Uniscasi/ foldable frame - what are your impressions?

[730tjc]

I'm considering a Uniscasi for a portable ride and want to hear what people think of them. Do they break down small enough that you avoid the oversize surcharge on airlines (critical criteria)? Ease of assembly/disassembly? How do they ride?

Thanks for any advice you may share. Tom C

[Serotta PETE]

Tom, I have the Unicasi Ti and Smiley has the Unicasie Steel. On the Ti, all I can say is that I can not tell the difference between the Unicasi and my Legend. They both have the same specs, fork, ST rear, etc...just the addition of S&S coupling.

I have never been charged excess luggage on domestic or international flights. My bike is a 57cm sloping TT and it fits in the box nicely.

Another friend of mine (not Smiley) has a 62cm and he has to take fork off and keep in his carry on, He just got back from Aspen and did not pay excess.

Hope that helps....PETE

[davep]

I do not have a Unicasi, but I do have a coupled bike. It is a 55cm level top tube. Some comments:

The ride is stiff and secure - no difference from a non-coupled bike.

Disassembly/assembly is no harder than putting a bike in any other type of box, the only additonal steps are the couplers and the cable connectors. This should take no more than two minutes. Otherwise, wheels, handlebars, seatpost and saddle, rear derailleur and you're set. One thing that will add time is wrapping all the tubes in padding. I bought the nylon covered padding from S&S and have cut it to over everything possible.

All this does fit into and S&S suitcase, but it is a tight fit and requires quite a bit of trial and error. I have not done it enough to have a system perfected and it seems to take me about an hour to get everything in and the case closed.

If you use the S&S case you should not be charged extra as it is right at the maximum allowed size of 62 in (l+w+d). No airline personel has ever asked what was inside. But, keep in mind that most airlines have lowered the allowed weight to 50lbs, so you could be charged for overweight.

One probelm are the TSA inspections. If the TSA opens up the case and takes the bike out to inspect it the chances of them getting it back in the case are approx. zero. On one flight the inspection was done where I could see it, and they opened the case, looked at it, swabbed it, and then closed it - no problem. On another flight they called me (I always leave a note with my cell phone and "Please call if any problems") and had me come and put it back in the case. Thankfully, they were courteous enough to do this, but I worry that sometime they may not be.

[mosca]

I just got around to posting some info from my first Uniscasi travel experience here (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=30040).

Packing and unpacking do require a bit of wrenching know-how, and depending on the size of the frame there can be a fair amount of disassembly involved. Mine requires removal of the fork, rear der, crankset, and stem. I actually packed mine for the first time on the night before I left (yeah, I'm that brilliant), and there came a point where I was convinced it would never go in the box. I eventually got it settled, and had the foresight to take a picture for future reference (which I have used each time I've packed the bike). I'd reckon it takes about a half hour to unpack/assemble, and about the same to pack, if the stars are aligned favorably.

I don't recommend investing in a beautiful paint job, you just won't want to worry about that. Otherwise, it's definitely got me thinking about possibilities that I hadn't considered before - can't beat that!

[Smiley]

Built my Steel Uniscasi as a Rapid Tourer , why would you do it any other way !

[730tjc]

.

[Serotta PETE]

Built my Steel Uniscasi as a Rapid Tourer , why would you do it any other way !

ti with st- - - :cool:

[Smiley]

ti with st- - - :cool:
Not that there's anything wrong with THAT :)