Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When the bike box arrived I though it was an interesting & innovative design. But I could see how it could be potentially confusing for the uninitiated to close correctly. In fact, the box came with a manufacturer's warning that it might be a good idea to ask for an inspection by security people at the check-in counter. Having followed the instructions to the letter, on packing my Cannondale road bike (58cm frame Synapse, by the way, which fit well), and packed various cycle clothes & accessories, I DID manage to close the box correctly, and even wrote (in silver Sharpie) a few guidelines on how the box overlaps in order to correctly close it. When I checked in for my flight I discovered that, even though I was in First Class, there was an additional "out-of-size" charge of $150 (my first little surprise). I asked for a TSA agent to come for a visual inspection (as advised by the company). The TSA agent was actually a keen cyclist, and inspected the bike, accessories etc. Then I closed the box (correctly) and gave it to him to take away. Upon arrival at London's Heathrow, the box appeared (not on the outsize carousel) effectively almost in pieces. At some stage during the journey some security person had decided to re-inspect the contents, and had utterly failed to put it back together again correctly. The result was that the two halves were almost falling apart.... There were several large gaps in the container, so I immediately inspected the contents. Luckily the bike was OK, and because I had actually tied the accessories to the frame (in plastic bags) nothing was actually lost from the case. It did, however take a bit of juggling to put the box back together correctly, as it had obviously spent a number of hours INCORRECTLY assembled, and parts of the box had bent! I know this is not the fault of the manufacturer, but sadly this box is way too complicated for the average security employee to re-assemble. It's all very well having a clever design, but it also needs to be intuitive. In the end I chose NOT to return to the USA with either the box OR the bike, as my return journey from the UK (on this occasion) was via Italy, and then back to the States from there. I was so concerned about possibly incorrect assembly and subsequent damage/loss to both the case and the bike. I may choose to return home with my box & bike on a later occasion. I short, I am quite disappointed in this case, especially the considerable financial outlay involved, and the final result. I probably would've been better off (especially with the additional baggage cost) simply sending my bike ahead, using one of the FedEx or UPS services on line, and using a cardboard container.