FTFY. This thread is rife with the Freudian typos!

I am in the same situation. I've now traveled a few times with my family, with bike in tow, and it has usually worked out pretty well because so far it has been to see family, mostly hers, so she has had plenty to do while I disappear for a couple of hours. Haven't done the European trip where extended family is not involved, but plan to. I'll have to report back in

As far as the debate over renting or bringing (and I believe this does tie into the spousal happiness discussion) I got a bike fitted with BTCs (AKA S&S couplers) so I could bring. My experience has so far been that it is worlds better than the miserable ordeal that is traveling with a full-size case. I've done that, and it has caused more than a little stress between me and my wife. Not only does the airline charge extra, and not only do you have to lug this thing around the airports, but then you have to figure out what to do with this huge-ass box when you get where you're going (hint: it won't fit in a rental car or taxi!)

However, BTCs are not a complete panacea. Packing and unpacking a BTC bike when you include the adjustments and tuning is not a quick affair; even if you got really good at it you'd have to plan for 45 minutes to an hour at the least for each, so that is a 1.5 - 2 hour chunk of time each time you move locations.

The point of all this is that if you plan to travel and stay in one city for a few days, bringing a BTC bike might be the way to go. If you're going to move around each day, your wife is seriously going to get annoyed with the time you're spending assembling and disassembling in addition to your riding.

That leaves you with renting. In my experience, depending on rental bikes basically translates to "don't bother". I spent a couple of months in Spain hopping from place to place on an almost daily basis, then finished up with 2 weeks in Barcelona. The number of bike rental places I found that rented decent bikes was exactly ZERO, even in a big city like Barcelona. You would definitely need to plan it out and find a guide company that can outfit you with a decent bike, but of course this is going to be a little more expensive.

So bottom line, if you're going to go to one or two places over a two-week vacation, BTC bike is a good option, especially if you're into going off and exploring on your own. Hopping from place to place is going to make it much more challenging and you're better off finding an outfitter/guide in advance.

Wow, rambling post