EddieF or Others S & S trave bags Q's ??

[Smiley]

Talk to me about your S&S coupled bike and more importantly the S&S suit case . How easy was it to pack your bike up , could you have used a bit more space just to squeeze it in correctly. I see where Ritchey and Co-Motion now each have a travel case for their coupler bikes but they are soft shell cases , BETTER or worse. I appreciate your advise as well as anybody else on this subject . Excited to have a coupler on order and can't figure out why I did not do this long time ago , sure beats schlepping my Bike Pro bag through an airport ( Tandem is next ) .

[eddief]

I googled the heck out of this subject before buying my 26.26.10 hard case.

For me the deciding factor was calling Sands Machine on the phone and asking their advice. Even, I think it is Bilenky, that says the soft case is best, Sands says the hard case is the best protection.

As I understand it the S and S case in the 26.26.10 size is the only one that fits in under the airlines' guidelines. Most other cases are slightly bigger and above the 62 inch limit. That said, most people suggest their cases have never been measured and airlines are more concerned about the weight than a few extra inches above 62. But if they hit you once with an $80 charge, then smaller might be best.

I found the learning curve to get my P58 in the case sort of a pain in the arse. Take it apart, wrap the tubes, remove appropriate parts, stuff carefully in the case. But it does fit pretty easily with tires deflated.

Don't forget the security net and the compression members!

Don't forget an extra length of hose on whichever tube is in the case next to your cassette. All of this is described in details on the S and S website.

Remember if you are used to working on your bike at home and you use a bike repair stand, you won't have the stand when you go traveling. So when practicing, I recommend laying an old bed sheet out on the floor and practice assembly and disassembly as if you are on the lawn at your hotel destination.

If you are checking your bike case as luggage, then I think you can have only one more suitcase??? Remember how much room a helmet and other stuff takes up and know that packing normal clothes and bike crap et al can be a squeeze.

What the h-ell do ya do with a hard case when you get the destination? (don't leave on the back seat of the rental car) I have seen photos of loaded touring bikes with the soft case folded up and placed on the back of the bike. The best one I saw was a couple who lined the soft case sides with card board for rigidity. When they got on the bike they dumped the card board, folded the case and put on the back rack of the bike. When they were ready to ship the bike at the end of their tour, they simply found some cardboard, lined the case and put the bike on the plane as regular luggage.

[93legendti]

Bike Friday's cases are basically hard shell Samsonite and/or Carlton cases. They can be found new on the web for 1/2 of the BF price. Why not do a eBay/Amazon search for a suitcase by Samsonite and/or Carlton for the right size and then buy the packing stuff from Serotta or S & S?

[scrafton]

I am not aware (and I have looked) that either Samsonite or Carlton makes a case that will hold an S&S coupled bike full-sized bike (26x26x10). You need the 26x26 dimension for the 700c wheels. The Bike Friday bikes use smaller 20" wheels so there are many standard cases that will take them.

[Too Tall]

Smileyman - On tour I saw hundreds of bikes shipped everyway come sunday. The ones that airline gorillas consistently failed to destroy were softcases and carboard. We can go into details of why over Belgians. An exception to this was / is the performance ABS clamshell...it is tough as nails.

FWIIW - No bikes were ever hurt...just the expensive cases. But that was the intent of my story. You don't want to buy the case over and over.

[sg8357]

What the h-ell do ya do with a hard case when you get the destination?

Best trick I saw were a pair of Moultons, towing their own cases.
Cases converted to bike trailers, very James Bond.
Maybe call Moulton and ask for Q ?

Scott G.

[Ray]

Smiley,

I've had a couple of S&S bikes and found them to be a PIA. Packing and unpacking is never quick and fitting drop bars into the puzzle of the bike and wheels without completely kinking out the cables can be a real challenge. If the bike is painted steel, it's gonna get banged up, even if you're really careful about packing and covering the tubes with protective stuff (which is one of the more time-consuming parts of packing). If I ever did it again, which I doubt I will, I'd go with unpainted ti so I wouldn't have to worry about it as much. But couplers on a ti bike is REALLY expensive.

I find it so much easier to disassemble, pack, and reassemble a full bike in a trico or some other full sized case. I generally just ship the bike ahead of time - cheaper than flying with it. I guess if you travel a LOT and want a full sized bike and get really good at packing and unpacking, S&S is the way to go. For travelling once or twice a year, I just deal with the different hassle of a full size case. And I take my Brompton on non-cycling trips where I just want to have a bike to bang around town and sight-see on.

Sorry for the negative vibes :cool:

-Ray

[Smiley]

No bad vibes at all , I actually sold a guy a coupler bike and he swore the S&S case was the problem*, I see where Ritchey has a case with a bit more breathing room , I think is 27 by 27 by 12 inches deep . Also I am thinking of a custom made case and checking the bike as a regular suit case. Trust me with my last name I don't need to be hauling a Bike Pro case through an airport :)

* He had a 54 cm compac frame and actually keeps a spare front wheel at his condo destination so he packs his bike less the front wheel and all goes super well. That works for him and he said if he had just a tad more room life would be sublime. hence the desire to find a case with a bit more space .

[eddief]

My coupled P is a great looking and riding bike. I had it powdered after I had it coupled and it still looks good. I thought powder would be more durable. But I realize it will be sacrificed as a result of being a travel bike and it will look good as long as it does and then it won't.

Another good reason to have multiple bikes.

Ray is right and packing is time consuming, but ultimately totally do-able. I put downtube shifters on the P so I would have less junk on the bars and cable splitters make cables more reasonable to deal with.

Hopefully when traveling one can take the chill pill, relax and take 30 minutes to be a mechanic and have a nice riding bike for the trip.

[eddief]

S and S, I believe, makes at least 3 sizes of hard case.

[Smiley]

I just saw that feature , thanks

[billrick]

I have the soft case for my S&S IF Deluxe 29er. Two tips:

1. I have always carried a second bag for gear, a large rolling duffel, so I load the fork and h-bars into the duffel. This frees up plenty o' room in the S&S bag and the packing is less of a puzzle. The rolling duffel also carries my tent, where I stash the soft bag while at camp.

2. On the few trips that I have taken so far, I went straight to a local bike shop from the airport. They have always been more than generous with a work stand which makes the packing/unpacking much easier. Also, it is great way to get trail tips and possible riding buddies. Nothing like starting and ending your trip at a good LBS!

Okay, three tips.

3. Start with an ugly color, since your bike will get scratched up to some degree. Chicks dig scars, and all that.


:)

[Mud]

Lois and I used to travel quite a bit to CA, UT, HA, CO to both road and MB. The plane is expensive and a pain in the rear end, expecially LA where you have to take a bus to get to the rental cars. I got into the habit of shipping the bikes to a LBS that I had made arrangements with to take them. Usually a 12 pack would cover the "freight" if I picked up the bikes, or if I trusted the shop, such as Dreamride in Moab, I would have the bikes assembled for us, disaasembled and shipped (we paid for the service). It may not be the cheapest way but certainly the least hassle for us.