Originally Posted by
MinnMan
At one point, I thought about getting one of those and ended up deciding against. Usually, I can travel with my road bike. And in many places I go, renting is an option- many places in Spain for example.
Also, if I'm going to tackle the Col du Galibier, I want to be on a pretty good and light road bike.
If you've got the dough, Bike Friday can build a Pocket Rocket Pro in the 17 lb. range.
I've been looking at Bike Fridays since the 90s. I finally bought a used one this Spring* and was impressed. We did the aforementioned trip to Spain and are now thinking of more. We're backpack travelers, typically, so having a large check-in bag is an adjustment for us, but it's much more convenient than a bike box, i.e., you can fit two bikes in their suitcases in the back of an SUV at 4am at the airport without having to arrange for a larger vehicle.
In any case, make your hotel, bike rental arrangements soon - the whole country of France (and the Dutch and Italians too!) come out for the big mountain stages. It's such a hoot!
One note - big mountains like the Galibier might have barricades at the top. You can go to an area before the top of the pass to be part of the madness, and that may be a better place anyway because riders will be launching their attacks before the summit. Just don't knock anyone over!
L'Alpe D'Huez, 2004 ITT
* and then another...and then another...but that's another story altogether.