dmeans2anend

Hooray!!!

Thank you for the feedback.
I appreciate it.
It gives me more confidence especially from someone who has used a very similiar MB bike for some light backpacking.

The titanium version is sweet.
The Ultegra drivetrain is just icing.
I haven't used mechanic disc brakes before so I'm hoping it will be easier than traditional cantilever especially since I have small hands. In the past, using tradition cantilever brakes flying down the mountain pass and trying to brake can be challenging at times when my hands are numb from gripping the brakes to slow down.
I don't know about the aluminum version but the tubing on the Titanium is solid and rides really smooth.
Ever consider upgrading to Ti? I've seem used Ti MB bike on Craigslist often in my area for insane steals!
Folks here in the US don't mind paying premium for the "Lynskey" brand because it is made in US.
Well, since I was also 'made in Taiwan', I don't mind riding a Taiwanese brand bike.
Often, from personal experience, made in Taiwan brands get under-estimated. ha...ha...ha...

Can you tell the manufacture of the frame bag that you use? Do you like it and does it fit well? Does it interfere with your pedaling? I was worry that my legs might rub against the frame bag when I pedal. THAT WOULD BE ANNOYING for the 1,000+ mile ride down the Pacific Coast!

I think I want to use the rear panniers for lighter stuff and also get a frame bag to carry some thin hearvier stuff like my Dell tablet and tent poles for better center of gravity. What are you able to put in the frame bag? OR only 'thin items'?

dmeans2anend

Thanks for the link...

It's pretty much just adding a Shimano spacer (1.85mm) behind the cassette. If you look on the side of the box of the new Shimano cassette, it indicates exactly this information in a schematic diagram.

"The only difference is the road freehub is a bit wider, so a MTB cassette can be fitted to an 11sp road hub as long as you use a (1.85mm?) spacer. An 11sp road cassette won’t fit on a MTB freehub."

Hondo Gravel

I used a Revelate Tangle half frame bag it works well, holds tubes, air pump, maps, food and orher essentials like wipes etc etc. the seatpost bag would hold my multi tool, tire boots and other basic stuff. The frame bag even loaded is thin enough not to rub you’re legs when pedaling. I used an Osprey Raptor 10 hydration pack that had multiple pockets and would hold 3 liters of water. I had bottle cages in case I stopped and bought a few bottles of Gatorade. I didn’t camp but if I was I would have had a rear pannier to hold more stuff. I have a Revelate gas tank that will mount like a motorcycle gas tank and I have used it on my MTB and it works well. I never went full self supported touring so I don’t know about that but for going light this I what I did. I hope this helps you out

dmeans2anend

Hi Alan,

I know it's a few years late but better late than never....

I want to THANK YOU for your suggestion back in 2018 on adding the Wolf Tooth Tanpan and converting to a long cage rear derailleur on my cyclocross bike so I can convert my cassette from 11-32t to 11-42t.

Without your comment, I would not have known about the Wolf Tooth Tanpan.

It was a Total Game Changer on my touring trip down the Pacific Coast in September of 2018.

With all the hills (30,000 ft of total elevation gain), the 42t cassette that I added made hill climbing so much fun!!!!

With the conversion, my bike road like a dream and I had no issues with the gearing at all.

Also, the Motobecane Titanium Frame was solid and stiff. It road very smoothly and carry load on the rear racks with an Old Man Mountain rack without any issues.

For those that don't know what the Wolf Tooth Tanpan is, here are some Stock Photos in case your interested in modifying your bike too:








Here is additional info on it : https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/tanpan

From the website:

"The Wolf Tooth Tanpan makes Shimano 10- and 11-speed road shifters work with 10- and 11-speed mountain bike rear derailleurs.

Crossing boundaries and breaking down walls: the Tanpan brings the range and security of Shimano mountain rear derailleurs to Shimano-equipped drop-bar bicycles. This means greater gearing range for bigger adventures, better chain security for rough terrain, and lighter weight and reduced complexity for the daily commute."

Hope this information will help someone else convert their bike for bike touring.

tyrion

You can get a handlebar roll to carry some weight up front. You don't want all the cargo weight in the rear if you can avoid it. Make sure it will fit within the handlebars - most of them have a roll-closure on each side so the total width is effectively adjustable.

A lightweight rear rack (Tubus Fly or Tubus Vega), lightweight panniers (as mentioned Arkel Dry-lites), and you've got a nice lightweight touring setup.

dmeans2anend

Hi Tyrion,

Thank you for your comments.

My original post was actually 2 years ago. I've actually converted my bike already and completed the touring trip down the Pacific Coast route in 2018.

I used an Ortieb Handlebar Bag and two rear Ortlieb panniers with the Old Man Mountain rear rack. They worked great and the rack was solid.

I only recently commented on this tread to follow-up on the recommendation offered to me by Alan S which was a huge help for a 1st time bike tourer.

Here is my beautiful bike setup which worked marvelously for my trip. She was light and fast.

I'm planning on taking 'her' overseas next when it's safe to fly.

Tourist in MSN

Jtek makes lots of adapters to convert mismatched shifters to derailleurs.
Jtek ShiftMate Gear Shifting Adapter for Shimano Campagnolo and SRAM components

I was unaware that someone other than Jtek made something similar.

Nice looking bike, I am quite happy with my titanium bike too, although most of my touring has been on steel frames. So far only one tour of five days on my titanium bike. Had planned a tour last summer on it, but that did not happen, planning a trip this coming fall on it.

Have a great next-trip overseas.

djb

That's nice of you to pop back in for a thank you, that west coast trip is one i still have fond memories of, even though i did it well over 25 years ago.
if you do plan to fly overseas, really take the time to read up and watch you tube vids of boxing your own bike. I've flown with my bike quite a number of times and I've picked up better techniques over the years.

the ideal thing is to become friendly with a bike shop mechanic and ask well ahead of time that when they receive and unbox a bike similar to your bike size, that they keep all the foam stuff, all the plastic bits like disc protector for front wheel, fork spacer, rear derailleur cover thingee etc and throw this all in the box as they go.
ideally if you can watch them take out a new bike this is great, take a photo cuz the dropbar and front wheel position will be the best way for you to get close to.
I shift to the largest rear sprocket to move the rd as far inward a possible, some people remove rd, others remove front rotor also but I just use the hard circular protector.
I put some foam under the fork brace also to absorb an impact. Tape it on.
nearly always jam my sleeping bag in near fork area to hold bike in place, too big a bike box length wise isn't good, too much movement. You want bike well held, no big fore aft movement if possible.

I always reinforce the cut out hand openings with tape, they tend to rip from a fast and hard grab, and I reinforce the bottom corners too w tape.

first time boxing will take hours, figuring it out, making mistakes. Normal

I really do think it's worth doing it on your own, this way you'll be familiar with the process for return.

safe and smart packing is the key to reducing chances of damage if Angry Don't Give a Ratsass baggage handler is having a crappy day.....

we all love our bikes, so it's worth the time getting the techniques right.

oh, I use a marker to put UP arrows, can help too keep it right way up.

we do our best , then just hope for the best once it disappears out of sight down the conveyer belt........

PS, always arrive early for check in, and a friendly smile and all that tends to help also (at least at the check-in, Mr DGARatsass is out of our control!)
Also, if possible, no connecting flights just reduces the risk of damage simply from less times being handled.
and of course, various airlines have hugely different rules and fees, so do your research before buying a good deal of a ticket--"oh and yes Ma'am, that will be $200 each way to take your bike" sort of surprise....

dmeans2anend

Hi DJB,

Thank you so very much for taking the time to offer me great tips on how to pack a bike for air travel. It is most handy. I will definitely refer to it.

In fact, I've cut and paste your entire comment, sent it in an email to myself with the content and filed it in a folder in Gmail under Bike Packing Tips. Now, I'll always have it at my finger tips and can refer to it anywhere I am at in the world.

I use to go to a nice bike shop locally and had great relationship with all the mechanics. They were great guys and I learned a lot from them. In return, I would bring beer and pizza for them in gratitude and we had fun time simply shooting the breeze. Unfortunately, it recently went out of business so I'll have to find another shop. I fairly competent now in wrenching on my own bike. Anything that I don't know, I can usually find an answer online or on Youtube.

I totally agree with you about the simple gesture of a smile. I've travel to over 40 countries and have worked in 3 (Japan, Indonesia, and India) and it is amazing how a far a smile can get you even if you don't speak the language. I've been invited to weddings, dinners, and other events just because I took the time to smile, show sincere interest, and have conversation.

I recently learned that EVA Air still offers free bike baggage. It is considered one of 2 free baggage checks. Luckily, Eva Air flies to the two countries I'm really interested in visiting on a bike. It is Taiwan and Japan. Because of Covid and Stay-At-Home orders, I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos on bike travel overseas while working out on the Treadmill. It's amazing what you can learn from others on their trips: Terrain, weather, culture, services, safety, etc.

djb

hey no problem. Hope it helps a bit. Thats too bad about the bike store, my fav store from here closed a few years ago and it was a drag.
I really do recommend maybe one day just getting a bike box and trying out packing your bike, just for giggles. I tend to have to remember how to do stuff each time, and am always surprised by how long I mess around trying things that don't work and then remembering , oh yeah, thats how I did it....etc etc.
I'll look out and take a photo of my batch of plastic protection doo dads that I have kept from my last trips, and even carried along with me on trips, just because they are so handy and they dont really weigh anything, and also because I've often taken an additional bag on top of my rear bags, with ample room to stick this stuff.

re working on your own bike, check out the Parks Tools video series, they make top quality bike mechanic tools, and their youtube stuff is really well made, and you can be sure of the techniques--really good references to stuff.

and another yup on the smile. I too have had all kinds of wonderful interactions with people when travelling, and a smile is a big part of that.

djb

disc protector thingee, tape it on (no tape directly on disc though)
rd protector thingee, it slides on
fork spacer, super important. look at this one, last trip it got a bang good enough that it cracked it. Im glad I had put some foam under it and taped the foam to it and the fork.

and zip ties to hold wheel up against frame, with hub in open triangle of frame. to hold bars in place, hold foam bits in place too.
I take spare zip ties for return, again, no weight really and I dont have to source them. I buy new tape on location for return boxing.

Tourist in MSN

Unless you have a steel frame, pull the rear derailleur off the bike to ship it. Much less chance of a hanger getting bent out of alignment. I was on a ACA bike trip three years ago, of the dozen or so people, three had bent rear derailleur hangers. Since I had worked in a bike shop, they all came to me for fixes, but I refused to try to reallign any bent replaceable hangers because if I broke one, the trip would have ended for that person.

And, if you pull the rear derailleur, might as well pull the chain off too and put that in a ziplock. If a quick link was used, be careful to not lose part of the quick link.

But steel frames, only once have I seen a steel frame bike with a replaceable hanger, typically the hanger that is part of the frame can be bent back without fear of breaking a hanger.

Pre-covid, I often asked at the Dr or dentist office if I could get a few extra pair of disposable gloves for bike repair, they were always happy to give me a few. But right now, that stuff is worth gold, so I probably will not be asking for any for another year. But those gloves come in handy to pack and reassemble a bike.

Pick up a bag of zip ties, they are only a buck at Dollar Tree. Useful for tying parts of a bike together for packing. A side cutter pliers or toe nail cliper is good for quick removal. Bring enough on your trip for the return flight home. If they are too short, put two together to make them twice as long.

When I pack a bike for airline travel I like to document the condition before I give it to the airlines with my camera, that includes the bike as packed together in a bundle before I close up the case or before I put the bike into the box. I have not needed to pull out my camera to argue about condition, fortunately, but documentation never hurts. I have shown an airline employee what my bag looked like on my camera screen when they were trying to locate my lost bag, it was useful for that purpose too.

dmeans2anend

Thanks for the great info! It'll save me a ton of research on how to pack my bike for air travel.

DJB: Would you know the name of the disc protector thingee? I check on Amazon under disc protector and found this but it doesn't look like yours with the other parts:
https://www.amazon.com/160mm-Zipp-Di...-goods&sr=1-10

RD Protector --
https://www.amazon.com/Bopworx-Detac...1BUGQO4S&psc=1

Tourist in MSN: Pulling the RD and putting it all back and getting the bike fined tuned again is probably above my wheelhouse. I don't trust myself to do it all right. I am in the process of trying to buy a 'spare' RD hanger for my repair kit. I think it is a good idea to have on hand . Brilliant idea on the before and after packing photos to document and protect on any future claims. I will definitely do that.

On the PC ride, I packed disposable gloves in my cleaning kit to clean my chains and gearing regularly. (I'm fairly anal about clean chains and gearing. :0) I never got my hands greasy and was the envy of the camp group when they saw my gloves. It's amazing how simple little things become luxury when you're roughing it. ;0)

djb

Oops, I wasn't clear. These plastic doohickies and doodads and thingees come on new bikes inside the box. The store employee takes all the foam and these plastic things and chuck them in the garbage or recycling, and flattens the big cardboard box and chucks it out too.

So don't buy something, just ask at a bike store that hopefully has some new bikes......I write this and I hope there are some new arriving bikes.....

I was given this stuff and a bunch of similar ones a few years back at a bike store, when I was prepping my first disc bike for a trip. It's all recycling garbage to the store guys, so it shouldn't be that hard to get some. The disc protector things come in different sizes as diff bikes have various sized rotors. The rd one is a neat design, as the flat part goes up against the inside of the box.
I think these things are pretty standard bits though.

re zip ties, they are great, and I just use a small knive to cut them off.
good point about using two of you don't have a long enough one.

that's pretty neat the traveling you've done, not to mention the working. Those are parts of the world I've never been to (India, Asia) so must have been quite fascinating life experiences.

dmeans2anend

DJB: Your tips just get better!!! I love FREE and the fact that I get to repurpose garbage to be used and reused is icing on the cake. There is a REI locally with a little bike shop in it. I'm sure they wouldn't mind giving me a bike box and the plastic pieces if I request it.

Yes, I been quite fortunate to have travelled as much as I have. After college, I went all over Western Europe. Then when I was working and had some funds, I made it a personal goal to see at least one new country every year. For a while, with work and such, I was seeing 2 to 3 new countries a year. However, the work schedule was grueling with 70 to 80 hour weeks and fairly intense deadlines so I didn't always get much opportunity to see the countries that I was working in. Luckily, I accumulate enough overtime and vacation to see other countries. I really enjoy Asia because it is so different to Western culture such that you really feel like you're traveling. Also, I'm a big foodie and I love all sorts of Asian food (Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc). I think my priorities for travelling is 1) physical adventure, 2) great food, and 3) interesting culture. If I can do those 3 things, I'm there.

Tourist in MSN

From the photo of your bike, that is a very small frame size. Thus, should easily be able to get a bike box. But once you get one that fits like a glove, keep notes on the exact size so you can request a box that fits your needs in the future. Asking a bike shop in advance means that they can put a note on a bike box for their mechanics, so when that bike is built up they can call you and say your box is ready. And ask them to keep all of the packing materials with the box as Djb noted.

I do not know what the finish on your titanium bike is like but if it is the kind of finish you need to be careful to avoid scratching, I have heard that food cling wrap (example: saran wrap or glad cling wrap) is a good way to protect bike surfaces for shipping. I have not used it, only commenting on what I have heard. I have only shipped my S&S bike and that is an expedition bike, it is expected to have some nicks and scrapes. And my titanium bike has a finish that hides scratches quite well.

Looks like a carbon fork. I do not know if they need any special care when packing or not, I have never owned a carbon bike or fork. (I put a steel fork on my titanium touring bike.) But at a minimum I would wrap that with something so that nothing can abrade it.

When I bought my road bike, I am the one that took it out of the bike box from the factory. Took photos of it as it came out of the box, photos are below. Thus, this represents the way a bike manufacturer packs bikes.





Looks like they just used a plastic protector over the skewer to protect rear derailleur. I bought this three years ago, do not remember the details, but this bike has a steel frame, thus no replaceable hanger, the hanger is part of the frame.

Second photo, small box had a lot of parts like the front skewer, etc. You can see they used zip ties to hold the front wheel to the frame. In this case, seat and seatpost were packed separate, not in the frame and not zip tied to it.

Or just pay a bike shop to box it for you. But it is a good idea to know how to do it yourself in case you need to pack it in a foreign country to come home.

dmeans2anend

Tourist in MSN: Thank you especially with your photos, it gives me some guidance on packing. I actually bought my bike from someone (my bike angel) in another state on CGOAB and gave me a great deal. I had a bike shop pack and ship it to me. When I received it, I never thought to take photos or to look at how it was packed. I was just so excited to get the bike that it was like X-mas with bubble wrap screwned all over the living room floor. Luckily, there were no issues with the shipping. I now know better with DJB and your wise input not to do that again but document and learn from how it is packed. The bike is small (49cm) so luckily, I won't have issues finding a box to fit. However, it never occur to me to that a well fit box like a glove would be better. It just makes total common sense now to avoid shifting and movement of the bike. I am definitely someone that likes to do for myself if I can. Practicing packing as DJB suggested and learning how is something I will definitely do before I travel.

It is a carbon fork so I know that I will have to protect that really well. I was thinking of getting two pieces of PVC pipes and just sticking each fork into it when I pop off the front tire. Also, if I do take off the RD per suggestion, I could probably stick that safely in a short segment of PVC (cut in half like clamshell) too protect it and zip tie it all to the bike as well.

Questions:

1) Do you suggest leaving the rear rack (Old Man Mountain using quick skewer and upper eyelets) on the bike packing it all? Or do you normally, take the rear rack off completely from the bike and pack it separately in the box?

2) Regarding your suggestion on taking the RD off, did you mean to simply undo the hardware but still have the RD attached to the cables on the bike and just wrap that really well? If so, I can definitely do that and take the chain off. I like that idea a lot! But I'm not sure if doing so would change the tuning on the bike? Just not sure since I have a Wolf Tooth Tanpan (inline adaptor) and a long RD on the bike from the conversion to get better gearing. It is kind of bulky back there. I call it my bike with 'junk in the trunk'. Or did you mean to have the RD taken off completely with cables detached? That is where I feel I'm probably not adapt to do it.

P.S. My road bike now is Specialized Ruby Pro with full carbon and Dura Ace components. For years, I road an older bike with low grade components and enjoyed riding it a lot not knowing any better. I started riding with a group of friends that all had high end bikes and were all really avid riders. We road a lot. However, I was always last coming up the hills. They knew of my ability and highly encouraged me to upgrade to full carbon and go Dura Ace. I resisted because of the insane cost and the suppose 'uppity' attitude associated with high end bikes. But when I found an amazing deal on an 'used' Specialized Ruby Pro, I pulled the trigger. OMGosh, my riding changed overnight. The shifting was so smooth and easy especially on hill climbs. I was no longer last to come up those hills and even came first now and then which was so refreshing. With the new found confidence and joy, I started riding so much more. Carbon is not for everyone and it is not necessary. But for someone like me that like to keep up with the 'boys' and beat their socks off once in a while, it is joyful.

djb

Tourist will answer stuff but I'll add this quickly before I forget.

re front fork when you take front wheel off---the plastic "brace" that fits into the space the front wheel fits into, the front dropouts, is super important to have in place (and stay in place) because it stops the forks from getting squeezed together if the box is on its side and suitcases piled ontop of it (Ive seen this done to my bikebox after I got out of the plane and could see them doing this as they unloaded the plane I just got off)

think of holding your fingers in a "peace sign", "V for victory" etc. The brace will stop the fingers from being able to be pushed towards each other from the side. Your fork really does not want to be squished together like this.....a well stuck in fork brace does the trick. I recommend putting some tape to hold it in place, and also the forementioned piece of foam underneath it to act as a shock absorber for a "whack" if it happens.

re rear rack. I've never had to remove a rear rack. Bikes have always fit into the box with the rack low enough to easily close box. My wifes bike is a smaller one like yours, hers is a XS and the rack was fine attached in a smaller bike box. One of the other advantages to a physically smaller box is that its just plain easier moving around. Easier to fit into a car, or on the airport carts and getting through doors etc.
Tourists recommendation of noting the box dimensions that work for your bike is a good one. Again, just nice to know what works for when you are scrounging for a return box if you have to do this for a return. Dimensions are often marked on the box somewhere.
Oh, for getting a box, its an advantage NOT to get one that has been completely flattened, ie you want the bottom to be still factory stapled together. They are stapled together rather strongly, so its just one less thing to have to do, not worrying about the bottom opening up if you only tape it and don't do a great job of it. So this is ideal, but sometimes you have to get what you can, so then lots of tape is prudent, and do a good strong job of taping is always a better option than skimping on it.

djb

Tourist, thats funny to see your photo. I also have an old Grumman canoe. Heavy son of a gun but a good stable trip canoe. I think I remarked on this once before, but seeing it behind your bike made me laugh.
cheers

djb

Santa Maria thats a gruelling work schedule. That must get tiresome after a while, or at least pretty darn wearing.
As for travelling, well we certainly are the winners of the life lottery for being born in First World countries aren't we? and having the opportunity to travel and see the world? It is pretty neat seeing new places and cultures, and travelling by bicycle while doing this is a unique way of doing so. It certainly gives us very different interactions with locals when you pull up on a push-bike, not stepping out of a tour bus or even a car. I got hooked on the whole bike touring thing a long time ago, and try to fit it in when I can, family and life obligations aside. Like you say, combining a physical adventure along with all the fascinating culture aspects is a really satisfying experience. One that I do my best to hopefully keep doing for a good while (touch wood, touch wood)

Tourist in MSN

In my case, I took the photos because the factory box was somewhat crushed. Maybe a forklift accident in the warehouse? I got the bike at better than half price, I suspect because the damage to the box. But I was lucky, the bike was undamaged. The bike in the photos is branded as a Raleigh, but it was made by Ritchey, it is a Break Away frame. The frame can be split in half to pack in a smaller case or box. It came with a padded case in the same bike box, and the box was huge. The damage to the box crushed the padded case a bit, but the case bounced right back when it came out of the box.

You said PVC over the fork legs, I think wrapping flexible foam packing around is likely better. But when you say PVC, I am thinking plastic plumbing drain pipe, if you meant the clear plastic flexible tubing, that clear tubing would be good too. In the photo, it is hard to tell unless you look close, but the fork is turned backwards so the dropouts are closer to the back of the bike.

Keep the rear rack on. If you put a front rack on, that you might want to remove to make sure that the fork is not damaged, being a carbon fork.

Leave the derailleur attached to the cables and wrap it really well. Removed means that it does not stick out where an impact could bend the hanger, that is the main point of removing it, to protect the hanger. Reassembling means that you have to thread the chain through it the right way. I often get my chain on the wrong side of a tab on the derailleur cage and have to re-do it.

Remove the front skewer. I met a couple of Italians in Iceland that had just arrived, they must have packed their bikes together, both left the skewers in the front wheels and both of them had bent skewers, hard to replace a skewer in Reykjavik on a Sunday.

Djb mentioned the plastic fork protector that goes in the dropouts. That also is intended to make sure that the dropouts do not punch holes in the box and stick out the bottom.

When I travel somewhere with my bike packed in the S&S case, on my phone is a series of six or eight photos showing the sequence of how I pack the bike so I can remember. This is what my travel bike looks like packed, the frame can be split to fit in a smaller case, fork removed (and I have a photo on my phone with all the headset parts in the correct order on the fork), it is a tight fit.



If you had any concerns about getting your chain through the derailleur cage correctly, take a photo so you can see how the chain loops through it first.

***

The Grumman is the 18 foot lightweight, vintage 1976 according to the serial number. I bought it new in 1980, it apparently had been in inventory for four years. I bought a Wenonah Minnesota II in the mid 90s started using that instead, the Grumman has not been in the water since then. But I really do not want to sell it, you can't replace a good boat like that any more.

I think it weighs in at 66 pounds, probably add a pound for the portage yoke. In that era, the hull thickness was 0.050 inch for the standard weight or whitewater models, but the lightweight like mine is 0.032 inch thick, thus quite flexible, mine needs 9 ribs in the bottom to give the hull shape. On wavy lakes the 17 footer bobbed around like a cork but the 18 did not pitch as much and handles rough seas much better.

djb

yes, the 66lb comment makes me remember us having this conversation once.
Ya, mine is a regular 17 footer, identical to the type we did all our family trips on as a kid, and we used to do little trips with our kids when they were young, so I too don't want to sell it just because of the memories and associated memories. I'm fairly certain it weighs 75lbs ish. I just remember as a teenager, I could barely carry it by myself, then probably only weighing 125, and I sure wouldnt want to do it myself now, old but not much heavier.....

dmeans2anend

DJB & Tourist in MSN:

I can't thank you both enough for all the great tips and clarification to my questions. On my own, I definitely would not have considered all the critical points that you have highlighted. Packing a bike is definitely more of a science than I had thought.

With your comments about suitcases potentially being tossed on top of bike boxes and getting it crushed, I think I might just invest in a used Thule Bike Box. I see them now and then in Craigslist for about $75 to $100. I like the fact that they have little wheels in the back so I can easily transfer the bike box a bit easier to and from the airport.

Do you think this is a good idea or is there a downside with it? The only downside that I can guess is that there is a bit more weight due to the case and the airline may charge base on total weight. I checked with EVA Air and it states that the bike box is :

• Regardless of the actual dimensions, this may be considered as a piece of baggage at 158cm/62in.(one piece only per passenger) (So I'm guessing there is also no weight restriction on it? But can't be sure. )

I know that they often have size restrictions but do you know if airlines charge also by weight?

djb

Again, glad to be of some help.
seems to me there always is a weight limit, I don’t recall what it tends to be, but usually I’ve checked the specific airlines "sports equipment or bike" info webpage and it’s usually fairly clear.
‘possibly 50 lbs often?
ive always made sure the bike box is a bit under their number.

so yes, the total weight thing could be an issue, but your bike is probably quite light. My touring bike with both racks, fenders is about 30lbs, a bit over maybe.

the next obvious issue is flying back from another city or country, so not ideal one of these hard cases. I’ve done numerous trips like this,so a hard case just wouldn’t work unless one arranged to ship it somewhere, but that’s either an added cost or even just not practical, like when I did a few trips in central America and Mexico.

Tourist in MSN

Airlines always have weight limits. I think most common are 50 pound or 23 kg. But, a few low budget airlines use 20 kg, so unless you have traveled that airline before, check the exact numbers. Also, some airlines allow 70 pounds for an extra weight fee which can be waived for high mileage customers, my sister used to travel a lot and her weight limit was 70 instead of 50 pounds. But many airlines do not allow any package over the weight limit. Check the airline website.

A good luggage scale is the travelers best friend, you do not want to be standing at ticketing trying to remove a few pounds that you do not have room for elsewhere when there is a long line. I try to aim for 49 pounds since you never know when the luggage scale and airline scale will not exactly agree. Add up the weight of the Thule case and your bike to see if it works. My bike that is packed in my S&S Backpack in the photo posted above, that bike and case exceed the weight limits. My pedals, saddle, rear rack and a few other things have to be packed in my other carry on bag. I find that I am weighing the bag several times before I hand it over to the airline.

Being small, I can certainly understand why you want a wheeled case, and that case might be small enough to fit in the back seat of a small car since both wheels have to come off the bike to fit.

But that means that all trips must be loops, or use mass transit to get back to where your case is stored. Some people have shipped cases to their tour destination without a problem but that adds more logistics and costs. My trips where I flew with my bike, I stored the case in a motel storage room where they stored other bike boxes. I showed a photo above of my bike in my S&S backpack case, I have taken the side panels out of that to make that only a couple inches thick when I left other stuff in the case and stored that in hostel luggage rooms a couple times. But hostels want luggage that is stored there for very long to be smaller than that Thule case, they might say no. I always try to make sure that there will be a place for my luggage storage before I buy my plane ticket. As a general rule, I would expect that a mid-range to higher priced hotel would store the Thule case for several weeks where a hostel would refuse to do so. That said, you have more travel experience than me so maybe you know better on that, as I am guessing on that. I have had budget motels tell me on the phone that they do not have any luggage storage room at all.

The photo is my S&S backpack case as I stored it at a hostel for five weeks. Inside I also had my backpack that I used as my other piece of checked luggage. It is much thinner because I removed the side pieces that give it structure. I added 26 X 26 inch corroplastic sheets in top and bottom, if I had not done that it could be folded much smaller, but if that was a deal breaker, I could crease the corroplast and make it smaller if I had to. With my other stuff in it, I think it is about 2 to 3 inches thick in the photo.



Back to your size question, most USA airlines use the same 62 inch criteria, and then there are other larger criteriia that might trigger higher fees or be an absolute no-travel point, I think I have seen a 115 inch number for one airline, but each airline has different criteria, that Thule case likely can fly on all airlines, but airlines that have a oversize fee for exceeding the 62 inch criteria would likely charge for that Thule case.

EXCEPT: some flights use very small aircraft and on those flights they might not allow anything bigger than 62 inches. But it is unlikely you would travel on such plans for a bike trip, but you need to be aware of that to avoid the smallest planes. Years ago for work I did have to travel on such small planes, so I know they exist.

That Thule case, racks would come off, water bottle cages might come off, etc.

Since you are storing the case somewhere, it makes sense to store some shop sized tools with it instead of trying to do everything with a tiny little multi-tool.

I use blue (removable) threadlocker on all rack bolts. There are a variety of brands, last time I bought any, this is what I bought.
https://www.truevalue.com/6-ml-remov...hread-locker-1

Not everybody uses threadlocker, some bike shops do not have a bottle anywhere in the shop. But I recommend it on rack bolts, shoe cleat bolts, On my Lynskey, I wished that the manufacturer had used it on the replaceable dropout screws, they did not and to make a long story short, I had to add it myself.

I should have said this earlier but forgot. Sometimes pedals are threaded on REALLY tight. I often check my pedals a few days before I flew to make sure that they were loose enough that I could remove them with the tools I had, so I was not in a crisis at the last minute unable to get a pedal off. But they do need to be wrenched tight enough on the bike to use them. A friend of mine had to have a bike shop unthread his pedals. I assume you know that one pedal is left hand thread. I loaned my pedal wrench to a couple other cyclists at the campground in Reykjavik when they had trouble getting their pedals off at the end of a trip.

I assume you have flown with camping gear before, so I assume you are aware of camp stoves and airport security. But if not:
https://www.msrgear.com/blog/flying-...camping-stove/

In Halifax NS, a Canadian security inspector asked me to remove my stove that she saw on the X ray, she said if she could smell any fuel she had to confiscate it, it was a butane mix type of stove. I dug it out, handed it to her, she sniffed it and handed it back to me to repack.