Folding Bikes - Will an Airnimal Rhino fit in to a Brompton hard case ?
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IslandHopper
05-30-09, 08:40 AM
Yes !
http://www.donaldingram.com/ForumImages/AirnimalinCase.jpg
http://www.donaldingram.com/ForumImages/BromptonCase.jpg
http://www.donaldingram.com/ForumImages/AirnimalinBits.jpg
The forks and rear derailleur need to de-framed and the front disc rotor removed, but otherwise reasonably painless.
Just need to add some padding and replace the winter tires ... then it's off to California.
Diode100
06-01-09, 02:13 AM
Amazing, when i read the title of the thread my immediate response was no ******* way ! How long did it take to take apart and put back together ?
Wow, do you need a brazing torch to re-assemble it :-)
IslandHopper
06-03-09, 07:36 PM
It's about 15 minutes to pack or unpack.
Pulling the forks out is the worst part, but I built the bike up myself from the frame, and chose a hope headset which has sealed bearings, there are not too many bits to reassemble.
There is a pivot point on the frame just under the cranks - so no need to re-braze :-)
This is a very intersting thread. Some thoughts:
a ) there is a new Rhino version with horizontal dropouts. This would allow to go for IGH or single speed, eliminating the need to remove the dereilleur.
b ) another problem seems to be the brake disk, which needs to be dismounted. You only have it on the front, your rear is V-brake. Think this is a good mix. Still dismounting the disk every time you put it in a suitcase it a bit cumbersome.
c ) as far as I now the Rhino frame is quite heavy, ~3,5 kg with suspension element. True?
d ) As the fork is a standard 26" there might be other fully MTB frames, where the same folding idea could work. Probably there are some frames where geometry could be tuned such that it could even handle smaller wheels. My single pivot Checker Pig CPX7000 for example works fine with 24" wheels. Probably 406mm wheels with 2,35" Big Apples would work too (with a longer rear suspension element). Sure it does not fit in a small, airline legal suitcase, but a 31" suitcase might be doable.
c ) could you provide us details of the rear suspension element quick release mechanism? As this might work also for other bikes.
Downhillwuss
06-05-09, 12:36 PM
Was there a reason why it had to go into a Brompton case? I'm sure there are some Samsonite suitcases that would also work... might mean you have less fiddling about to do too.