I have a 60cm bike with couplers and an S&S hard case.

• Crank gets pulled, but leave the pedals on the crank arms. Those pieces 'Tetris' inside the case no problem.
• Handlebar stays together with the stem and both entire brake assemblies.
• Fork gets pulled and carried separately - it's too long for the case. I have a length of string I put through the head tube and cinch tight so the headset stays in.
• Saddle and seat post get removed.
• Rear derailleur gets unscrewed off of the dropout.
• Discs get removed from the wheels (thank you centerlock!) and placed in bubble wrap padded mail envelopes.
• Axles, tools, etc. all go into a big padded pouch.
• Then, I wrap every tube on the frame with velcro padded covers, so there is no metal-to-metal rub.

Packing the case:
First, I lay the security net across the bottom, then the rear wheel (cassette facing up), then the rear triangle.
The rear triangle, being so wide, dictates how the rest of the pieces go in.
Front triangle, handlebars, cranks, seatpost+saddle all go in.
The front wheel goes on top, so it's like a sandwich.
Then I snug in the disk rotors and tool pouch wherever they can fit.

Lastly, I put in 6 or 7 compression members with a dedicated few near the dropout since that is the most vulnerable to being squished. DO NOT pack without those!



Everything buttoned up tight, ready to go.