Touring bike with S&S couplers: What wheel size??

[Fred Roses]

David Reuteler <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> errr, deflate them? i have an S&S touring bike with a 60cm c-c top-tube and
> 700C wheels (i'm an apartment dweller and given my only 2 bikes it's gonna
> be 700C). i have to remove the cranks and rear derailleur to fit everything
> in the (soft) case but it goes in easily with room to spare (i stuff in my
> rack, fenders, zefal pump, jerseys, shorts, shoes, etc, etc).

Ahh David the difference is you are using the SOFT case and I am using
the HARD case. Yes, of course I deflate the tires, but they still
barely fit and I had a problem with them going out of true (as did the
following poster) unless I removed the front tire. By the way I wasn't
using trick wheels - regular old Open Pro's with 32 spokes.

Perhaps the soft case is more "packing friendly" but I imagine it may
have some other issues vis a vis airline handling...

Fred Roses

 

[Fred Roses]

While I'm ranting and raving about travelling with the S&S hard case,
I'd like to make 2 additional comments...

1. The hardware on the case is really lousy. All the clips have fallen
apart on me, inevitably at the least opportune time.

2. The idea of putting the wheels on the narrow side may have been
good in theory but is lousy in practice - every case I have seen
wobbles like crazy. Mine is barely controllable!

The Ritchey case may be slightly oversize, but it's far superior in
every other respect. By the way, one nice feature heretofore
unmentioned is that the side reinforcement panels on the Ritchey break
down, enabling you to squash the case very compactly for storage in a
locker.

My two cents worth...

Fred Roses

 

[David Reuteler]

Fred Roses <[email protected]> wrote:
> Ahh David the difference is you are using the SOFT case and I am using
> the HARD case. Yes, of course I deflate the tires, but they still
> barely fit and I had a problem with them going out of true (as did the
> following poster) unless I removed the front tire. By the way I wasn't
> using trick wheels - regular old Open Pro's with 32 spokes.
>
> Perhaps the soft case is more "packing friendly" but I imagine it may
> have some other issues vis a vis airline handling...

yea, i had wondered about this .. i will say that i've never had any problems
with damage (no out of true wheels, bent spokes). fwiw, i've heard it said
anecdotally in several long forgotten threads ..

how's that for credibility?

... that the soft case may have less problems w/r/t to baggage handlers than
the hard case. who knows. i also reinforce the front & back of the soft
case by inserting cardboard slabs in the pockets.
--
david reuteler
[email protected]

 

[[email protected]]

On 25 Jun 2004 17:25:05 GMT, David Reuteler
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Fred Roses <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Ahh David the difference is you are using the SOFT case and I am using
>> the HARD case. Yes, of course I deflate the tires, but they still
>> barely fit and I had a problem with them going out of true (as did the
>> following poster) unless I removed the front tire. By the way I wasn't
>> using trick wheels - regular old Open Pro's with 32 spokes.
>>
>> Perhaps the soft case is more "packing friendly" but I imagine it may
>> have some other issues vis a vis airline handling...
>
>yea, i had wondered about this .. i will say that i've never had any problems
>with damage (no out of true wheels, bent spokes). fwiw, i've heard it said
>anecdotally in several long forgotten threads ..
>
>how's that for credibility?
>
>.. that the soft case may have less problems w/r/t to baggage handlers than
>the hard case. who knows. i also reinforce the front & back of the soft
>case by inserting cardboard slabs in the pockets.

Dear David,

One of rec.bicycles.tech's best-know pedal mashers has
reported that the airline "baggage mashers" broke his
otherwise indestructible wheel, apparently in a soft-cover
case:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=baggage+mashers&meta=group=rec.bicycles.tech

Fly the friendly skies!

Carl Fogel

 

[B]

I carry my S&S bike in the cardboard case. In two trips (one to France, and one
to Canada) I have had no problems.
B

(remove clothes to reply)

 

[(Pete Cresswell)]

RE/
>I carry my S&S bike in the cardboard case. In two trips (one to France, and one
>to Canada) I have had no problems.

From reading other bike transoport threads, I gather that there's a school of
thought to the effect that if you make it obviously-breakable-looking, or
obviously a bike (as in just removing pedals, folding handlebars, and applying a
little tape here-and-there) it's as safe or safer because people recognise it
for what it is and give it a little special treatment.
--
PeteCresswell