This page has pictures showing how to use your finished folding suitcase.
This is what the bags and racks look like. The green one is collapsed and the blue one is expanded.
You carry the collapsed bag on a special bike rack.
Start off by collapsing the case to half size. Fill it with a light duffel bag with your clothes and other gear. The case does not open quickly, so put any items you want to access in a handlebar bag.
2. At the airport, find a quiet spot. Fold you bike, start extending the suitcase frame, and put the bike in the frame. Note that the rear luggage rack stays attached to the bike and straps to the suitcase frame for greater protection.
3. Finish packing the bike and extending the frame.
4. Position the nylon bag around the suitcase frame.
5. Slide the cover over the frame and bike.
6. When the fabric is over the frame, close the Velcro lid and fasten the buckles.
7. Now your bike is a suitcase ready to hand over to the airline.
When you reach your destination and claim you bags, you unpack the bike and reassemble it. You now collapse the suitcase frame to the smaller size. To visualize how it fits, here is a view of the suitcase frame on the bike.
You slide the nylon cover over the smaller frame. Put your gear inside the suitcase and close it.
Attach the case to the bike, and you are ready to go.
Note that the case is rectangular. It can be mounted on the bike either with the short edge vertical or the long edge vertical. If mounted with the short edge vertical, it will hang over the back of the rack quite a bit. Because of the rigid frame, this is not a problem.
If you can leave the suitcase at your destination, an alternative is to use one suitcase for your bike and a second for your panniers. With two suitcases, you can transport all this gear. Of course, if you are doing this, you could just as well use the standard hard cases, but the folding cases are a bit wider. Another variation is to not use glue on the pvc frame so that you can break it down, roll up the nylon fabric, and put it in a pannier.
If you need to haul lots of gear, it is possible to carry the case on the bike in the expanded mode. However, it is better to use front panniers to distribute the weight.
