Originally Posted by
Samcls04
.... (I have thought about a full-sized bike with S&S couplers, but I'm leaning toward a Bike Friday).
Do not rule out Ritchey Break Away bikes. That is another bike coupling system. It is less robust that the S&S system, but for a road bike it is perfectly adequate.
The Ritchey case is slightly bigger than the 62 inch criteria that most USA airlines use for oversize. I do not know what size criteria you would have to follow for the airlines you use in Canada. I have only flown Air Canada once, and I used my S&S bag for that. The Ritchey case is close enough to the 62 inch criteria, that the Ritchey owners that I have talked to have generally not had to pay the oversize fee when flying on USA airlines.
The two bikes below belonged to a couple I met five years ago in Iceland. I had my S&S bike, lots of gear. They chose to pack very light and rode their Ritchey Break Away bikes with bike packing gear. They said that their only checked luggage was their two bike cases, they had put some of their other gear in the cases and then the rest was carried on.
Originally Posted by
Samcls04
Those are all great bike recommendations. For touring with a Bike Friday, I have thought about both panniers and the travelcase - has anyone tried both? How much does the case slow you down? It probably wouldn't matter too much given my speed and daily mileage.
The Airnimal is a beautiful bike - I can see how it would be useful for triathlons. I don't know if it would work for touring too though. :/
Has anyone had derailleur problems in packable bikes? It seems vulnerable.
By travelcase, do you mean pulling the suitcase behind on wheels? If so, I can't see that as being slower than panniers. But it does mean that you have three tire tracks instead of one, so where there are potholes or road debris, that is an issue to consider.
I think rear derailleurs should be removed from the frame before packing for most bikes. Otherwise you can bend the hanger. Most steel bikes do not have replaceable hangers, but I think every non-steel bike I have seen has a replaceable hanger.
I suspect that the number of people that have toured on an Airnimal is pretty small. But it has been done for credit card touring. And Airnimal has cited a past Airnimal that was on a podium for a triathalon.
The Airnimal has 24 inch wheels. To pack that into a case that does not trigger oversize fees, you likely have to do more disassembly and re-assembly of the bike than you would with a Bike Friday with 20 inch wheels.
I have an Airnimal Joey (a different model than the one cited above) and it takes me almost as much time to pack that for air travel as it takes to pack my S&S bike.