Two Wheel Appreciation Thread
 

Well after a beautiful 5 year run my faithful Tumi Alpha Bravo 21" in spruce green was stolen from my vehicle over lunch in Chicago. Right out of my front seat foot well. Smashed window. I had painstakingly accumulated patches from travels and ironed them on to make it my own. We spent hundreds of lonely nights in hotels together.

Its is turning out that of all items missing that the bag is most difficult to replace.

Seeing as I've been blissfully out of the market for 5 years I have missed the shift to 4 wheels. Those stilly things that seem to only move slow and get pushed around instead of dragged behind like the burden they are. Those things that always seem to get stuck at every crevice, elevator gap, and threshold possible. Im sure there is a time and place but i love a perfectly counterbalanced bag with briefcase/backpack hooked on for absolutely perfect weight distribution. And a decent set of 2-3 inch wheels.

Imagine the horror when i see that Tumi has abandoned me. Only 1, one, uno, two wheeled bag in international carry on size. Yet they have managed a freakishly large amount of the 4 wheeled monster; 57 varieties of carry on!

No problem i say; I'm flush from the insurance claim- ill go Rimowa. Straight cash Homie. Wait; F***. Topas with only 4 wheeled available. Who made this decision!! Lets send letters.

Briggs and riley- they are reliable; they got me, my dad just bought a few months ago (a 4 wheel monster). They actually call it the "baseline"- something that everything can compare to. Its like the Toyota; simple and well designed-but boring as possible. Where is the flare. Seriously; hit me with a $250 up-charge and lets get some style in here. My grandparents Hartman had more pizzazz.


I can't believe it but I'm seriously considering buying used luggage from Craigslist or EBAY. That thing my parents said has come true!- They don't make em like they used to.


Oh yes. I started a new Thread:
For the Antique collectors.
For the stubborn.
For the i always did it this way.

Post best surviving models still available. Get em while you still can.
Maybe it is a B&R
Maybe it is a TravelPro
Maybe it was handmade by elves.
Maybe perfection still does exist.

I know how you feel. Spinners everywhere, hardly a two-wheel to be seen. Two-wheels are a lot more rugged and cope with uneven terrain better. (It's even more of an issue checked. I had one spinner and that only because I simply couldn't find a suitable hardside two-wheel. 4th time I checked it it came off a 3-wheel. All the rest of our bags are two-wheel, never once have we had wheel problems.)

Pretty good analogy on B&R equivalent to Toyota.

Maybe this the Honda-equivalent; check out the size of the wheels on this Kirkland!

https://images.costco-static.com/Ima...recipeName=680

Although back issues had me change to a 4-wheel spinner for checked baggage, I'm still firmly in the 2-wheel for cabin. I'm in Asia and we don't have the size allowance for cabin as in some places, and those 4-wheel cabin bags lose a lot of room on the wheels.

I did glance at a 4-wheel cabin bag (Delsey); the was fine but add in the wheels and it was too big for airlines here.

So often see people dragging their 4-wheeler (cabin) on 2 wheels. Depending on the bag, sometimes there isn't enough space between the bottom of the bag and the floor, so the owners are literally dragging their bags across the floor/ground/cobblestones. I wonder what they think when they see later how bashed up their bags are.

Can I join your cult? I'm particularly not fond of spinners here in Europe on brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets--I see lots of people dropping them as the tiny wheels get caught between stones... but spinners are a pain on curbs, broken pavement, etc. everywhere.

Travelpro FlightCrew series are all two-wheeled, even the current FlightCrew 5 models. I have a FlightCrew 3 that's pushing 10 years old and despite a lot of time spent as hold luggage thanks to sharp work-related objects is still in good shape. If the wheels ever wear out, they and the bearings are straight off in-line skates. A gate8 garment bag I recently bought has the same setup.

I'm a 2-wheel believer!

I have both a 2-wheel B&R Baseline and a Rimowa 2-wheel Topas. It looks like the B&R is still available and although the Rimowa has been discontinued, it is available at many shops still. Get one while you still can!

http://www.briggs-riley.com/media/ca.../u122cx-7f.jpg
B&R 2-wheel Baseline



https://media.cdn.galeria-kaufhof.de...1239757/rthumb
Kaufhof Rimowa 2-wheel Topas

I was looking at the TravelPro FlightCrew stuff and had planned to buy one before our next trip--but then when I actually went to buy it the FlightCrew 4 had been replaced with the FlightCrew 5--and in the 5 lineup there's no international carry-on sized bag.

I do like the wheels on that! Unfortunately i gave up the costco membership; maybe this might get me back in the door.

Welcome to the cult: The 2 wheel Playaz Club-

Me and my homies, we tighter than a glove
We chop a lot of game is how we do it at the 2 wheel Playaz Club
Check the fool or kick it in the tub
'cause we kick much ... at the 2 wheel Playaz Club

Me and my homies, we tighter than a glove
We chop a lot of game is how we do it at the 2 wheel Playaz Club
Check the fool or kick it in the tub
'cause we kick much ... at the Sucka Free club

Yeah, I'd like to send this shout out
To all the 2 wheel Playaz Clubs throughout the world
I know they got a Playaz Club out there in Chicago
What about that one they got out there in Philly, Fo?

You know they got one out there in Atlanta, the way they by choppin'
...., Detroit, New York, Texas
Yeah, but we gonna move on down to these
Playaz Clubs close to home like Seattle, L.A., Bakersfield, San Diego

P.A., V-Town, Richmond, Sacramento
Yeah, but a special shot goes out to the
Playaz Club right across the water in the Biggity Biggity O
Yeah, and last but definitely not least yeah, them

Playa Clubs they got right there in the
San Francisco motha....in' bay, yeah
Where your Playaz Club at 4 wheel monsters?
My Playaz Club right in the heart of Fillmoe

Uh, I feel you boy, where yours at Fly?
Man, on the corner of Third and Newcomb right in the heart of H.P.
Huh, this is for all you playaz out there mayne
We out at the 2 wheel Playaz Club


I am all about that Rimowa. Says delivery in 23 days; and i haven't even said MN yet. This could get interesting. Ill begin the investigation.

I'm not sure about shipping to the US from Kaufhof. I always shop there when I am in DE. You could also try the Lufthansa Worldshop as I see them there every time I'm at FRA as well. Good luck.

On the look out for a new carry-on but it's tough finding one that is 2-wheels, under 2kg, and 56x36x23cm (22x14x9in). On shorter trips I one-bag it and within Asia the weight limit is 7kgs, so the less the bag weighs...


Edit: To add, that size includes wheels, so you can see why I'm a big fan of 2-wheelers.

I'm a HUGE fan of rear wheel (only) drive! Though my bag is much beefier and thus a little heavier than needed for t-shirts & toothbrush, it's the bomb for $35K worth of video gear. (if the gig doesn't entail shooting, well, it's got the above "non-perishables" instead.) AMAZING customer service and an extremely well designed product; hidden cable to lock bag to small churches, rain cover, exterior strap points, all kinds of pockets, velcro-configured interior.

The Thinktank Security:
https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/c...9_743_70_s.jpg

As the owner of a 20" FlightCrew3, I'm embarrassed that I didn't notice this. I wonder why they quit making it; when I worked in airports the 20" FC2/3 was the most common airline-issued carryon I saw. Maybe the European airlines quit giving out free luggage.

I love the Kirkland, unfortunately knowing my experience (or luck) on European airlines, they will force me to check in anything longer than 22”, which is a deal breaker for me.

I’ve gotten so paranoid about the upcoming 2-wheeler extinction that I recently took to hoard rollabord suitcases whenever I find a good deal, like the Tumi international expandable carry-on that was on sale at outlet for $300 during July 4 weekend - even though my Travelpro Crew 9 is in perfectly good shape after 5 years. Glad I’m not the only one insane enough to do this!

MSPSKI, thank you for this thread. You are not alone! I'm a diehard 2-wheeler fan. I hate spinners; it seems that's all I see in airports. I hope Travelpro continues to make bags with two wheels instead of four.

I have the B&R Baseline International Carry-on and I actually quite like it. My wife hates it because she likes spinners. I will admit though that I run into problems sometimes with aisles not wide enough. I'm stuck just carrying my bag at that point instead of rolling it on.