Peddlin

I am shipping my bike home and the box i have is a tad too small to keep the rear wheel on while in transit. I don't have anything that I can fit in the rear dropouts to occupy them while in transit. To prevent crushing of the rear triangle, I figured I could at least leave the rear skewer in there, sans wheel. Is this stupid/dangerous/catastrophic etc?
Thanks!

operator

The skewer will do nothing. I suggest at least putting in there an axle with two nuts to keep the frame triangle from getting crushed in. Proper size bike box usually leaves the rear wheel on the bike for shipping.

ScrubJ

My LBS would probably give you one of the plastic spreader bars that come on boxed frames. As posted above, the skewer will do nothing.

operator

That'll probably be very easy to obtain at a shop.

FBinNY 

The skewers would be useless because could only keep the stays from spreading. What you need is something to keep them from crushing together.

As others have suggested, any LBS should be willing to give you one of the plastic inserts that come on new bikes for exactly the same job. They throw them in the trash so you'd be helping the solid waste problem by taking one or two.

Otherwise you can make yourself a very strong anti crush separator using inexpensive stuff from the hardware store. You'll need about 8" of 3/8th threaded rod (5/16" for the fork), 6 nuts to match, 2 washers.
Thread one nut and washer on one end, place in the dropout and thread the other one from the outside (just to measure) until it just touches, mark the rod, and cut off excess flush to the nut. On each end thread a pair of nuts down and lock against each other to simulate axle cones the same distance as your axle, ie. 126mm 130mm etc.

Now you can place your "axle" into place and use the last 2 nuts and washers to bolt it on. This will make your fork or rear triangle virtually crushproof in transit.

BTW- take skewers out of both wheels when shipping, and tape them along the spokes, or pack them with pedals ans small stuff. Transit damage while shipping is one of the most common causes of bent skewers.

LarDasse74

Some cheap bikes come with a rectangular 'bar' of wood wedged into the dropouts. I have, in a pinch, used a folded 'bar' of stiff corrugated cardboard, but that was mainly to keep the dropouts from punching through the bottom of the box.

Yan 

Take a wood dowel, cut it to the correct length. Clamp itbetween the dropouts with the quick release. A pencil will do in a pinch as well.

Retro Grouch 

Actually, you have two separate problems to consider.

The first is crushing the rear dropouts together. As has been previously mentioned, a piece of wood or something similar will solve that issue.

The second is pokeing a hole in your shipping carton. You don't want an axle, quick release lever, anything else sticking out the sides of the frame.

The importance of proper packing for shipping can't be overstated. While there are many horror stories about bicycles being damaged in transit, I have personally received over 1,000 factory packed bikes via UPS with zero damage claims. My advice is to go to a bike shop, get a bike shipping carton (they come in sizes) and ALL of the associated packing materials from them. At the same time ask to see how factory packed bicycles come packed.

dedhed

search in C&V, those dudes ship a lot of stuff around the globe.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...pping+material

DMF 

Disengage bar from stem. Flip front fork around backwards. That should gain you a couple inches.