Bent Rear Derailleur Hanger Flying w/BF
 

I have a BF Pocket Rocket which I pack in a Carlton hard suitcase for flying. On one flight the rear derailleur protector peg broke. Even the suitcase crush protector was not able to prevent pressure on the rear derailleur, which resulted in a bent rear derailleur hanger. So after that I've been unbolting the rear derailleur from the hanger before packing the bike.

Now my trips with the BF are become more frequent but shorter, so I'd really like to minimize the packing/unpacking time. So I'm considering rebolting the rear deraileur. After the first rear derailleur protector peg broke, I ordered another one (even though I had been unbolting the rear derailleur). On my last flight the replacement peg broke.

What gear should I shift the derailleur to if I leave it bolted on? Any other suggestions?

That's what I also do with my S&S frame, since it adds about 2 minutes to the process and pulls a lot of width out of the crammed package and mitigates worries about bending. The downside (as I think with other aspects of the S&S ideas) is that fastener fatigue is bound to happen.

The Bike Friday packing manual says to set the rear deralleur on the smallest cog...I'm still trying to picture how the hanger is getting bent. Is the caused by the case compressing?

I've had my steerer tube bent by the case being dropped on its end. I now use a plug in the steerer tube to prevent this...

Yeah, the protector peg broke and the case compressed onto the front wheel and therefore against the rear derailleur.

by "protector peg", do you mean the pvc compression piece with the plastic flanges? I think they call it the "case crush protector"? If this is placed directly adjacent to where the derailleur is, there would have to be an enormous compression force to cause that pvc pipe to deform and collapse.

No, I mean the 4" long, 1/2" diameter piece of plastic with a 5mm screw at the end that screws into the right rear rack boss next to the rear derailleur. I just found out that they call it the "stand off". This is in addition to the "case crush protector", which I must have put too far away from the rear derailleur.

That is strange. I've never used any derailleur protection with my BF and I've never had a problem. I use one compression tube, a steerer tube plug and a handfull of small rubber pads for packing. In the last year, I've flown at least a dozen times with my bike...

It should definitely be right next to where the dr is. however, I have had the TSA folks unpack my bike and not put the crush protector back where it belonged. fortunately no damage, but a second crush protector might be cheap insurance.

I wonder if it would be a good idea to glue or duct tape the bottom part of the crush protector to the bottom of the suitcase. Then if TSA folks remove the top part of the crush protector, they have to put it back in the same place.

I've thought of doing the same thing...I think it's a great idea

What I didn't realize is that the newer Bike Fridays fold in such a way that when you put the fork and the seat mast in the bottom of the suitcase, the rear derailleur and drivetrain is facing down. My Bike Friday is older and folds the opposite way, so the rear derailleur and drivetrain are pointing up. That might be a source of confusion. Thus the "standoff" white peg is needed so the front wheel doesn't push against the rear derailleur. Still, I'm thinking that putting the suitcase crush protector next to the rear derailleur should help also.

When packing my Bike Friday, I'm trying to figure out the best place for my crush protector. The thing I'm concerned about the most is making sure the front wheel doesn't crush the rear derailleur. The first picture shows the crush protector right of center, closer to the front wheel axle. The second picture shows the crush protector left of center, closer to the rear derailleur. You can't tell from the pictures, but the front wheel axle is higher than the front tire where it touches the rear derailleur. Also, another thing you can't tell from the pictures is the white "standoff" peg above the rear derailleur stands higher than the front tire but lower than the top flange of the crush protector. Where would you put the crush protector and why?

I think I got it figured out. I went to Home Depot and bought myself the materials to make a second crush protector! Check out the photos below.