I Like Peeing

I have a coupled touring bike that is supposed to fit in the 10" deep SNS machine travel case, and it's my first time using it. I'm wondering how most of you out there deal with packing the derailleur setups. I know that the rear derailleur is the most fragile part of the bike, but I've managed to get it safely in the case without taking it off. I dread having to spend a lot of time adjusting the front and rear, but I'm starting to think it's unavoidable and I'll have to master the skill sooner or later. Do most of you end up breaking the chain and leaving both the front and rear on, or just taking everything off completely and starting from scratch? My first attempt was taking off the front and securing the chain to the chain stay on top of the tube pad...

John Nelson

Depends on the case and whether or not I have to remove the rear wheel. Ideally, you pack it with the rear wheel still mounted. Then shift the derailleur to the largest cog, and it will be pretty-well protected.

If you have to remove the rear wheel, then it depends on whether your case can securely hold the rear derailleur away from the edges of the case. If so, you''re probably good as is. If necessary, you can move the rear derailleur forward and tie it to the chainstay to get it farther away from the back of the case. If you fear that your derailleur may still come in contact with the edge of the case, then remove it.

No matter which of these you do, there should be no need to readjust it as long as you don't remove the cable.

If you cannot keep the large chainring from contacting the bottom of the case (which means you probably had to remove the rear wheel and your case has no internal straps), then it's best to leave the chain on and wrapped around the large chainring for added protection. Otherwise, I usually remove the chain by disassembling the master link, merely because it's less messy this way.

Use dropout spacers whenever you remove a wheel.

Cyclesafe

It's not clear to me what you mean by front and rear. I have attached the sequence I use to pack my 62 cm bike:

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pic 029.jpg

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If these pictures lack sufficient resolution, pm me with your email and I'll send better ones to you.

Actually, taking the rear derailleur off is no biggie. All you need is a 5mm allen wrench. If you leave the set screws alone, adjustments shouldn't be necessary when you put it back on. BTW, if you don't know how to adjust your derailleurs, learn to do so before you tour. Basic stuff. I've never removed my RD for packing.

Likewise, you can take off your crankset. You'll need an 8mm allen wrench. But I've never removed my crankset to pack the bike either. I use split plastic tubing to protect the case from the chain ring, however.

Other tips:

Instead of buying the velcroed wrap and cutting it to fit, it's better to use pipe insulation from Home Depot. It is pre-split and cheap ($4 to protect all your tubes.)

Zip tie all of your packed layers together to prevent shifting and to allow the airline security people to lift up the whole mess and place it back in the case the way it is supposed to go.

Get some pieces of wood to wedge among the bits of your bike to prevent damage from compression. Assume that your suitcase will be under lots of other luggage.

Buy a bunch of 26x26x10 cardboard boxes to use when you have no place to store the suitcase at your destination and you'd rather not make a special trip to a UPS store to mail it back home. If your style of touring is to fly somewhere and eventually ride home, you don't need a suitcase at all!

TheBrick

Regardless you should still learn to adjust the dérailleurs, they will go out of adjustment at some point.. It's a five min job and should not be an issue.

Machka 

I leave my derailleurs on when I pack my bicycle, and just wrap bubble wrap around them.

Bekologist

is that a coupled bike or are you just describing packing a bike up in a box generally?



..for a coupled bike, taking off the chain would make packing the bike much cleaner. Inside of my travel case I am working on a couple of small flat nylon bags that will be velcroe'd in the corners of the case to hold- skewers, chain, grease, and assorted small bolts from the disassembly.

I Like Peeing

Front and Rear derailleur.

I definitely take the crankset off, I love the self-extracting bolts.

Good call on the zip ties...I was thinking I might get the TSA net, but this could suffice.

I Like Peeing

I ended up taking off everything, even the stem off the bars and seatpost off the saddle, and I can't get the Tubus Cargo rack to fit in there yet, definitely the toughest piece to fit.

Cyclesafe

There's no way I'd be able to get a rack in with the bike. Racks go with the panniers in the second box. If you are successful with packing a rack with your bike you will make S&S coupler bike packing history and I wanna see pictures!

Bekologist

folding Racktime rack, manufactured by Tubus, folds into a nice, flat puck and is suitable for light touring duty.

New racks but she's a plenty stout!

I'm going to try packing it all in the standard 10" hard case this weekend maybe for pics.

Bekologist

woot!

and finally, rack in the box with the coupled bike.

54cm travelers check, standard 10" case, rear derailleur off, rack folded in the case. i also got a set of race blade fenders in after the pics as well, don't want to press my luck but boy howdy. i'll repack it more securely and pad it better.

will put the rack thru its paces shortly this month with a trip to the other coast. in a plane.


racktime folding rack, rated to 25kg, manufactured by the tubus/ortlieb rack and bag concern, should be good.