I recently purchased a S&S coupled bike and a soft side case.
For those packing a bike, do you take off the crankset or something else?

Also do you remove the fork like a rinko?

Do any of you pack fenders?

We have a coupled tandem and my touring bike. Total disassembly. It is why we now box our bikes so I do have to spend the time at the beginning and end of a tour. And I work in a bike shop!

I think every single S&S bike will have to be packed differently because each bike will have slightly different dimensions for the different parts. My bike has 26 inch wheels, I can leave the tires on the rims but I usually use 57mm wide tires that need to be deflated to fit everything into the case. I do not have a cassette, have a Rohloff internally geared hub. When I have packed my folding bike in that case, it uses a cassette, I remove the cassette but I have no idea if you would need to or not.

I assume you have the S&S Backpack case from your description. I have that case. There is no center support. I made one out of a couple pieces of very thin plywood (maybe 1/8") and a couple dowels and some screws. Not sure if it is needed or not, but I feel it is safer to have that. I also cut a couple pieces of Coroplast (bought a 4X8 ft sheet at Home Despot) at 26 X 26 with rounded corners so that my case sides are stiffer.

The fenders will not fit in my case, and the rear rack won't either. When I have flown with a bike, I needed to check two bags because of my camping gear too, so packing the rack in the other bag is not a problem for me. My S&S bike is quite heavy duty, thus is heavy, I need the luggage scale to make sure I have removed enough stuff from the case to make it 49 pounds, usually pack my pedals and saddle in my other checked bag.

The second time I packed my S&S bike, I made a critical error in my first several attempts and could not get it to fit in the case. Fortunately this was the day before my flight home and I had the spare time. I figured out what I did wrong and packed it right. When I got home, I took lots of photos as I unpacked it so that next time I packed it I could get every bit in the correct order of packing, in the correct orientation. After my third trip I was happier with my packing, took replacement photos.

Headset parts can be numerous and have to be in the correct order, and orientation. So, when I remove the fork, I put the headset parts in order on the steerer tube for storage, use a rubber band over the end to keep them in order. That gets another photo in case I screw up, so I can refer to the photo.

I started out using double sided velcro strips to try to tie most of the big parts together so that the frame members and wheels could be lifted out of the case for an inspection by TSA. (And I included a note to TSA stating that.) But over time I am slowly switching to using zip ties instead. Carry a tiny little side cutter for removing zip ties. Toe nail cutter will also work.

I have a thick walled piece of plastic tubing cut to 135mm. I put that in the rear dropout to make sure that the frame is not bent if the airline stacks a ton of stuff on top of my case. I use bolt on skewers when I travel, not quick release. Skewers use a 5mm allen wrench. Use that rear skewer with that plastic tube to reinforce my rear frame piece.

I have read many people say they can pack or reassemble bike in less than an hour. It usually takes me about an hour and a half. Almost total disassembly, but bottom bracket stays installed. Even all three water bottle cages have to come off.

Loose bits usually go into a ziplock or padded bag. In case you lose some screws or washers, bring spares. I always have packed and unpacked outside.

Everything packed, below:



I cut some rubber sleeves from an old inner tube to put over the ends of my S&S nuts to keep the threads clean. I do not carry the S&S grease on a trip, that is one reason I use the rubber sleeves, to keep things clean, then I do not need to add grease every time. You can see the rubber sleeves in photo below:



I considered trying to cut my rear fender into two pieces that I could then attach together again Rinko style, but eventually decided against it. Instead I use a couple tiny little plastic fenders I bought on line from asia (before tariffs) that provide a tiny bit of coverage.

I remove the crank arms (square taper). I use the XLC crank arm tool because it works with a 15mm pedal wrench and an 8mm allen wrench. My S&S wrench includes both a 15mm open end pedal wrench and a 8mm socket, I cut a piece of 8mm allen wrench from another wrench (tool steel, I needed to use a Dremel cut off wheel) so that I can insert that 8mm stub into my S&S wrench. I assume you are not so lucky, my bike manufacturer made their own S&S wrenches, the 8mm socket was for emergency use on a Rohloff EX box to shift gears if a cable broke. My primary tools for travel are below:



I carry a lot of other tools too, assembling and disassembling a bike is much more time efficient if you have better tools than just a multi-tool. But if I needed to, I could do everything with the above.

I tried self extracting crank arm bolts, but the self extracting mechanism on one crank arm self extracted itself somewhere in the middle of Iceland (below), and to pack my bike I had to remove the self extractor from the other crank arm, and of course I did not have the tools for that. It was then that I decided in the future, bring a real crank arm tool.



I suggest you always carry a tool that will tighten the couplers. I have had this bike for 12 years, only once during a ride did a coupler come loose on me, but after stopping to hand tighten the coupler every couple miles on the way home I now carry a wrench with me with my spare tube. It is a cheap wrench that is adequate for the task, not a genuine S&S wrench.

My last trip with that bike was a five week trip in the Canadian Maritimes. I wear my helmet onto the plane, put it in an overhead. I do not want baggage handlers to break it. My luggage for that trip is below:



I managed to recover my costs for the couplers and the S&S Backpack case before some of the airlines dropped their oversize fees. Be even though it now is free to fly with an oversize bike on the airline I usually use, I plan to continue to use the S&S case in the future as it makes getting my gear to and from home and airport, or a hostel and airport in a foreign country so much easier.

Storing my S&S case, I remove the side panels, but with the corroplast sheets in it I do not fold it. But I could fold it if I had too. Was easy to store in a luggage room at a hostel with some of my other stuff also in it. In the photo below, was only about 2 or 3 inches thick with the side panels removed, so the hostel staff did not mind storing it for me.



Those are the items that come to mind. I am sure you will have questions.

Tourist in MNS's post is a comprehensive coverage of what packing a touring bike with couplers entails. It gets more challenging with 700c wheels.

I've only packed my wife's 47cm bike using the couplers once. I found that boxing the bike was quicker, easier and better proection for the bike.

Yes I take the crankset and fork off. I also remove the water bottle cages. It fits easier.

Yes I pack fenders. I nest them around the wheel. You may need to take your tires off.

It's a total disassembly and a complete pain in the ass. Like building a new bike each time.

I went on a group tour a while back, and it seemed like almost everyone had an S&S coupled bike. So when we all sat outside in the shade to unpack (and pack at the end of the trip), it was eye-opening to see how things varied. Some of the smaller riders, were able to pack theirs with the fork still on the frame; IIRC, a couple of those ladies were able to loosen their seatposts and slide it down.

My bike is a 62 cm frame, so everything comes off: derailer, cranks, seatpost, bars, fork. It usually takes me an hour to unpack and an hour to pack, though one time (ONE TIME!) everything went right and I was ready to go home in 40 minutes. I don't plan on that; I'd rather plan on an hour and a half, and have time to cool off and relax if I get done early. I can figure things out on the fly when unpacking, but I have a six page document printed out and packed in page protectors to show me how it's supposed to go.

Tourist has a good rundown; I'll throw in a few other observations.

(1) Pack a couple pairs of rubber (Park) gloves. It gets messy. Throw in a rag or two.
(2) Pack a small tube of the S&S recommended grease. If you don't, even though it was well greased when you pack it, you may have trouble tightening the couplers (learned that one the hard way).
(3) I now have a 4 mm, 5 Nm click-style preset torque wrench for tightening my stem bolts. It's cheaper or at least easier than finding a new stem after you strip a bolt.
(4) My bike has square taper cranks and auto extractor crank bolts.
(5) Take your coupler wrench (I'm still using the S&S wrench) and a hex wrench (8 mm) to fit your crank bolt in your saddle bag. I've used both on the road.
(6) Get a decent, not necessarily extravagant, hex key set for the bike bag. You can take out whatever you won't need (like that big, heavy 10 mm monster).
(7) I leave pedals attached to the crank, and saddle attached to the seatpost. On smaller bikes, some people took off the pedals and left the cranks on.
(8) I theorize you might fit fenders around the wheels in the box, but my travel bike is the only one I own which doesn't have fenders.

I got up early that morning, had some time so I tried to remember every question I had on this topic 12 years ago so I could answer them.

Some good points, above.

Gloves, before covid my dental hygienist was always happy to give me a few pairs of gloves when I asked. But last fall she told me that they are still paying five times as much as they used to for gloves, she was told not to hand them out.

If the 10mm is an allen wrench, what do you use that for? The only time I have used one is for a Shimano freehub on an older style hub with steel axles. Or if that is an open end wrench to use on nuts on an M6 bolt, Park and a few others make a nice 8 and 10mm open end wrench that weighs very little.

(1) 10 mm Allen wrench was in the set.
(2) Only time I ever used one was to change a Shimano freehub, more than 20 years ago.

Ergo, don't need to tote it all over the countryside.

If you got the S&S Backpack case, it is not as comfortable as a quality backpacking backpack to carry it on your back, but it is certainly doable. Photo below, it is hard to tell I am wearing the Backpack case on my back because of the dark background in the photo. By having a sheet of Coroplast on the side panel, I do not have any sharp pointy bike parts stabbing me in the back.

I ride big bikes and I feel your pain.


Moving parts into a second bag between helps. The fork is soooo long it just makes life easier when you move it out.

I love square taper but my SnS bike uses hollowtech. I get about 1/3 the life out of a hollowtech BB than a un-55 so I bring a spare for long trips.

Always take the RD off.

Bring a backup seatpost clamp mechanism. :-) .


(3) I now have a 4 mm, 5 Nm click-style preset torque wrench for tightening my stem bolts.


I like it. I switched to 4 bolt after "issues" with two bolt systems.


.

A better close up photo of my rubber sleeves over each end of the S&S nuts to keep the dirt and crud out of the threads.

If you consistently take off your fork, what headset are you using?
I was thinking of using a roller bearing headset I have but would a sealed bearing headset be better?

I do not think it matters as long as you do not have a bunch of small bearings rolling around loose. I have no clue what roller bearing you are considering. If you lack the tools, you may be looking at a shop fee to remove and replace the bearing races in the frame depending on how new it is. Only one of my bikes has a headset that does not need to be pressed into the frame.

On my S&S bike I use the headset that was included with my frame and fork purchase. It has cartridge bearings, below.

This is a roller bearing headset.

And yes I have the tools to both install and remove a headset among many other things.

That looks like it is for a threaded fork. I have never seen a roller bearing headset like that. All the headsets I worked on for threaded forks used loose ball bearings.

The roller bearings are something that you would have to worry about grease, cleanup, etc. Cartridge bearings would allow you to avoid having to carry grease on your trip.

I think you should just use whichever one you prefer. Since I have never worked with a roller bearing headset like that, I can't offer an informed opinion.

***

One more thing I should have mentioned in a previous post - S&S couplers come with discs that cover the end of the tube. Some installers use them, some do not. If your couplers have those discs welded to the end of the tube, that means that if water gets into your down tube and possibly top tube, the water can get trapped there and cause localized rust in the downtube and maybe top tube.

Water in heavy rain can get past a headset into a head tube. And most head tubes are drilled so there is an opening into the down tube and top tube, any water in the headtube can therefore get into the downtube. Next time your fork is removed from the head tube, look inside the head tube to see if there are open holes into the top tube and down tube. If so, I suggest you cover those holes with some tape so any water in the head tube can not get into the downtube or top tube. This obviously is more important if you have those discs welded to the ends of the frame tubes at the couplers.

This is my bike, new to me, a Raleigh Randonneur.

It has a threaded headset, I might use my roller bearing headset or get one with sealed bearings for ease and cleanliness.
Roller bearings help with speed slap and are less prone to brinelling like round ball bearings.

I’ve not heard of roller bearings in a headset. Sounds like a great upgrade. Who makes them?

Very nice looking frame. I can only see part of the sticker, looks like a Reynolds 531 lugged frame, which I think is rare to be fitted with S&S couplers. And canti brake posts.

Looks like it is a smaller size, which will make it easier to pack in an S&S case. Not sure if that means you can leave the fork on or a crank arm or two.

Interesting that the model is named Randonneur. Raleigh is a British company, or was when I worked at a Raleigh shop in the 1970s. And the Brits use the word Audax instead of Randonneuring.

It is from the mid 80s and is 531ST.

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.

I finally got all of the parts for this build.

What brakes do you anticipate using?

My S&S bike has full length outer housing on the brakes and shifter cables, so quick disconnect cable splitters are impractical. But my Ritchey Breakaway (badged as a Raleigh Grand Prix) came with cable splitters so when I split the frame, I can split the cables by unthreading the splitters. And thread them together later. I do not know if you have them or not since you bought the frame used.

Under the downtube you can see a silver colored cylinder with a black ring on it, that allows the cable to be split by unthreading it. The other one for other shifter cable is behind the downtube, so not visible in the photo.



And same type of splitter under the top tube for rear brake cable.



They are not really needed, as I noted I do not have splitters on my S&S bike. If you do not have them, it takes a bit more time to setup and tear down a bike for packing.

Of you were not aware of them, I wanted to make you aware of them. I got my Raleigh as a complete bike, not frame and fork. Thus, I have no clue what the splitters cost since they came with the package.

Others on this thread might comment more if you are interested in them.

I do not think I asked earlier, did you get the S&S wrench with it? If not, the wrench needs to be the right size for the couplers, as there are different diameters.

Ah the Crank Brothers multi-tool, I carry one too! m17?

https://www.crankbrothers.com/collec...s/products/m17

@bwilli88, didja ask @Spaghetti Legs what he used? I have a Ritchey Breakaway that came with a custom case, not sure how the S&S coupler would work. @VRJAKE has an S&S coupled bike, and I know he has a special hard case for it.

If the fork requires removing to pack, I'd definitely go with sealed bearings - much cleaner.

I'm able to fit fenders for my breakaway in the case.

Pro tip: pack the handlebars in your carry on luggage, if you're flying. They actually don't take up much room, as you can pack around them.