S&S coupler daily rider?

[Moveitfred]

I'm sold on the idea of an S&S coupler bike for travel and may well soon pull the trigger on a steel frame with couplers. For those of you with experience I'm wondering how much use your S&S coupler bike gets at home and if you have any concerns using the bike on a regular basis throughout the year.

Besides travel (which is about two months out of the year for me) I'm imagining my S&S bike to be my backup/off-season/foul weather bike at home here in the Northeast. In this role it would likely see a lot of early season, late season, and foul weather action. I guess what I'm most concerned about is the foul weather and the wet, sandy roads this time of year and how these conditions might affect the couplers over time. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[eddief]

I've done exhaustive internet research on this topic. My research would suggest if you use the proper lube (teflon grease) then the couplers are proven and down right close to bullet proof. With the exception of adding a bit of weight, my guess is they will be undetectable and extremely reliable. Not first hand experience, but the best I can do for ya at this time.

[Bill Bove]

The couplers are made from stainless steel so the weather shouldn't affect them as long as you keep them clean and tighten them daily. I sold a Co-Motion bike to a guy a few years ago with the couplers on it, the Co-Motion soon became his daily driver and sold the Serotta. It had a really cool Grateful Dead custom paint job on it, too bad it was way too big for me.

[Brian Smith]

I rode an EL-OS cross bike with stainless couplers over 40 miles daily for over a year. I never once re-torqued them after the first day, never lubricated them, never even thought about them. They never made any noise, came loose, or did anything other than hold the tubes together as designed. Even the majority of a salty winter of commuting in upstate NY didn't cause any trouble for the couplers. Some unpainted seat stays after a brake post modification didn't fare so well, but couplers were A-OK.
Of course...the couplers on that particular frame still didn't allow the bike to fit in a travel-friendly case (grrr, the builder won't be mentioned) but that wasn't the couplers' fault.

[11.4]

I've ridden an S&S-coupled Serotta Legend Ti in all kinds of muck for a couple years and had no problems. Once you've tightened the couplers once or twice, they stay tight. Use the teflon lube they prescribe (no substitutions allowed), and you shouldn't have any leakage or any other kind of problem. On a steel frame the stainless couplers are simply great. On a ti frame, the couplers are ti as well and you have to watch out for galling and seizing -- typical ti warnings, just they need a little more care when assembling (and after that you ignore them too).

If you want to uncouple the frame more than rarely, you may be using cable quick disconnects. The problem is that most of them are aluminum, they corrode, and they give you more problems than the couplers themselves. Frankly I stopped using them, and simply carry an extra set or two of replacement cables when I travel. It only takes a few minutes to install them if the housings are already in place, and I circumvent the problem of arriving with kinks in cables.

If you travel a lot, skip the hook wrench that S&S sends you for tightening and untightening the couplers. Instead, get a VAR lock-ring wrench, a pair of slip-joint pliers with notches facing each other in the tips. They do a much more solid job of handling the couplers. Even one of the Park pin tools at $8 apiece does a much better job. And bring a clean toothbrush and some extra teflon lube -- the toothbrush makes sure you aren't getting any grit into the threads.

If you travel a lot, by the way, you might ask your framebuilder for a spare set of the couplers unmounted (or if you want to be fancy, with a short piece of stub tubing and a plug mounted on them). That way, you have a piece to screw into each exposed part of the coupler and don't have to take a risk of a dinged thread or other catastrophe. Believe me, it's worth it to have this taken care of, especially with airport security checks knocking your stuff around out of your sight. The two plug pieces for each tube then mount into each other and make for a nice compact package that stays in your bike case.

Just as an alternative thought, I've also been using a BikePro Race Case for the past couple years. It's gone everywhere from Ghent to Australia. No couplers needed. And forget the pain of dragging a Trico Iron Case through an airport -- this thing sits on its edge nicely with casters that steer properly and handles right where you need them. Take the bike out and it folds up to fit in the back seat along with your bike. And very safe. It's a great alternative and, in my experience, the best of the travel cases if you want to ship a road bike.

[BumbleBeeDave]

I also have a Trico case and I agree it’s bulletproof. I haven’t used it in a couple of years, mainly because of anxiety about the security gorillas and whether they would end up closing it up correctly after inspecting the contents. You have to fit everything in there juuuuuust right or something or the other rubs on the case.

What have your experiences been with airport security this past year? Do they have a bit more savvy now about these kinds of cases? Do the security people at least let you watch? I’m planning on going to see my parents again in KC this summer and I’m once again very nervous about taking the bike in the case.

BBDave

[Bradford]

Our coupled Co-Motion tandem gets about half of my miles. No problems at all, period. We travel once a year and no problems there either. Nothing to worry about and lots of advantages.

[11.4]

BBD,

I have a Trico I use for a carbon track frame, but it frankly is a pain. It has to lie flat along one edge, it begs to be placed on the bottom of the cargo container on the plane, etc. And it does get opened, at which point the security crew doesn't usually know how to get it back together again. With frame and wheels in it, I get it at least a third of the time not quite put together right and the straps left loose because the two halves won't mesh properly any longer -- 2-3 inches of extra height because stuff is sandwiched wrong. Even for the track frame, I now use a separate hard wheel case for the wheels (which took a real beating in the Trico post 9-11), so the Trico only has the frame/forks plus pedals, chain, and bars (the latter extremely well padded).

I much prefer the BikePro Race Case for road frames. I now use it for my road bike while I travel with the track frame in the Trico. Much saner way to do things. With about 15-20 trips a year with bikes included, the odds start to work against you and you also start seeing all the things that can go wrong.

If you do use a Trico, a few suggestions. Make up a separate container with all the loose stuff -- let the Trico only contain your frame and your wheels. Remove the rear derailleur and I prefer with Dura Ace 10 cranks to remove the whole crankset just to make things smaller. Don't depend on the foam layers to cushion everything. Instead I sandwich the frame in layers of dense 3/4" foam from a kayak store, cut and glued to make some basic pieces that protect the pointy parts (BB, fork ends, seat lug, and stay ends). This way there's less to complicate repacking during a security check. Second, to protect against crushing, see if you can mount a rigid block or post in the middle of the case (glued to one side of the Ironcase, everything either fits around it or drops over it). I have some blocks of rigid structural foam (also from the kayak store) that are used to create knee braces and the like. They glue in easily, cut to shape, and make for customized spots to hold your frame and/or wheels so nothing slides around. Next, I spray-painted the interior of the case white (which helps if you have to reassemble stuff in a dim room anyway) and used a sharpie to draw where everything fits. This level of sophistication seems to work for the security handlers. Finally, always pack extra straps -- the handlers seem to lose one every 3-4 trips. Of all these ideas, the white paint is the one I think had more effect than anything else -- go figure.

[BumbleBeeDave]

You’ve got it down to a science! But I see what you mean--if you make that many trips the law of averages is going to be nipping at your, uh, heels.

Sounds like a pain, though. Got any pics of how you’ve got this set up?

BBDave

[saab2000]

I had an S&S equipped Anvil for 3 years. Rode it a lot as my daily rider. It NEVER gave a problem. I have sold it to a dude from here who claims he may do the same.

I concur with the idea of getting a second hook tool, or a VAR lockring pliers. The one it comes with is not that great.

But the question of riding the S&S bike on a regular basis is a non-issue. Go ahead.

The S&S system is one which works as advertised - a rarity in today's world. Getting through security is something to be aware of though. I am going to eventually replace my S&S case with a Bike Pro USA case.....

I am too afraid of the TSA at the airports.

[11.4]

BBD,

I don't have a digital camera handy to get images out, but they'd be of limited use anyway. The only obscure item here is how the compression blocks get fitted, and that's entirely dependent on the dimensions of your bike -- which also means you are committing the Trico to one particular bike until you cut the blocks out and redo them. Just try for a couple spots as close to the center of the case as possible. Steering around the frame isn't hard. I ended up with two triangular pieces that are on a line between where the wheels fit -- the wheels overlap a bit, but just past where they overlap is where I have the blocks. Hope that makes sense. Also, at that kayak store I got some d-rings mounted to heavy-duty coated nylon fabric tabs. I glued a few of those in, and then put pedals, etc. in clear plastic cargo bags (same kayak store) that have d-rings attached. With a miniature carabiner, they snap right into the case, are easily inspected, and don't end up falling out of the case (I once arrived in Montreal with only one track pedal because of a security check, and the pedals and cleats I used couldn't be found in time -- result = no racing).