Perhaps... I've certainly considered it. But the resulting package is still not "suitcase looking" or suitcase sized, and with the airlines getting more and more stringent about such things and the charges on them, I worry that I'll spend a bunch of money and add complexity to the LHT, only to wind up getting dinged $300 per trip for "oversized/overweight" package anyway. :(

Well, the S&S case actually IS suitcase sized, or rather, it falls within the limits of what airlines consider normal luggage. They can be as stringent as they want--it'll still come in under the magic number.

Now, they certainly COULD change their definition of "oversized" luggage, and I wouldn't put it past them. I thought long and hard about that before ordering mine. But if they do that, I'll ship it, as you've done in the past, and the smaller package will be substantially less to ship than a bike box.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/...2141885b_z.jpg

I rode my Bike Friday NWT on a tour this fall...my buddy rode his LHT and I was thinking of taking my LHT, but I really enjoy the NWT and mine is setup for night riding which was how we started the tour. Little did I know the route was not paved and it was going to rain the whole time - yikes!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1296/...a127926c_z.jpg

My 20" slick tired wheels did great. Although I love my LHT it's a hard choice to decide what to ride even on rides like this where I have no plans to fold my bike for shipping.

think LHT version option is S&S equipped, currently, so the buy a new frame
and sell the old one ,
VS cost of retrofit and a redo powder coat is a math decision ..