S&S as your everyday bike

[weisan]

Zero issue with that.

[pjm]

Originally Posted by happycampyer

This is not my everyday bike, but it could very easily be.



A coupled all-road bike would make a great N=1 bike. The added weight is not noticeable, and even if it were, it would be even less of an issue on an all-road bike.

That is a really nice picture of a really nice bike.

[bikinchris]

I use a touring bike as my main bike nowadays. It is a coupled bike and it of course rides every bit as good as any non coupled bike. When I travel with it, I just make sure to recheck the couplers to make sure they haven't loosened. I also check and re-grease the threads about every few months when I don't travel.

[woolly]

Originally Posted by donevwil

The bigger issue is having a very nice travel bike, if I had it to do again I'd opt for a cheaper, more expendable travel bike.

This. I guess it depends on how much you actually travel & what you're using the bike for when traveling. But if it's just to be able to log some miles, or just explore some new areas, I'd definitely go cheaper & more expendable. Too many risks with loss or damage while in transit. And as clever as the system is, parts just eventually end up getting rubbed & scraped when packing/traveling/unpacking. And mid-level bikes have gotten so good, you really don't give up all that much "performance" by taking this route instead of schlepping the halo bike.


FWIW I no longer own an S&S coupled bike, but when I did I didn't notice any drawbacks other than the minor few that have been mentioned here.

[PaMtbRider]

Are sure you want your S&S bike with disc brakes? It can be done but can add some complexity. You probably would want to go with centerlok rotors to easily remove the discs for packing. Hydraulic or cable actuated? Think about the type of braze on attachment you want for the cable or hydraulic line. I have seen it done a couple of different ways for easy removal / packing without using zip ties.

My Co-motion Nor-wester has couplers. It's a steel frame with a steel fork so I'm not worried about the extra weight of the couplers. It is usually the bike I take on vacation, whether or not an airplane is involved or it is just going in the back of my van.

[NeauDL]

I have an S&S coupled Calfee Luna which I ride in rotation with my other bikes. I don't think about the couplers when I choose to ride it. You won't notice they are there. I keep a piece of mountain bike inner tube over the couplers so they never get dirty. With the recommended lube, you don't need to worry about the couplers getting stuck. (With constantly dripping sugared sports drink, though, you do.)

[Bob Ross]

I can't help you with the "disc" or "able to accommodate 32c tires" part, but fwiw my Carl Strong S&S coupled bike is my everyday bike. Well, okay, I almost never commute on it, and ever since getting my Richard Sachs I have the First World Problem of having to decide whether to grab a Sachs or a Strong when I want to go on a ride...but I have never viewed the S&S couplers as a liability or as having any sort of a downside when it comes to choosing an everyday bike.

In fact, I could imagine an upside to having an S&S coupled bike that you never intended to travel with. There is honestly no downside unless you're a total weight-weenie.

[carpediemracing]

Not me but a good friend of mine (he helped promote my Series for many years, and we stayed with him for a bit to watch Worlds at Richmond) has two otherwise identical Spectrum/Merlins (custom geo Merlins). He actually bought the frames/bikes through my shop decades ago.

What's interesting is that his non S&S bike has been relegated to the trainer. The S&S bike is his primary bike. It's more responsive (according to him) than the regular bike. I guess the S&S couplers shorten effective tube length, making the frame a bit more responsive/rigid.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by wombatspeed

The only downside are the cable quick connectors: make sure to cut the cables so the connectors are not right at the S&S couplers.

Thread drift: Interestingly, I used to find the sound of the cable couplers slapping against the downtube annoying...until I moved them so that they were right at the S&S couplers. Doesn't seem to have any impact on shifting, yet it prevents the cable couplers from bouncing around quite so much as they did when they were above or below the S&S couplers.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by woolly

Too many risks with loss or damage while in transit. And as clever as the system is, parts just eventually end up getting rubbed & scraped when packing/traveling/unpacking.

If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely choose unpainted Ti over painted (actually, powder coated) steel.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by carpediemracing

What's interesting is that his non S&S bike has been relegated to the trainer. The S&S bike is his primary bike. It's more responsive (according to him) than the regular bike. I guess the S&S couplers shorten effective tube length, making the frame a bit more responsive/rigid.

I'm glad it's not just me.
I had a Colnago CT1 that I had coupled. Before, it was a nice bike but not great. After, it just rode better, fit better. I can't explain it but it was a subtle change that made a big difference.

[tv_vt]

I have a handful of bikes now. Probably as I age, I'll let most of them go, one by one. I'm thinking the last bike I'll own, in my 80's, will be my Hampsten Strada Bianca ti frame with S&S couplers. It's probably the best candidate for n=1 of anything I own.

[woolly]

"Like"

Originally Posted by tv_vt

I have a handful of bikes now. Probably as I age, I'll let most of them go, one by one. I'm thinking the last bike I'll own, in my 80's, will be my Hampsten Strada Bianca ti frame with S&S couplers. It's probably the best candidate for n=1 of anything I own.

[tv_vt]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Thread drift: Interestingly, I used to find the sound of the cable couplers slapping against the downtube annoying...until I moved them so that they were right at the S&S couplers. Doesn't seem to have any impact on shifting, yet it prevents the cable couplers from bouncing around quite so much as they did when they were above or below the S&S couplers.

Or better still, do away with the coupled cables altogether and go eTap wireless -- like Happycamper's Serotta ti bike up a few spots. Very clean looking w/o the cables.

[AngryScientist]

i definitely noticed that my Serotta stiffened up in the ride post coupler install. no doubt.

cable splitters - nahhhh. friction dowtube shifters make set-up easy as pie.