DebW in the 21st century?

[divingbiker]

At least I don't have to be worried about the airline handling it roughly, since I'm driving with it this time.

If you were checking the case as baggage on an airplane, is it small enough to be a normal piece of luggage or would you have to pay the oversize bag charge? I've been under the impression that a bike with couplers would fit into a suitcase-sized case. I didn't realize that you'd have to disassemble and reassemble the bike to fit it in the case...not so easy for the non-mechanics among us.

Welcome back to Maryland!

[HillSlugger]

When you get to unpacking it, could you take a few more pictures so that we can see the different layers and how it all go in?

[DebW]

If you were checking the case as baggage on an airplane, is it small enough to be a normal piece of luggage or would you have to pay the oversize bag charge? I've been under the impression that a bike with couplers would fit into a suitcase-sized case. I didn't realize that you'd have to disassemble and reassemble the bike to fit it in the case...not so easy for the non-mechanics among us.

Yes, the case is small enough to avoid an oversized bag charge. My builder doesn't recommend S&S couplers for the non-mechanically inclined. The couplers give you a break-apart frame, not a folding bike. The frame ended up getting almost completely stripped except for the bottom bracket, headset, stem, and rear brake caliper. I'll get some additional pictures of the process to post. Or look at the S&S web site (http://www.sandsmachine.com/#pack) except most of those photos show bare frames and handlebars with no cables.

The bike went back together pretty easily. Except I'm puzzled about aligning the spindle with the Octalink crank. I'm going to call my builder for advice rather than risk damaging the crank.

Yes Robyn, we'll have to get together for a ride sometime soon.

[Jo-n-NY]

Deb, I guess I missed this thread from January. Your bike is beautiful. What a gorgeous color. I find it completely amazing how it fits in that travel box.

I wish you must luck and enjoyment with your new bike and traveling with it.

~ JoAnn

[Triskeliongirl]

Deb, I am surprised a frame your size required SO MUCH dissasembly. From what I've read I thought you could get away with less. Do you think if you had more time you could have taken less stuff off, or were you being extra cautious? As an aside, the solution I adopted to minimize disassembly with my S/S bike was to pack it together with my clothes in 2 airline legal suitcases. I put the front half and bars in one case and the rest in another. I put my clothes in plastic bags to avoid grease stains. All I had to remove was the seat post, bars, pedals, and disconnect the couplers (both cable and frame).

[DebW]

Deb, I am surprised a frame your size required SO MUCH dissasembly. From what I've read I thought you could get away with less. Do you think if you had more time you could have taken less stuff off, or were you being extra cautious?

You are probably right. Though it wasn't easy to fit it in the case even with all the disassembly I did. I'll try with less disassembly next time. My builder thought I should have been able to leave at least part of the crank on. But it seemed that my small frame size made the fit harder because part of the rear triangle ended up near the middle of the case where it almost interfered with the front hub. I had to call my builder to get advise on reattaching the crank arms to the Octalink bottom bracket. It would have been MUCH easier if I'd left the left crank arm attached.

[mimitabby]

a few pages back you wrote that you were anxious to compare the 650 wheel set to what you used to have. what do you think about it now?

[DebW]

a few pages back you wrote that you were anxious to compare the 650 wheel set to what you used to have. what do you think about it now?

I rode the 650c wheelset on a 25 mile club ride here in Maryland last night. Very different feel from the 26" wheels with mtb slicks. With the 26x1.3" tires the bike felt totally stable and bombproof over rough roads at any speed. The ride was never jarring even on major potholes. With the 650c x 23mm tires, the ride is definitely stiffer. I was using Michelin Pro Race 2 tires inflated to about 100 psi, and the tires were not remaining in contact with the road on chipseal at high speed - definitely a less than bombproof feel. Hopefully that will improve if I run at lower pressure. My intention for building 28 spoke 2-cross wheels was that the wheels would soften the ride enough to avoid this. However, I ended up using fairly stiff rims (Mavic CXP-33) with a v-section because a rim like the Open Pro wasn't available in 650c 28 hole. These wheels feel noticeably stiffer than the 700c sewup wheels (non-v rims, 36 hole, 3-cross) on my old bike, but that frame is stiffer and I got jarred badly on potholed. The sewup wheels never felt like they were losing contact with the road at high speed.

To do: (1) Try the Michelin Pro Race tires at lower pressure. (2) Put on a cyclocomputer (just bought a Strada wireless), calibrate both wheelsets, and see if the wheels make much difference in my riding speed. If they don't, then I'll probably ride the 26" wider tires all the time because the ride is more comfortable and more stable and I can commute with weight on the bike (ie. laptop).