BengeBoy 

Just noticed today a new touring bike on the Rodriguez website - the "Six-Pack" collapsible touring bike.

Not a folder; it has 20-inch wheels and couplers; will supposedly pack down into a large suitcase in 15 minutes.



Full bike from $4,000 to $6,300 w/Rohloff hub option - that's with a steel frame. A titanium frame is a $3,000 upcharge, meaning that (with tax) you could drop $10,000 on this.

Website: www.rodcycle.com, look for link to touring bikes (their website does not allow links to individual pages).

Somewhere on the site they say it's the "return" of the six-pack; maybe they have made this before?

dorkypants

What's the advantage of small wheels with so many couplers to mess with?

Seems to me if I'm going to have couplers on the bike, I might as well have normal-size wheels (i.e. up to "700c" aka ETRTO 622), as the knocked-down bike will fit in a 26"x26"x10" case, which is the limit of what airline regs. say is a normal-sized piece of checked luggage. The price would be comparable and the performance equal or better.

Or, if I'm going to have 20" wheels (are they 451s or 406s?), I might as well go with Bike Friday (or something similar), which is designed to fold up, fits into a regular suitcase, performs well and is cheaper than the "6-pack".

BengeBoy 

Rodriguez sez:

How does the ride differ from other micro-folders? Most micro-folding bikes are made with a single, oversized down tube. This creates a frame that has more twist in the front end when you're grinding up long hills. As you can see, the 6-pack is constructed with a traditional front and rear triangle. Because of this feature, our Rodriguez 6-pack has the same responsiveness as a traditional full-sized touring bike frame

BengeBoy 

They say w/20-inch wheels it fits in a duffel or 20x20 suitcase. They mention several times that it will fit into the cargo air of a small plane; since Rodriguez is in Seattle they may also get requests from people who want to put bikes on boats (lots of boaters here).

Seems as if they are arguing the bike is smaller than a standard-size bike with couplers, but "rides better" than a Bike Friday.

rodar y rodar

I like the idea here too, but the price is a killer. As a matter of fact, I emailed Rodriguez a few weeks ago asking about a "2-pack", since the price of six couplers and all the labor to put them together has got to be huge. They answered me that they would be happy to build one with only two couplers, but it would still cost ~2300 for a frameset. Too rmuch for me.

Coupled 26in and 700 bikes will fit into a 62 linear inch box, but just barely. The reason I`d like the super small size is that you should easilly be able to get a week`s worth of "hotel clothes" in the same suitcase as the bike- camping gear too if you`re a light traveler. Also, with the way things are going now, who knows when the airline standard will be lowered to 50 inches. Not that I`ve heard talk of that, but it sure wouldn`t surprise me.

BengeBoy 

No kidding. A really, really nice Bike Friday is a bit over $2,000 with pretty good components; the basic "value line" of stock Bike Fridays is around $1,000. At $4,000 for the complete flat-bar Six Pack with base-level components, the cheapest Rodriguez Six Pack is therefore 2x the price of a nice, custom Bike Friday. I am sure it's well done (Rodriguez does good work), but it is pricey.

It caught my eye because I saw a lot of these 20-inch non-folders in Japan last summer; they really make sense for an urban environment where you want a bike that doesn't take up as much space (say, in an apt. or on a bus). With the S&S option they're even more versatile.

But, the price is tough.

stevage

$10k for a portable touring bike? You'd want to do a loooooot of travel to make it cheaper than hiring (or buying!) a bike for each trip.

Bekologist

a roloff equipped, 20 inch, titanium travel bike with six SNS couplers is about the worst potential case of bike building excess I've ever even encountered.

A guy rode one of those 'six-packs' into the shop earlier this fall (we're rlatively close to R&E).

Stout bike, six couplers seemed like overkill. I suggested the guy get some bayonet mount quick release MKS pedals and a Zinn SNS coupled stem.

rodar y rodar

10K is a lot, but if I had that kind of dough to throw around I think I could find a travel bike to dump it into. It wouldn`t be a Rodriguez six pack, though.

HardyWeinberg

That is just epic. Chainring made of frozen unicorn tears, you need to bring your own trailer full of liquid nitrogen to resolidify it every night.

Based on my traveller's check I could see why 20" wheels 'cause you might be able to jam racks or luggage into the box w/ the bike (maybe). 3 pairs of couplers, that is amazing, the price of a a generously built traveller's check right there pretty much.

rodar y rodar

Frozen unicorn tears- I like it!
But in defense of Rodriguez, I becha you can get a LOT of extra stuff in that suitcase. Partly, it`s the wheel size, but also all those expensive couplers should let the bike break down into an almost microscopic package. And besides the Six Pack, he offers off the shelf coupled 26in bikes and frames at very reasonable prices- most likely the most economical route to coupled 26ers anywhere. Complete coupled bikes starting at 2300 is pretty danged good.

tuz

Cool bike, good idea. But like rodar y rodar I think 2 couplers + 20'' wheels could do it.

BengeBoy 

Also in defense of Rodriguez, usually I find their prices are competitive, given what they are (a low-volume make-to-order and custom bike maker). They charge about what everyone else does, maybe even a bit less (compare with, say, Co-Motioni). They even brought out a "value" line of bikes about a year ago when the recession hit -- top notch frames with "base level" components (the slogan is "marry the frame, date the parts.").

You can compare the basic Six Pack frame and fork (in steel) - it's $3,000.

I think their standard touring frame + fork is about $1500 or so; with S&S couplers it's a $600 or so upgrade, for a total of around $2,000 or so. So the "six pacK" (steel) frame is about $800 to $1,000 more than a "standard" frame, which is really just the cost of the extra couplers and whatever folding mechanism they built in the rear triangle.

Not saying it's cheap, just saying I doubt R&E is getting rich on the (few) of these they will sell. However, the $10,000 "frozen unicorn tears" model with Rohloff and Ti is getting up there.

It's always nice to have choices.

aroundoz

I saw the predecessor a few years ago and posted a thread in Folders. I was trying to contact the frame builder who modified an old bike and used to work at R and E. Maybe he is back.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=aroundoz

Bekologist

well, it certainly makes the bike more backpackable or managable in a kayak or whatnot. i think i could stow one on a sea kayak pretty easy.

actually, that's a great idea. there is some limited applicability of the six pack. w

moleman76

For portages? Wear the kayak on your head and pedal between put-in points?
There are enough tubes there, with some bungee cords you should be able to rig up a kayak dolly.

rodar y rodar

Yeah, might as well go erector set all the way!

Bekologist

folding cart. made of titanium fits Klepper.

Pull a Klepper with enough free time and a rather large discretionary budget.

you know the johann klepper story yes?