Having a solid gear bag for events can make the difference between a good and bad ride. It should carry everything you need, help you stay organized, and be easy to use. I previously reviewed the Scicon Rain Race bag, which has served me well over the years, but I have been interested in a backpack as well that will make moving around at events easier. Elite sent over their Tri Box, which is a triathlon focused bag, but I found many of the features to be helpful for cyclists as well. We might not set it up in a transition zone, but for traveling and before and after an event, I found it to be pretty handy.
The Elite Tri Box was created for triathletes to use in transition zones to keep all of their gear organized and ready. When you are rushing to go from swim to bike, or bike to run, having a system and your gear laid out and ready for you makes things all that easier. This is something that is very apparent when you see features like shoe bags labeled T1 and T2 that can be connected together to form a staging mat, along with a towel to have on the ground to wipe your feet before getting into your shoes. There is also a bag for soiled kit, an internal cover to keep the inside covered when you are set up with the lid on the bottom. and an additional divider that can be used.
The Tri Box is actually a bit larger than I thought it was going to be, but I appreciated it. At about 15″x10″x17″ when fully constructed, it has a volume of over 38 liters. That is plenty to carry a few pairs of shoes, plenty of kit for your event and after, and small zippered mesh pockets inside for nutrition and other small items. Outside, there are mesh side pockets for hydrations bottles (4), another pocket on the outside for small items, and a clear plastic window sleeve for a place to write your name. On top, there are also stretch cords to hold your helmet. When not in use, the bag can be unzipped and folded down to about 15″x10″x6″ by unzipping the corners, folding it down, stacking the additional items, and using the lid to buckle it all together.
Once you are all packed up, you can carry the Tri Box by the carry handle on the top, or as a backpack. The straps are padded at the shoulders and adjustable in length using quick pull buckles. There is also a padded waist strap that is also adjustable with quick pull buckles that provides additional support when walking, running, or riding with it on your back.
When you are at your event, there are four ways to set up the bag, depending on how much space you have and what you need. Granted, you can set it up any way that works best for you and your space, but these are Elite’s recommendations.
The Standard
For this setup, take the lid off and place it under the Tri Box. Connect both shoe bags end to end, and add the towel at the end. This allows you to place both your cycling shoes and running shoes our and ready.
The Pro
Similar to the Standard, but instead of connecting both shoe bags, you only have your running shoes. For triathletes, this would be the set up if you leave your shoes connected to your bike when racked.
The Lite
Similar to the Standard, with both shoe bags and the towel out, the Lite version sees the bag get rolled down and tucked into the cover. This takes away the bottle holders on both sides and removes access to the zippered pocket on the outside, but it makes the bag itself shorter.
The Lite Pro
Similar to the Lite, the Lite Pro removes the second shoe bag.
While unfortunately, COVID-19 hit and I didn’t have a chance to use it for an actual event yet, I did use the Tri Box for carrying my gear to the gym and also on a trip for a group fitness certification. For the gym, this meant carrying my cycling shoes, cycling clothing, sandals, boxing gloves, MMA sparring gloves, two sets of hand wraps, instep covers, sparing cloths, the included bag for used clothing, HR strap, an Oakley Body Bag 2.0 (carrying my teaching headset, a set of hex wrenches, and a mic belt), a snack, and small items like my keys and wallet. It easily carried anything that I needed and kept it all organized. It was a little too big to fit in the cubbies, so I usually took it into the studio I was sparring or left it next to the cubbies when I was riding/teaching. I did commute by bike with it once, and it was comfortable on the bike, and the stretch straps on the top held my helmet well when at the studio. If you have a larger helmet, or a longer tri style aero helmet, it might be a little more challenging, but my Abus GameChanger fit well.
For the group fitness certification trip (coincidentally, it was for Les Mills The Trip), I used the Tri Box as my day bag for the trainings. The studio was 2 miles from my hotel, and I walked to and from both days. I needed my cycling shoes, sandals, the items in my Oakley Body Bag 2.0, three sets of clothing, towels, binder, iPad, and meals, snacks, and drinks for 10 hours of classroom and on the bike training. My wife and I also used it to the night before my training as a grocery bag for a trip to Whole Foods to stock up for the weekend. The only thing we couldn’t fit in there was a 2.5-gallon jug of water, which would have been a bit too heavy to put in there anyway.
Overall, it was a great bag to use, and I’m sure that it will be a winner for cyclocross and gravel events in the future, even if it is just to make sure that I have everything packed and organized in one place the night before. My only negatives on the bag are that it does take a little getting used to where everything goes and how to set it all up. It can be a little tricky at times, but after you have used the bag, you start to figure it out. The main issue I have though is the durability of the straps. I did run into an issue that one of the shoulder straps separated from the bottom corner of the bag. I believe it is something that can be repaired, but not something that should happen on a high-quality bag like this.
At $159.00, Elite Tri Box is not the cheapest bag out there, but it will definitely keep you better organized than other options out there. I’m hoping that the shoulder strap was an isolated incident, but the rest of the bag is high quality and will serve you well, regardless of your sport.
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
~Veggie Powered Athlete~
Location – Lancaster, PA
Current Testing Rigs – 2024 Van Dessel Arch65, 2019 Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, 2018 Van Dessel Motivus Maximus LTD, 2016 Van Dessel Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 2015 Bianchi Sempre Pro, 1978 Trek TX900
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