Coupling a touring bike
 

I have a trip planned to Hawaii later this year. I presently have a 46cm LHT. It is expensive as **** to ship a bike to HI. I have always wanted to have a coupled bike. What is involved with sending a bike to SandS couplers and having them do it?


Another option is to couple a Schwinn High Sierra. Steel frame. Love that bike. Fits me well. Would not mind the quirkiness of chipped paint, vintage styling, etc. I've completely rebuilt that bike to modern, reliable specs.


Perry

Why don't you contact S+S yourself and ASK? AFAIK S+S doesn't do frame mods, they just make the couplers. You'd have to locate a framebuilder and discuss the issue with them.

Typically coupler retrofits cost upwards of $500, not including a frame refinishing which can cost several hundred more. Add another $150-400 for a case and padding to transport disassembled bike.

Couplers are an expensive option on new frame builds, and cost prohibitive as retrofits.

Some coupled-frame owners have opined that it is a PITA to disassemble and then reassemble their bikes, so they ship them in large bike boxes instead.

There is probably something wrong with me. But I like the mechanics of putting a bike together.
Correct. S and S only makes the couplers. I have a call into bilenky. They cooed over the possibility of doing the LHT, I'm sure they do enough of them. Had to send photos of Schwinn.

At one point I was seriously considering getting my favorite touring bike coupled ( a few airline trips or shipping via standard UPS/FedEx rate would have made the cost a wash ), but after discovering third-party services like BikeFlights, combined with free use of hardcases by my bike club, it really isn't worth it unless I did a LOT more touring.

I believe you can buy a LHT already coupled as another option. That, possibly with a frame swap, might be a better way to work it.

Yes. Bilenky does a number of them and, IIRC, are an authorized installer of S&S. I live in Philly and once went to their place to have some rack holes enlarged. Crazy place that is literally located up against the tracks next to an old junk yard. No other shop would do the work for fear of liability if the rack broke. Simon, who is no longer there, said "We'll drill holes in anything as long as it's not ours." They did the work in five minutes, offered me something to eat, gave me a tour of the shop and initially refused to take any money from me. After insisting, Simon says (no pun intended) give me $9. I opened up my wallet to find that it contained exactly nine one dollar bills.


Out if curiosity, how much does your airline charge to fly with a bike?

Yes you can, provided you want a size 42cm (2 still in stock @QBP).

Otherwise you need to find a time machine and set destination to Dec, 2011.

I have looked for a coupled frame and none to be had in my size.

+1 for Bilenky for retrofits and any other work. I also live in the Philadelphia area, and they done work on a few of my bikes, from adding rack brazeons to two bikes, to kickstand plates for a few others. Always a good job and reasonably priced.

Best to read the info they have on their site about retrofits: Bilenky Cycle Works

If you want your bike retrofitted, whether at Bilenky or elsewhere, better get moving on it ASAP as they usually have a backlog.

Compare cost of retrofit with this ready made coupled frame.

Travelers Check | Bikes | Surly Bikes

I recently bought a Surly World Troller frame. Overall cost (including case, etc.) was a maybe $100 more versus adding couplers to my existing Troll frame. Ended up with basically a free frame in the process, which has since been repurposed as a 1x11 commuter/trail bike. Went with Bilenky because they offered the best price as a complete package. I would only consider retrofitting on a really nice frame that is in very good condition.

Seems like it would make more sense to buy one of those Surly traveller frames with couplers already installed. If I was going to pay a framebuilder to install them on a pre existing frame, I'd probably start with an old 531 (etc) touring bike with a beat up paint job instead.

Also, a few of the folding touring bikes look pretty intriguing for that sort of island touring.

Looked at the travelers check. That only comes in sizes to accommodate 700 wheels. I'm a 26" kind of girl. I deliberated over the Schwinn or the surly. I built my surly exactly the way I wanted it. Have disc brake and generator hub in front. It fits me. to have it retro-coupled is no big deal. I like the idea of being a part of the process of getting what I want..
I am an upholsterer, so I can sew my own bag easily...I have plenty of cordura handy.
I think I am going to pull the trigger and get er done...

What S&S does is List all the frame builders that are willing and able to do the work.

I have a Bike Friday ,, they pack even smaller because they let go of the Bigger wheel sizes, That limit the packing case size.
And can make a perfect, for you, Bike , in Eugene Oregon,
and ship it to where ever you are.

I bought my frame (Thorn Nomad, not a Surly LHT) with the S&S couplers already installed three years ago, so have no comment on installation. I used it for my Iceland trip, got home last week, this was my first trip with doing the coupler thing. I still need to make one and a half more trips to have saved enough on airline fees to cover the cost of the couplers and shipping case.

A few general comments.

- My bike is 26 inch wheels, since your smaller frame LHT is likely also 26 inch wheels, that is a big plus, easier to pack than 700c wheels. But I still need to fully deflate both tires to make it fit in the case. My frame is pretty big, it was a chore to get everything in the case quite right, you might have an easier time with a smaller frame size.

- Do you mind spending a few hours disassembling the bike, a few hours reassembling it later, and a few more hours disassembling it, and finally a few more hours when you get home from your trip. Different people find different requirements for different frame sizes, for example I have to remove both crank arms, but I think that Alan S (who posted above about his Troll) does not need to do that. Water bottle cages, bracket for pump, etc., all have to come off. Not a big deal, but it is time consuming.

- For your smaller frame, you might be lucky and be able to leave the fork attached. I have to fully remove my fork to get mine to fit.

- I bought the backpack case and used it for my trip. Very happy with that decision. Not sure what they cost now, when I bought mine the best price I could find was at Niagara.

- I have never shipped a bike with one of the shipping companies mentioned above, but they might be a very good option. But if you anticipate foreign travel, the shipping companies might not work out so well. Several friends of mine are doing a trip next month, starting in Canada and then biking back to USA. Due governments trying to make sure that they are not losing out on customs duties, shipping bikes with a shipping company is not very viable for them. But if you stay domestic, the shippers may be the best solution.

- There have been several posts in the past on this forum for differences in airline fees for bikes, if I recall correctly Southwest is quite biker friendly but they do not fly out of the small airport near my home. But Delta that is genuinely hostile to bikers, but that is usually the way I have to travel since they dominate the local airport. What airlines fly in and out of your airport?

- Delta has been known to charge fees for the bike, even if the case meets their 62 inch criteria, if I was asked I was going to say the case had sports equipment and bike parts but not a complete bike. My pedals were in my handlebar bag, the saddle was also in another bag, so this would have been truthful. But they did not ask.

My luggage for my trip in the photo, I wore the helmet onto the plane since I did not want to pack it.

A side note - I carry a S&S wrench that also has a good 15mm open end wrench on the other end. I loaned that wrench to three different cyclists trying to get their pedals off for the trip home when I was in Iceland. This does not fit with the discussion, but it certainly is pertinent to packing a bike.

Air line employees have been Known to demand you open the case,
and seeing it's a Bike charged the fee anyhow..

Bilenky put couplers in my old steel Mercian about 12 years ago. They do good work! I also had them re-braze my cantilever bosses as the old ones were wonky, they re-painted the frame & fork and I bought the case and packing materials from them. They do a lot of refits and your frame would be in safe hands. As for the economics of all of this, I suspect you won't save money unless you do a lot of travelling and perhaps even then, with all sorts of new luggage policies in effect, you'll never see the savings but it is a whole lot easier to get around with the smaller case particularly if your travelling involves buses, trains, etc in addition to planes.

Another alternative is The Ravello system (costs $350), which is more hidden, without silver sections on the top and down tubes. You can see retrofitted Surlys and other brands on the Ravello site, at RAVELLO: We're Travel Compatible - Ravello Travel Bikes. Happy travels.

Bilenky retrofitted Surly DT with S&S plus complete new powder-coat paint. Took about 3 months I think. S&S can save on $50 taxi fees as well as airline charges. Sure S&S pack/reassemble takes some time but helps familiarize one w/the bike. Keep detailed notes for the pack/unpack esp the cables. Next time I'm considering taking a small ratchet wrench & allen bits to speed up the process.

Hasn't happened to me with my S&S bike, but yes, I've read the accounts as well. My only advice would be to show up at the airport early so you have time to take it up with the supervisor should the desk clerk try to pull this; and have a printout of the airline's policy on hand.

Framebuilder List For S and S Machine Bicycle Torque Couplings (BTCs)
Why not choose the shop closest to where you live?
They all do the same work the same way.
Without the hard case it is a waste of time.
The soft case will let your bike get damaged the same as a box will.

Going strong 580km down the road
 

I'd like to submit a couple of photos of my coupled touring bike if I can work out how to do it. I used Camburg style couplings sourced from eBay and Camburg to get the relevant tube sizes. Made a wooden jig to hold frame true for welding. A little bit of machining on the lathe to get a snug fit, tig weld all round and 'voila'. Loctite thread locker on the Allen key bolts. Rode on bitumen and dirt roads and, all is well.

Please do post, I would like to see your work.

bwgride, it seems I can build a demountable bike but cant work out how to submit photos. Any clues for the clueless?

P.S. Thanks for the upload info. Please note the Jig shown is not mine but I used the design to clamp the frame true whilst the frame was TIG welded.