Originally Posted by
bikingshearer
Thanks for this, miamijim. From my (somewhat limited) experience, I would say that your method is overkill - which, in this case, is a very good thing. If folks do it your way, it is highly unlikely that the bike will be damaged in transit.
As a suggestion, you might try your LBS for little plastic blocks to reinforce the front fork drop-outs. (The bikes that are shipped to them come with them, and they mostly get thrown away.) Front fork reinforcement is essential, as you point out, but not all of us have extra old front hubs we can use for this purpose.
It may be overkill but I cant take chances as this is something I do as hobby. One busted up bike and I could be in the red for 6 months!!!
Most of those plastic blocks dont stay in place after they've been used. When I dont have spare hubs around I use old pitted axles. If I dont have any old axles I use threaded rod from The Home Depot. A length of rod is something like 5 feet long. I cut it down with a Dremel tool and secure it in place with 4 nuts and 4 washers. 1 nut and 1 washer on each side of the fork end or rear drop out. I think it was Neil (nlerner) who suggested the threaded rod method.