jmeb

I have been advised by my buddy who flies with an S&S bike regularly to carry the pedals/saddle separately and toss a few clothing items into the bike bag. Then it is just a bunch of "bike parts and clothes" in a non-oversized bag.

J.Higgins 

Mine was white. I replaced the cottered cranks with a Shimano crankset that came with a square-taper BB. My dream bike in those days was a Raleigh Professional, but an International would have been nice too. Anything Campy was a rarity back there/back then, and whenever I saw so-equipped bike I would nearly be bowing... like this...

J.Higgins 

@jmeb

Just wanted to say, sorry for pooing on the Grand Prix. I also agree with others here, in that for cc touring, a little folder would be ever so much more elegant and fun.

Tourist in MSN

If I could get a good discount on that frameset to knock the price down further, I would have real trouble resisting ordering one. I think I have almost enough spares in storage to build up another bike.

That said, I wonder if it would fit in an S&S case? My S&S bike is big enough frame size that I have to remove the fork and both crank arms to get it into the case. So, if I had to do that with the Grand Prix, not a deal killer in my mind.

The Ritchey travel case adds up to 66 inches.
https://ritcheylogic.com/break-away-travel-bag

I do not know if the Gran Prix comes with that particular case or lower cost bag. I would not be surprised if it came with a zippered bag without wheels.

My 72 Grand Prix was red. One of the mechanics had an International. If I recall correctly, the International had Weinmann centerpull brakes while the Pro had Campy sidepulls. I eventually got a Campy equipped bike from the 60s, but by then Campy equipped bikes with tubular tires had lost some of its luster.

fietsbob

Richey licensed the breakaway to DaHon, they Made the Tournado using that kind of Fittings..

jmeb

The discount is less for the frame than the bike (unsurprisingly): ~$840. PM me for details if you're interested in purchasing.

I have read reports around the web of people using the S&S case instead of the Ritchey case. Although that was with the Ritchey frame and not the Grand Prix I can't imagine it'd be that different.

As for the case, I imagine it would be the same one that is in their advertising materials which has wheels. I'd still prefer the S&S backpack case but wheels wouldn't be so bad.



Before pulling the trigger on this I'm also going to get an estimate from my LBS buddy on a Travelers Check built up with medium-end (SLX?) mtb components and a Jones H bar. While I'd prefer the Grand Prix for the trips I have planned this year, who knows what future years may hold.

Tourist in MSN

I will think some more about purchasing over the next few days. I am just finishing my taxes and I owe a lot.

I have the S&S backpack case, attached photos. When I bought it three years ago, the best price I found at that time was at Niagara. It does not have any center supports, you would want to add something in the center for support.
S and S Backpack Travel Case, Black

I would be pretty upset if I had a 66 inch case and had to pay the oversize charges, so I will have to look at the geometry and try to figure out if I think a 58cm frame and wheels would fit in my S&S case.

The Co-Motion website has a good discussion on packing. I found it interesting that they feel a soft case can be better than a hard case, they suggest that airline personnel are more careful with a soft case.
Co-Motion Cycles | faq_entry which-travel-case-should-i-buy

DropBarFan

Grand Prix is a pretty sweet deal for a travel bike. Design isn't super-versatile but there's a limited selection of production coupled bikes. Blows that Surly discontinued S&S-equipped Trucker Deluxe.

Tourist in MSN

I was wondering if they had more detailed specifications at their UK website, could not find the Gran Prix listed there. I wonder if this model is only sold in USA? I am starting to suspect that Raleigh is discontinuing it, thus the big price break.

With the help of Google, I found a review on the 2015 Gran Prix, published in 2016.
Review: Raleigh Grand Prix

There is an Eriks bike shop nearby and they list it on their website, I might walk over there today to see if they have one on the floor to look at. I am wondering how much clearance there really is for a bigger tire and fenders. Also would like to look at dropouts to try to figure out if the rack/fender bolt mounts look strong enough for a rack with any weight on it.

jmeb

Surly lists both a Travelers Check (Cross Check) and World Troller (Troll) as S&S coupled bikes on their website. I'm going to head over to my buddies LBS early this week and see what stock is like. Between those two you cover a bit more ground (though perhaps not the happy-medium) of the Trucker Deluxe.

BobbyMo

Unfortunately, the Co-Motion discussion is based on some anecdotal observations, and what I suspect is mostly marketing directed at the product they are offering. Its not the airline handlers you have to worry about most; is automated baggage handling systems. Many of these have mechanical 'smashers' that slam into baggage to make it change direction down a different path as the baggage is being routed through an airport's baggage handling system. (In other words, to get it to the right gate so it ends up at the right aircraft.) I worked for quite some with baggage handling systems and processes in airports around the world. Yeah; there are some bad personnel who don't care about your equipment (and lots of thieves); but they will slam your baggage regardless of whether its hard or soft case; but you have to worry about the mechanical systems a lot more. Putting anything properly packaged into a hard case is going to provide much more protection any day.

Tourist in MSN

If you are comparison shopping, Alan S started a very good thread on the Troll last year.
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/10...avel-bike.html

Packing a bike in a 26 X 26 X 10 case, you might find packing 26 inch wheels easier than 700 c if you are starting to look at other options. My S&S bike is 26 inch and I leave the tires on the rims. I let the air out of the tires however. I have 2.25 inch wide tires, I can't make everything fit in the case if they are fully inflated.

Later today I will see if the local Eriks store has the Grand Prix in stock so I can give it an inspection.

mstateglfr 

Almost all of raleigh's bukes have a heavy online dkscount if you sign up for the site with a code. Same with diamondback as the companies share a parent corp.

mtn_cyclist

Motobecane Fantom TI Cyclocross. $1600 at Bikesdirect.com

Tourist in MSN

The photo does not show any couplers, a quick glance at the text does not mention couplers. Are you saying this is a bike with couplers and if so which kind?

Mr IGH

I think the Universal Cycles website has info on all QBP stock, limited sizes for Troller, Travelers Check has most sizes:
https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...&category=4342

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...&category=4342

jmeb

It's a thread theme. Read only title and then suggest your favorite credit card touring option.

mtn_cyclist

Sorry, I missed the "must be folding" part. My ADHD must have flared up.

jmeb

Just FYI to anyone thinking about the Grand Prix -- though not "official" -- may be discontinued for next year. In case you're on the fence.

Tourist in MSN

I assumed that was the situation because it had a better discount than anything else they had and also because some manufacturers are switching away from rim brakes for a lot of bikes.

jmeb

Update:

Ended up taking @linus 's advice and spending a few dollars more on the bike I really want. I imagine this is a sort of once-a-decade purchase at best. Ended up working with my buddy who's a manager at a very large shop in the area. That helped figuring out details and working to my price point.

In the next week or so I'll rolling home on a Surly Travelers Check. Built with a MTB 2x10 drive train (42/26 up front to 11-32 in the back, SRAM GX/X7), Jones Loop bars, Ergon grips, Avid V-brakes, and some handbuilt 32/36 wheels (DT Swiss 350 to Velocity Dyads).

First tour on it will be in just under 2 months from now. I'll be going lightweight: lowrider front rack (Nashbar cheapies unless i really feel the need to grab some Tubus Duos), and a big Carradice nelson saddlebag which is easy to carry on the plane as a personal item.

Nothing against the Raleigh. I think they would've had a real winner on their hands if they added a few more rack bosses, a little more clearance and fittings for either disk or cantilever brakes.

Tourist in MSN

Congratulations.

On the Nelson, I have the Nelson Longflap. I rarely have needed the extra flap for more capacity, but when I did it came in really handy. I put some leather toe clip straps in the top where you can add straps, occasionally I strap something on top like a rolled up windbreaker. Great bag.

On the Raleigh, I could not agree more.

I used to use electrical tape to wrap around the ends of the S&S "nut" to keep dirt and grime out of the S&S coupler threads. But I have since changed to a loop of rubber like a wide rubber band cut from a fat inner tube. First photo shows the electrical tape, second photo shows the inner tube rubber bands. You might consider this too.

Plan to spend some quality time the first time you pack up the bike. It took me a couple hours to get everything to fit right. And although I planned to take photos of the process to remind myself how, I of course did not and the next time I packed it I had to re-learn it all over again. I need to remove both crankarms to make it fit, but others on this forum have been luckier than me with only one or none. I added self extractors to my crankarms, which was a mistake as the third photo shows, the self extracting hardware self extracted and fell out and was lost. In the future, I am carrying a real crank puller instead. Every bike is different so what works for me might not work for you.

jmeb

Great advice -- thanks. I already own the Nelson -- not the longflap version though. (Not complaining, it was a very thoughtful gift from my SO without any prompting.) I've got mine outfitted with a leather shoulder strap and it sits on a bagman quick-release. Makes it a great bag for pulling off quickly when I run in somewhere or commuting.

I went with the SRAM crankset partially because it is self extracting by design -- just one 8mm bolt and it will pop out. It also hit the sweet spot for a 2x chainring setup for me at 42/28.

I plan to do at least a couple pre-packs before I go. I don't want to spend all night my first day in Paris building a bike .

DropBarFan

Congrats! Good to practice packing...detailed notes & photos can help a lot. Haven't tried yet for S&S packing but I've thought a 1/4" ratchet or T-handle hex wrenches might speed up things a lot.

Tourist in MSN

Others have commented that a real good wrench is much better than a multi-tool, I pretty much split the difference with some long L shaped allen wrenches.

And a few extra M5 bolts for when you lose a water bottle bolt or something like that.

I also carried some disposable nitrile gloves I got from my dentist office for handling my chain. A few extra ziplocks for things like pedals (the threads usually are greasy) and other small parts.

Some have used zip ties to tie the entire package into a bundle. I did something similar, I used a bunch of pieces of double sidded velcro to try to tie the whole package into one bundle.

My bike fills the case, I did not carry fenders with me.

I did not get the protection tubes to wrap around the frame members, instead I used some of that perforated rubber sheeting that is sold to put on shelves. I just put that between the parts where I velcroed them together.

If the frame is small enough, the fork might stay in the frame but I have to pull my fork off. I put the headset pieces back on the steerer tube in the correct order and use a rubber band on the end to keep them from sliding off.

I use the S&S backpack. I found that the side pieces were a bit long, I had to leave the velcro straps that hold the side pieces together a bit loose to make it fit better.

I am not done packing in this photo, I still have not added center supports, but it does show my velcro straps and the green stuff is that shelf liner material. But every bike is different, what works for me might not work for the OP. My wheels are 26 inch, his are 700c. Mine uses rim brakes, not discs so I do not have to worry about that. Someone on this board previously recommended removing the cassette, but I have a Rohloff, no cassette so I can't comment on that.