Are travel couplers on a travel bike still worth it?

[hoj]

Originally Posted by mistermo

I've used almost every Ritchey BA made: Carbon road (excellent handling!) carbon outback, steel road, steel cross and now titanium cross. I'm sticking with ti cross. Thanks to canti's it's significantly easier to pack and disassemble and has lots of versatility with tires up to 38mm. What size BA Cross did you have and what size do you think you need? Asking for a friend who *may* have one.

Yeah the Ritchey Breakaway Ti Cross was more or less a "holy grail" bike for me and I was bummed I couldn't make mine work. I had a 54 but it was simply too small and wasn't getting any use. A 56 probably would have been perfect. If you've got a 56 ti cross laying around collecting dust then I might be interested!

[Wattvagen]

if you're only travelling once/year at most, consider just renting a bike.

there are SO many good gravel bikes on the market now, and it's becoming much more common to be able to rent them, especially in more bike centric locations.

gives you a chance to try out something new and modern, certainly takes some of the logistics and stress out of travel, and you dont run any of the risk of damaging your $$$ bike by the TSA goon squad or other travel mishaps.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by hoj

Nope, the brake hose quick disconnect would be located in the downtube near the S&S coupler itself. I would need to run a little bit of extra hose to give it some slack, but in other words the process would be to first uncouple the frame at the S&S coupler and pull it apart enough to reach the brake line disconnect.

Basically the same set-up as No.22 describes/implements for their travel couplers -- which is a pretty slick set-up.

https://22bicycles.com/blogs/news/in...coupler-system

Thanks. Looks pretty slick. Not sure about the splitter mech that looks like it weighs 3 lbs and clanks around the DT (maybe there is foam padding for that).

All in all, I’d be inclined to do as some suggested and rent a bike for a once a year or every other year trip. Or get a Brompton.

[dan_hudson]

I think why you're traveling with a bike is a factor as well. If the typical trip is for an organized tour where there is a group helping with arrival logistics, that often includes assistance dealing with a large bag getting to/from airport at destination, storing the bag while riding, etc.

On the other hand, if the typical trip is self-organized and especially in out of the way locations, avoiding the hassles of oversized baggage could be a game changer.

FYI, I usually travel w/ a full suspension MTB so couplers aren't really an option. An EVOC bag has been awesome.

[Pedal 'n Paddle]

So, what did you settle on? How has it worked out?

I'm looking in going the same direction. I might not be able to do internal routing with a relatively small BSA thread BB shell. But quick disconnects would still help.

Originally Posted by hoj

Awesome, thanks all for the replies. The smaller form factor alone of the Ritchey/S&S travel cases I think has pushed me in that direction.

I previously owned a Ritchey Ti Breakaway Cross that I absolutely loved, but the fit on it was a little on the small side so I ended up selling it. I also think my time with canti/V brakes is coming to an end once I move on from my current CaadX.

If all goes well the new bike should be pretty rad when it's all said and done -- the plan is to run etap with hydro disc brakes set up with a quick disconnect system running internal near the downtube S&S coupler. I 'think' this set up will only marginally be more of a pain to disassemble/reassemble than a mechanical rim brake/shifter set up (in theory at least).

[hoj]

Originally Posted by Pedal 'n Paddle

So, what did you settle on? How has it worked out?

I'm looking in going the same direction. I might not be able to do internal routing with a relatively small BSA thread BB shell. But quick disconnects would still help.

I ended up going forward with the custom Ti frame with a S&S coupler on the downtube and a breakaway-style coupler at the top/seat-tube junction. I also went with mostly internal hydraulic hose routing, with a small exit/re-entry underneath the bottom bracket on a standard BSA threaded shell.

I describe a lot of these details (and my overall build experience with Waltly) in this thread here: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=273092

For the internal routing through the S&S coupler joint, I went with a hydraulic quick-disconnect from Zeno Components and it works FANTASTIC and is way way more affordable than the same offering from No.22.

Zeno is still a new company and I messaged them directly through their Facebook page -- I found this to be the most reliable method of communicating with them. If I remember correctly the total cost of their coupler system came out to ~$40 shipped from Taiwan, which is so much more reasonable than the system from No.22 that runs ~$250 and works basically the exact same way. I actually ended up buying a few of the Zeno coupler setups to have on hand down the road.

Note that I haven't yet had a chance to travel on a plane with this bike yet, but I have done a couple road trips and it is a stellar bike. I've disconnected and reconnected the coupler system probably 5-6 different times and the brakes still work perfectly w/ no need for a re-bleed, so I don't have any problem recommending the Zeno kit to anyone interested in going the same route as I.

[weisan]

hoj pal, this is most excellent, thanks for sharing your research and actual usage. Wish you many miles of happy traveling and riding.