In this interview I speak to Martin Greene founder and inventor of Shokbox, a new design for a bike box. I like many of you take my bike to many places so that I can have the comfort of riding my own bike rather than hiring son and not being quite sure what you are going to get. Over the years I have tried many different types of boxes from the humble cardboard bike box to both several varieties of soft and hard shell cases. However with the intention of several trips in 2020!! I was researching what was out there when I came across Shokbox and was immediately impressed with the number of innovative design features. I knew that the creator of this was clearly someone who had spend a bit of time and effort trying to significantly improve on the failings of other products in the market. So what is different?

Hinges, many other manufacturers use a piano hinge on the outside of the box which is generally of cheap quality, often detaches from the shell and does not help in the alignment of top and bottom half of the case. Shokbox has a sturdy internal, part of the moulding, hinge which is protected from external damage and creates a sturdy hinge that helps significantly with the alignment of the top and bottom half.

Anti crush, many cases have some type of anti crush mechanism, usually a pole or strut that is inserted into the box just before closure. These can work well but are not without their problems, they can get lost or displaced during transit or if the box is opened by customs. The Shokbox case has the anti crush element permanently moulded into both halves of the case so they are always there and cannot be dislodged.

Latches, these are commonly exposed along the edge of other cases and thus vulnerable to damage in the Shokbox high quality latches are recessed, thus protected, with the option for a TSA lockable latch.

Wheels, probably one of the aspects of a bike box that gets most easily damaged. As they tend to stick out a bit they are vulnerable and an airport handler just needs to drop the box on the wheel it bends or worse still breaks off. On the Shokbox the wheels are protected being partly recessed and in addition as all 4 wheels swivel they will rotate to minimise the blow in contrast to some boxes that have 2 fixed wheels. All swivel wheels also adds to the manoeuvrability of the box as you wheel it through the airport.

There are so many other features like a space for a GPS tracker pod; strengthened leading edge, front and back, to protect against accidental collisions wheeling it along up and down kerbs etc; great wheel bags and accessory bag. Of course most important there is minimal deconstruction of the bike to get it to fit in, take the wheels off, seatpost out and take off handlebars and this is it, very quick and easy.

Overall I find it hard to beat but why not listen to Martin himself describe the box in my podcast, and have a look for yourself at his website www.shokbox.co.uk