I need some guidance from people who travel with their bikes. I've read old posts, and I know I'm bringing up a subject that's been covered quite a bit before. I'm debating a coupled frame for some occasional travel for work and vacations. I go to about 1-3 conferences for work per year, none international, a few in-state within Texas, but some in west and east coast. At these events, I'm always stuck in the hotel room after a day at the conference, wondering how nice it would be to go for a ride.
I built up a
Velo-Orange Neutrino(Mini Velo with 20 inch wheels) for its packability and nostalgia(I had a folding bike when I was little) last year. I haven't traveled with it yet since all the conferences have been virtual this past year, but the bike now has a rack, basket, fenders, which makes it more of a hassle to break down, especially since fenders are such a pain for me to setup. I haven't bought a case for it yet, but apparently it fits into a BMX bike bag. And it seems that BMX riders have gone out of their way to make some travel bags that look like golf club bags to avoid airline fees, which I think is absolutely brilliant and hilarious.
About me:
I mostly stick to paved roads, ride alone, non-competitively. I have 3 bikes, no car, early in my career. I want to eventually travel across the country more in the next few years before settling down, buying a house, etc. I have hopes of traveling to Europe and bikepacking/credit card touring, visiting family in Asia and touring my home country as well. I'm mechanically inclined enough to be able to pack and unpack the bikes. I build & maintain all my bikes myself, so that's not a concern.
I'm trying my best to not have too much overlap in bikes since I still live with roommates, and need to keep my bikes in my rather small room(I'm considering keeping the travel bike in its case if space is a huge concern). I'm trying my best to look for a used travel bike, but haven't had much luck. It also seems like retro-fitting couplers onto a production bike seems exceedingly expensive. When you factor in the cost of the production frame, retro-fit couplers, repaint/touch-up, frame alignment, and the case, it comes out to the price of a decent custom frame+case. On average, a "retro-fit coupler package" seems to cost $1,500+, including a case.
My questions are:
- Are Breakaway/S&S couplers worth it for occasional travel?
- Should I just get a case for the mini velo?(Around $200)
Frame Options I've considered:
- Ritchey Outback Steel Breakaway(Overkill for my road riding, probably)
- Ritchey Carbon Road Breakaway(Steel model seems to be discontinued)
- Crust Evasion Breakaway(Single Speed, I got some spare parts to put on a single speed/fixed gear, but difficult to use for bikepacking/touring)
- Custom Coupled Frame from Overseas(Waltly Titanium, Marino Bike, etc.)
What I'm thinking of doing:
- Get a case for the Neutrino for the next in-person conference, bring and ride the bike, see how the experience of traveling with a bike is.
- If it's a good experience, and I want the ability to ride drop bars, get a set of drop bars, shifters, brake calipers, and derailleur, keep them in the travel box
- The next time I travel, I can break down the Neutrino and choose between drop bars or up right bars depending on the type of ride I expect to be doing
- If it's a bad experience, look into a Ritchey Breakaway or a Custom coupled bike
Does this make sense?