Winfried

Hello,

As a more efficient and comfortable alternative to a folding bike for touring, I'm looking into a bike à la rinkō that could be taken apart in a few minutes down to 120*90cm (47*35") per local restrictions for taking a bike on the train, using just Allen keys or even quick-release attachments.

Wheels already come with quick-release axles, and the seat + handlebar can be turned/removed with Allen keys. And very light and compact bike covers are available (Buds, TranZbag, Odspter, Kori Kori, etc.)

That leaves fenders and front/rear racks.

Are there good solutions you would recommend?

I'd rather go for disk brakes, either mechanical or hydraulic, if they don't make it too hard for that purpose.

Thank you.

Tourist in MSN

Wheel diameter, is it 700c?

On my road bike I can quickly attach SKS Raceblade Pro XL fenders for my 28mm tires. I do not think tires much wider would fit. They are designed to be attached with quick release elastics, but you can permanently attach with zip ties according to the instructions. They are not "full" fenders, but do an 80 percent job instead.

Rack capacity in weight? Do you need to carry more than you can on a rack that clamps to the seatpost? Similar capacity instead could be had with a big Carradice saddle bag as a different option.

I have a smaller Pendle Carradice saddlebag and handlebar bag on my road bike in the photo, plus the Raceblade fenders. My Carradice is hanging from a shimmed long 17 degree stem and DIY support I made from aluminum rod, not an off the shelf product you can buy. Frame size is 58 or 59 cm, a shorter frame size might not work with my DIY support.



Closeup of the rear fender:



If you needed a compact rear rack, Racktime makes two versions of the Foldit rack that can be disassembled for more compact travel. But that is a lot more assembly and disassembly than you might want for frequent train rides.

Germany_chris

Rinko fenders..I believe Honjo makes some

headwind15

There are fenders called "clip on fenders" that slide on and off brackets that mounts to seat stay bridges and through fork crowns.

Tourist in MSN

If you pack your bike in a bag after removing the fork, have a photo on your phone of all the headset parts in the correct order. That may save you time if you loose track of what goes where. Or a copy of the manufacturer exploded diagram. I carry both on my phone when I tour with my S&S bike. Plus I put all the headset parts on the fork in the correct order and orientation, and keep them there with a rubber band while packed.

One of your links had a short video, which I just watched. He had a LONG skewer that went through both wheels. I have no clue where you could find that, but you can buy M5 threaded rod at some hardware stores, that and some thumbscrews might work.

MKS makes some pedals that have a quick release mechanism, look for MKS EZY pedals. I use those on my folding bike.

Winfried

I haven't bought the bike yet, so am open to suggestions. I'm 1,75m (5'9) tall and have an inseam of 84cm, so usually go for 52-54cm seat tubes. I have no preference for either 26 or 28" wheels, although I might need wider tires than 28mm to ride off-road..

I need to carry about 10kg worth of clothes + toiletries + tools, about 4kg for the camping gear, plus enough food + water for the day, for a grand total of about 16-17kg (38lbs).

Items:

• Clip-on fenders: SKS Raceblade Pro XL, Honjo
• Saddle bag, or panniers + removable front/rear rack (eg. Axiom Streamliner)
• Handlebar bag
• Folding/removable pedals: MKS, etc.
• Dropout spacers (eg. Scicon)
• Remove rear derailleur, strap to frame (alternative: gear hub, possibly with a belt instead of a chain)

I can use a chain holder + skewer to take care of that part, but how would you protect the rear derailleur from getting hit?

I probably won't need to remove the fork to get down to 120*90cm.

The 260mm-long, 5mm thick skewer in the video was bought at a hardware store.

Tourist in MSN

This website just deleted a bunch of my text when it told me to re-sign in again. I am not going to try to restore the whole list, I will just say that I remove the chain and the derailleur if I am packing a bike that has a removable derailleur hanger. The hanger is designed to be the weak link that prevents frame damage if the derailleur is hit. And I carry a spare hanger too. My other suggestions, not trying to restore them, sorry.

JohnJ80

Just unbolt the RD keeping the chain run through it and use velcro ties and padding and strap it down in the rear triangle and to a chain stay. Super easy.

Winfried

Sorry about that. Partly for that reason, I use Notepad and copy/paste.

I'll add "Remove rear derailleur, strap to frame" to the list.

Thanks.

veloz

I've had the SKS Raceblade Pro XL's for several years and really like them. They just fit over my 35mm Paselas - I run them a tad high off the tire. They go on in literally one minute and are 90% as effective as my full fender Zefals. For touring racks, we like Axiom streamliners and they go on and off in a couple minutes (4 bolts). We've used them off road quite a bit, plenty of rough gravel with Ortlieb rollers. Good foot clearance too.

skidder

Is that what you have to do to take a bicycle on a train in France? That looks like a lot of disassembly for carrying on a train. Nothing that extensive is required here in the USA on our Amtrak system.

Recommendation for the dropouts on both the rear and the fork - cut out some circular discs of wood and secure those to the dropouts with a QR skewer (or with nuts/bolts and washers) to protect them from damage when your bicycle is being moved and bumped in transit. The discs can be about 15cm/6 inches diameter, and since they can be made cheaply they are easy to discard at you destination (or easy to pack if you'll be using a train for your return trip, too).

JohnJ80

Forgot to add, depending on the case you have, put in dummy axles. I cut a piece of PVC plastic pipe to fit around the either the skewer or axle and then clamp it in place with the QR skewer or with the thru axle. The rear triangle and fork are both quite strong EXCEPT to forces that try to squeeze the dropouts together.

Winfried

Only when no storage is available for full bikes, or you don't want to pay extra. Unfortunately, this is increasingly frequent due to the national train company wanting to make more money by removing bike storage, and an increasing number of people taking a bike with them. Every year on popular routes, some people are prevented from boarding because the train's full of bikes.

Which is why I've been touring with a Brompton for some years now, but some trips would be nicer with a regular, full-size bike.

I added a "dropout spacers" item to the list. Thanks.

Ross200

I have seen quick release set up for ESGE/SKS fenders using Tenax fasteners at the fork crown and rear brake bridge with the securiclips on front and rear fender stays. No tools needed-5 second removal.

Very creative Rinko fender adapters are out there for metal fenders.

CliffordK

I had my bike packed somewhat like that in Italy years ago, and was kicked off the train in the middle of the night. At a small "locale" stop, last train of the night as the station rapidly shut down.

Hopefully they've changed their attitude towards bicycles in the years since then.

It might be best if you had some kind of oversized lightweight duffel that the whole thing would fit into so it it would not immediately be recognizable as a bicycle.

Ripstop nylon?

PDKL45

Maybe a dedicated folding bike with luggage options to match? You often don't need to remove racks and fenders from 20" folders (edit: while the pictured bikes may have 16") while folded.

Tourist in MSN

With those generous size criteria, you could also consider larger folders. I have never taken my folder on a train, but the first fold only takes a couple minutes. Mine is an Airnimal Joey with 24 inch wheels that I built up over a decade ago, the more current Airnimals have disc brake on one or two wheels but my older one has rim brakes on both. The company is in the UK, not sure if the UK and EU have figured out yet how to conduct trade, and with the current shortages in parts I have no idea if you can even buy one.

I posted this on the folding board a couple years ago.
https://www.bikeforums.net/20336169-post735.html

And more detail on folding it and estimated dimensions.
https://www.bikeforums.net/21775501-post29.html

Unladen, I find that this bike handles as well as a full size bike.

One downside of folders is the smaller wheels often means shorter chain stays, thus the panniers if you use rear panniers are further behind the axle than normal, which is a weight distribution that can somewhat impair handling.

I have not toured on this bike but I have considered it, I fitted a Racktime Foldit Adjustable rack to the rear, that would work with my panniers, I had to buy the extra long rack stays for that rack to work. I have a Sram Dual Drive rear hub fitted to the bike, my version of the bike could not be fitted with a front derailleur so I needed the Dual Drive (now discontinued) for wider gearing, but they redesigned the frame, new ones can be fitted with a front derailleur. In my case, the Dual Drive means that the bottom of the pannier has to be above the axle for the gear mechanism to function properly, thus the rack is up pretty high. I did not try folding it with the rack but I saw no reason that it would not work. But folding it with the rack on it would of course change the folded dimensions.

Photo with rack below:



I do not think I would want to weigh this bike down with as much camping gear as I have put on my other touring bikes, but if you are doing train travel you are already trying to minimize the pieces of luggage you haul around too, perhaps not camping at all.

Winfried

Thanks for the tips.

I already have a folder, and I wanted to investigate if a regular bike could be taken apart easily + fast enough to fit that 120*90cm requirements.