, feed the bars in first, then locate the rear triangle around the anti-crush bar. The bike should end up suspended by the rear triangle, with the saddle and bars just touching the bottom of the box. Shift it around until it feels settled, taller riders might need to remove the saddle to get there, though I didn't need to.

Step 6: Close and lock box

Close the box gently and check nothing's sticking out. If you feel resistance as it closes, stop and take another look. This is exactly why we left the padded frame jacket off; it wasn't worth the extra bulk. If you're worried about scratches, you could wrap a sheet around the bike instead, though we didn't notice any marks without it.

When we first packed it, the rear mech sat too close to the wall of the box, so I removed it, wrapped it in bubble wrap, and tied it to the chain stays instead. Once everything's in and the box is closed, it sits snug and nothing rattles or moves.

From there, it's just a case of wheeling the box to departures and fielding all the usual questions at the airport.

Summary

I'll be honest, I hadn't heard of Shokbox before this trip, but they're a UK brand that's been around for a while, and they make a more traditional box too.

Either way, these boxes saved me a huge amount of time and hassle packing and unpacking. It’s ideal for a short trip where you don't have much time or many tools, especially if you don't need to remove or lower the saddle.

The wheels deserve a mention too: they made moving through the airport effortless, with none of the sticky-castor problems some of the others in our group had. If anything, the biggest hassle of the whole trip was the transfer bus from parking, which never has enough room for bags this size. For reference, the boxes weighed in at 23.2 kg each, and that was with a few extras packed in on top.

They're bigger than most boxes on the market, noticeably wider, but solid with it. We even managed to fit two of them in the back of a VW Transporter SWB Kombi, rear seats still in place, sitting snugly across the van without any rocking or movement, and still had room for a suitcase and hand luggage.

These retail at over £600, so if you'd rather hire than buy outright, you can get one from Adventure Kit Hire. I don't get anything for that link - just passing on the thanks for supporting me and my riding again.