See here

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...-nowadays.html

Seems to me buying a bicycle coupled by the manufacturer would be cheaper. And the issue of the length of the butts cut for the best results with a coupling by the manufacturer rather than a retrofit job.

True but cajunpedaler likes her current bike & there's few production coupled bikes. Bilenky never mentioned butting length, just from looks I guess the couplers are far enough from tube ends to prevent that problem. BTW was in LBS today & from quick scan of their bikes I didn't see any 559mm/26" models. Thus I'm wondering if Surly etc will eventually switch most/all 559mm/26" frames to 584mm/27.5"/650B? IE, in future there might be less production models amenable to S&S retrofit since any wheel >559/26 will be harder to pack & will probably necessitate deflating tire to pack.

Why do so many people mail their frame to Bilenky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? The manufactures of the couplings sell to Qualified frame builders only. Most likely there is a shop in your city. I shouldered my frame and rode to my local frame builders shop. 4 weeks later I rode to the paint shop on the other side of town.

584 mm wheels. We better all learn that number. The 559 will never vanish. As far as S&S Couplers go, the further you fly the better off you are with 559-26. The Troll will always be a 559 for the convenience of world travelers.

I always let the air out of my tires when I fly, 559 or 622. Change in air pressure at 40,000 feet could cause problems.

The Couplings look like they will outlast the frame. On my 2009 Fargo at least. Used and abused, I rode that bike down the Baja Divide a couple of times, before they named it. Up and down California, all around Oregon, across Washington, and Britich Colombia. Eventually it needed to be repainted, before it rusted too much. The frame is not dead yet, it has seen better days. The Couplings are as good as new. They will outlast the frame. I paid $600 for the Couplings and $250 plus $50 shipping for a used case and padding for the frame, and $100 for powder coating. Sounds like most people are paying more than that.

The S&S Bicycle Torque Couplings cost as much or more than a new frame. A new case is over $500. How much is padding for the frame? They last longer than a frame. Why spend that kind of money on coupling an old frame.
Folding Travel Bikes using S and S Machine Bicycle Torque Couplings™ Click retro fit, then click frame builders, to find your local shop.

I have a Ritchey breakaway frame, 559. In 2008 it was about $1,100. When I bought it in 2014, it was on sale for $499. It works well after a few trips. I will report back in a few years and let you know about the long term. If I wanted to fly without the hard case and padding, I would take my 95 Mongoose Alta. If the luggage monkey bends it, I only have to cry for a minute instead of a month.

https://www.sandsmachine.com/p_i_seq.htm


I printed this picture in color and wrote,

Bicycle parts

Partes de bicicleta

in jumbo font for the TSA or their counterparts to read.

I know a guy that always wants to show off that he is the genuine expert on the latest and greatest bike technology. He said a year ago that Trek quit using 559mm for mountain bikes. He was bragging about how great 584mm was, but I shut him up when I said that I could not buy any new 584mm tires back in the late 70s at any of the local shops which put one of my 60s vintage bikes in storage. He had no idea that 584mm was an old size that is being pushed again by the marketers as something new.

Some 700c bikes are sold with couplers. A Co-Motion Americano owner I talked to several years ago said that the 700c wheel was too big to fit in the case flat but that it did fit with a slight angle. I think he removed the tires first.

I would not be surprised if there are a bunch of new 584mm bikes sold with couplers in a few years.

But the big danger that I am more worried about is if the airlines switch to a smaller size criteria than 62 inch. I think it was a year or two ago that some European airlines were pushing a new smaller size standard for carryons that would exclude virtually all of the ones currently sold, but too much consumer outrage stopped their attempts at that time.

S and S Machine , website, has a List of frame builders , that do the conversion.
They make the parts , they do not do the work on individual Bike frames .




...

If anyone is interested in the cost of my project - each coupling was approx. $40 each and their was about one hours labour in the tig welding. The jig was made with whatever offcut wood I had lying around. The measurements issue is not 'rocket surgery' as the frame assembled with couplings in the jig must be the same as before the cuts. As of today I am still on a tour with said bike frame and have covered 850km with no movement of the couplers. Time and patience are the greatest investment. And it's great when a project is successful 😊

Thanks for posting the images. Looks like a job well done.

I do prefer my 700 wheeled bike for touring but I kept coming back to the airline baggage dimension. A 26" x 26" x 10" soft case seems to meet airline criteria and the 26" wheels of my demountable bike. I would be interested in how others get under the radar with larger wheeled bikes.

700C (aka 622) rims will fit inside at 26x26" hard case. The tires, however, may not. It's possible to simply deflate the tires and jam the wheel into the case; however, IME, that leads to problems when TSA yanks the wheel out while opening the lid. I usually remove the tire from the top (front) rim, so TSA can open the case, look through the spokes at everything crammed in there, and close it. That takes care of most TSA problems except kinked cables when they can't manage (or care) to tuck the cables back in when closing the case.

I use the S&S Backpack case, a soft case that is 26X26X10, but I use it with 26 inch (559mm) wheels.

Richey break away uses the seat Post as its coupler join on top, and a Collar clamping 2 Flanges* on the downtube..

6 pack from R&E is another pack small 20" wheel bike, they use a lot more S&S couplers so the top and down tubes come apart at Both Ends..

(A bent fore frame tubes while it is apart with bottom and rear of those tubes frame couplers is avoided )

* those just like Agricultural Hose connectors used in Wineries and Breweries and irrigation piping, just made smaller..




A Buddy , always looking at DIY on the cheap took 2 Frames with tubes that sleeved over each other , and got a Knock down frame-set out of it..