I am in the process of getting an S&S coupled bike and have the same questions.

I am leaning towards the backpack case, although I understand that it still is somewhat cumbersome to pack and carry with you once you leave the airport so shipping to final destination may come in handy if practical. But you would need a box to put it in.
https://www.sandsmachine.com/ac_back.htm

Co-Motion thinks a hard case is not as good as you might think when comparing it against a soft case. For this reason, I think that a soft case like the backpack may be a good option. See their thoughts on the hard case.
https://www.co-motion.com/index.php/i...e_should_i_buy

Option two, as noted above you can use a disposable box and dispose of it. It is my understanding that a 26X26X10 box is needed.
https://www.staples.com/26-L-x-26-W-x...product_404572

The disposable box option won't work to get you home, for that maybe the option described by others to get a bike box and cut it to the right size and use a lot of packing tape. When I try to make a small box out of a big box, I have had the best luck putting folds in corrugated cardboard after I score it first with a pizza slicing wheel. Otherwise I have a lot of trouble getting it to fold where I want it to fold.

I find that a small electronic scale to check luggage weight is a very useful accessory. Less than $10 on ebay and shipped (slowly) from China. Airlines are very stringent on overweight luggage when it comes to fees.

I've only ridden a Dahon folder, but I had the same misgivings as you about using it for a long tour. When I saw that the Pathlesspedelled folks had given up on the Bromptons and didn't seem to do many miles on them in NZ I took it as a confirmation of the issues folders have on long tours......I might be reading too much into that, but the options for packing a regular bike are pretty good if you keep the weight down and plan ahead.

Has anyone managed to pack a largish frame 700c S&S bike including racks, fenders and bottle cages into a 26x26x10 box?

The pictures I've seen look more like S&S road bikes without all the other stuff we love to screw on!

Whenever I've travelled with stuff on an airline that I'm likely to get charged for, I go in preared for the worst and come out smiling if I get away with it.

First, 700c is not the most suitable wheel size for S&S bike unless you don't mind removing tubes and tires. If you are having a demountable bike built, 26" wheels (ISO 559mm) is the most suitable size. This also makes sense as 26" wheel spare parts are easy to find worldwide. Having said this, it is possible to pack fenders, racks and bottle cages into the S&S case. The rear rack is the only tricky part. You can pack it separetely in another suitcase or in a carry-on (e.g., duffel bag with your clothes.) If the plan is credit card touring, you can get a folding rear rack from Racktime and/or a folding front rack like the Tubus Duo or Salsa Down Under. These will easily fit in the S&S case as they come apart and will just lie flat.

Exactly!

And in this case ...

-- Read and reread the bicycle baggage information online so you have some idea what to expect (it changes frequently) ...
-- Go into it as prepared as possible (with full-sized bicycle, we are going to be oversized ... can't get around that ... and chances are we're going to be pretty close to overweight too, but weighing the bicycle box and other luggage ahead of time might help avoid surprises) ...
-- Arrive early (because that improves the chances of having a happy encounter with the check-in people, and gives us a chance to fix any difficulties that might come up) ...
-- And be as nice as possible (because people generally react better to nice people).

You might still have to pay the charge for bicycles, but you expected that ... and if it happens that you are charged less and/or have a happy check-in process, all the better!

Doesn't matter how often I've checked in my bike, how well prepared I am, or how friendly, I can't help feeling a bit nervous that somehow there'll be a problem:
"Sorry Sir, but for safety and security reasons..."

The number of problems we've had flying with our bicycles have been really minimal and minor. It's a bit of a hassle that travellers with a lot less luggage don't have to deal with ... and you never know where you'll be directed or what you'll have to do with the bicycle ... but we just try to relax and do what we're asked, and sometimes it can be a bit of fun. Over the years, there has actually been a lot of laughter and friendly chatter at the check-in counters.

One time I got to the airport really early and was the first one through the check-in which went really smoothly ... I had all the check-in people looking after me, and we were all chatting about my trip. After checking in, I was told to take my bicycle over to the X-ray machines, and there the guy let me see the X-rays of my bicycle. That was kind of cool.

700c wheeled non coupled bike, I used a recycled Amtrak Box on the way over ,
and as I was Departing from AMS/Shiphol I bought a box from KLM for 20fl (pre Euro National Currency)

Now own A BF and a Brommy, people tour the worlds places with either/both of those, .. like this guy
https://www.heinzstucke.com/

I can't even get my wife's 47 cm, S&S frame with racks and fenders packed into a box that size. The 700c wheels are the limiting factor. If you remove the tires, racks, and fenders, it might be possible. The S&S couplers do have some merit shipping a bike UPS or FedX. The bike can be packaged small enough to get under one of their arbitrary size limits and it will be a substantial savings. We shipped our bikes twice by FedX last summer, and my wife's bike was $68 to ship. The shipping for my 58 cm LHT,which exceeded the limit in a regular bike box (LBS salvage), was $160. Her bike was shipped in a cut down box salvaged from our LBS. We only need to ship her bike 5 more times to pay for the couplers. I am really ambivalent about the real value of couplers.

I think folding bikes are OK if you are travelling with a bike, but loose some utility when you are travelling by bike. There is a subtle difference.

The bike is only part of the transportation equation. Getting panniers, helmet, etc. to the start or home also has to be factored in. If using a 26X26X10 inch box requires another box to carry racks, fenders, helmet, panniers, etc.; what is the net savings? And there is the suitcase to deal with.

We have been successful using airline boxes, salvaged bike shop boxes, as well a Amtrak boxes at the ends of our tours. Airlines and some airports have generous sized boxes. Schiphol Airport in The Netherlands have great boxes. United Airlines boxes are also good, and they can be used on most airlines.

^^ thanks Doug, thats kindof what I thought. S&S is a great idea, but I'm not certain as to whether it would give me any significant advantage. Though that depends on how often and how you transport your bike, so ymmv...

Yes, 700c wheels limit so much the purpose of having a demountable (i.e., S&S coupled) touring bike.

26"-wheeled rando-touring bike in its S&S case. Pics taken at my friend's house in San Diego.




For the next pic I removed the front wheel to appreciate the front rack (lower left hand corner) and fenders (lying on the right side toward the bottom.) The only thing missing is a rear rack like this Racktime fold-it which will definitely fit at the bottom of case once taken apart. Everything came in at 38 lb (17 Kg.)




Flew with it and here it is fully built at its home in Mexico:

IMO, Dahon's are crap. Bromptons are good folders, but they're designed for quick folds and short trips, not long distance touring. Bike Friday makes high quality folding touring bikes. They're not cheap but I have more than recovered my original purchase price with all of the airline fees I've avoided. I've toured in various parts of the world on my Bike Friday, and it rides like my "regular" touring bike. If you do a search in the forums you'll find dozens of testimonials, maybe hundreds.

I've never had a problem finding a place to leave the suitcase for my Bike Friday while I was touring. On the one occasion when I was flying home from another city, I converted the suitcase to a trailer with the hardware I bought from Bike Friday. I was impressed with how easy it was to do.

I traveled with someone that got his Co_Motion Americano Co-Pilot into the case, I do not recall if he had fenders. He said that his frame was so solid that his bike handled fine without a front rack so he only used a rear rack and huge rear panniers. That bike is a solo bike but it uses tandem wheels with a wide rear spacing and it still fit in the case.

I am in the process of putting together a 26 inch wheel coupled bike. The manufacturer of my frame said that I would have much better luck fitting everything if I plan to pack the fork in my other luggage. I am assuming that I will not travel with fenders however those cheap clip on fenders might work well enough for that. For a rack I do not yet know if I will need the folding rack from RackTime or if I can fit a regular rack.

Great video but he uses 5 couplers including one on stem instead of the normal two. Huge frame, but it is a racing bike and no racks or fenders. The fifth coupler on the stem I am sure is more for convenience than necessity, I suspect that coupler is only because he might be frequently packing up his race bike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml5ZsuEdqOY

My tourer is pretty much what you describe, an S&S coupled 26" mountain bike with a Rohloff. It is an excellent, functional travel bike.



My international kit packs into three pieces: an S&S 26x26x10 hard-shell case, and two Arkel panniers:



The Old-Man Mountain rear rack fits into the box with the bike, along with water bottles and miscellany, and it comes in within regulation size & weight. I check the box and one of the panniers, and take the other as carry-on. The really nice thing about the kit is that I can handle everything at one time solo, which would be pretty much impossible with a bike box. The S&S box fits into taxis and train luggage racks like any other suitcase. Don't let anybody tell you that there is no advantage to be had with a coupled bike. The advantages are many. Basically, the coupled bike becomes equivalent to any other suitcase, instead of being a "bicycle", which for some bizarre reason freaks all sorts of people out when getting on trains or airplanes, checking into hotels, taking taxis, you name it.

The easiest thing to do with the box is to just leave it at a hotel near the airport and pick it up again on your way out, but as you mention, that requires a loop route of some kind. The other option, which I will be using in Spain this summer, is to ship it from a UPS office at your departure point to another UPS office at your destination. You can pay for the shipping and print out labels before you leave for your trip, then just tape them to the outside of the box and drop it off before you leave. UPS shipping offices are pretty ubiquitous in Europe.

The only other thing I might add from experience is: expect to have the suitcase searched by TSA. I tape packing instructions, with photos, to the inside of the case so that the TSA goon has a least a fighting chance to get it back in the case properly.

That is the beauty of the Friday -- I show up and check in a large suitcase that weighs in at about 47 pounds. For an end-to-end trip, I would probably get the train back to the start point (with the Friday in quick fold mode) and pick the case up from the hotel.

I have not tried the Friday suitcase-to-trailer idea. In theory it sounds very nice, but I wonder what would happen if one of the little wheels goes off the road on a steep downhill.