Carbon vs Steel Fork

[mimitabby]

thanks for showing us your finished frame! this thread was very instructive to me.

I am going to go to Sheldon's website and look up "coupler"

I give up. All i could find was something about SHOES.
what's the cute coupler on this bike?

[DebW]

thanks for showing us your finished frame! this thread was very instructive to me.

I am going to go to Sheldon's website and look up "coupler"

I give up. All i could find was something about SHOES.
what's the cute coupler on this bike?

The couplers are the metal sleeves on the top tube and downtube near the seat tube. They let you break the frame into 2 parts for packing. Now TG can pack her bike in a suitcase and fly with it, and go touring anywhere in the world. Cool, huh?

[mimitabby]

Oh DUH. those kind of couplers.

thanks Deb you are always a kind patient teacher.

Yes, it is slick.
I'd love to go to one of Velogirl's workshops in SF but don't want to have to learn to take my bike apart and put it back together. I am sure with couplers,
it would be a lot easier.

[Triskeliongirl]

Yes Mimi- the couplers make it not only easier but cheaper, because what is key is that now the bike packs into an airline legal suitcase. If you have to pack an uncoupled bikes, airlines charge a huge surcharge (~$!00 each way) to transport it. You can either get a bike built with couplers or retrofitted. Rodriguez cycles in Seattle builds bikes with couplers, so you might want to discuss having them make your next dream bike. That way you can specify exactly what you want it to do and be, i.e. light, packable, but still with clearance for touring tires, racks and fenders. Most stock bikes that are light don't offer clearance for wider tires, racks and fenders. I really don't get why bikes aren't designed this way in the first place. Don't these bike dealers get that we want bikes that are fast, but versatile? That is why I went the route I did, I got a good deal on a brand new light weight steel frame that fit me on ebay with a geometry well suited to fast riding/light touring, and then had it modified to be packable, and work with wider tires (by installing canti bosses). But, you'd think folks would build them that way in the first place, or I am really all that weird???

[DebW]

TG, did the framebuilder have to strip paint before installing the canti bosses and couplers? Did you have to pay for repainting, or is it just minor touch-up?

[Triskeliongirl]

He did have to strip paint for installing the canti bosses and couplers. But since I also had him make me a new fork which also had to be painted he only charged me for touch up paint not complete repaint. He also rustproofed the frame from the inside out before starting (the frame was brand new, never been built so original paint was in good condition). The original design was a blue to silver fade, so he was able to exploit the silver fade in the touch up and fork work. But you bring up a good point. If you are thinking of doing a retrofit, time it with when your frame needs repaininting since the two tasks really work well together. Bilenky Cycle works did mine.