Sujee.net : Outdoors : Biking : S&S

I got my road bike Bianchi Eros (2003) fitted with S&S. Jon Tallerico of Bicycle outfitter did an outstanding job. Coupling my bike was very not straight forward, as my front-lower frame is an OVAL shape (see the picture below)! But Jon did an terrific job.

S & S couplers home page

My experience in travelling with my S&S bike is below

Trips I had done with my S&S bike

• Jun 2003 : Vancouver, Canada - my first trip with S&S bike. Went without a hitch. Rode around Victoria. More ride details.

Pictures

Traveling with S&S carry bag

Total packing time : 1 hour tops (it took me 3 hours+ for the first time!)

Soft Carry bag

• Bicycle out fitter has sold hundreds of these and people loved them.
• cheaper ($300) compared to the hard case ($750)
• is more flexible than hard case
• you can stuff the outter pockets with cloths..this will
  1. cushion the bag and minimize the impact
  2. reduce the amount of stuff you need to carry in luggage :-)

Before you pack

• the soft case comes with two rolls of protective foam. Cut them to fit your bike frames.
• get yourself a pedal wrench to remove / put-on pedals
• have your S&S coupler wrench ready
• get teflon grease paste to grease the couplers
• get some zip-lock bags. These will help to keep all the screws, nuts & bolts secure.
• also keep a rag / old-towel inside the bag. This will be essential to wipe the grease off your hands. It will also double as a protective cover

Getting the case ready

Taking apart the bike

1. take the pedals off using the pedal wrench. Remember the 'left' side pedal (left as in when you are riding the bike) comes loose when you rotate it clock wise (un-conventional). This puzzled me for a while!
2. take the seat post off
3. take wheels off and also take off the quick release axles. (the rear axle is longer)
4. take off water bottle cages & any other attachments
5. disconnect the cables (brake / gear) using the 'screws' provided. It is also a good idea to tie the cables with the frame at this point. This will prevent cables from getting tangled up.
6. loosen the S&S couplers. You need the S&S wrench only for the first couple of twists. Then it can be loosened by hand. This is also a good test that coupler threads are in good shape.
7. now apply the protective foam
8. also remove the chain rear-de-raileur (sp?)
9. take off the handle bar. Be a little careful with this step. A tall screw joins the handle bar and the fork. You may need to remove this. There are ball-bearings at both ends that you need to contain. After removing the tall screw, don't move this part around. Also you will have some plastic rings at the top of handle bar. Take these off and put them securely in the zip-lock bag.

Packing the bike

1. lay down the front frame. You may need to twist the fork a little to lay it flat. The handle bar can be set 'up or down'
2. Now place the rear wheel on top. You may have to deflate it a little to enable an easy fit. Secure the handlebar through the spokes (look picture). Also use a piece of cushion between sprocket(sp?) and frame. This will prevent the sprocket chiping the frame. I used 2 pieces of regifoam lying around. One side of the wheel will be touching the bottom of the bag.
3. now set the rear frame and make sure the rear-deraileur is where the wheel is touching the base. This will make sure there is clearance for the wide section.
4. now set the front wheel. Deflate it if needed.
5. try closing the bag to make sure. If it closes without difficulty, YOU ARE DONE!
6. open the bag again and fill the room between the components with these...
   • seat
   • water bottles & water bottle cages
   • rapair kit + pedal wrench
   • zip-lock bag with all the nuts / pedals / quick releases
   • helmet (if you can, otherwise carry it with luggage)
   • pump
7. now close the bag again. Make sure nothing is prodding through.
8. stuff maximum possible cycling cloths and other clothing to the side pockets (last pic).

Checking the bag into air lines & Insurance

You can purchase insurance for your bike if you feel like it. I use American Express Premium baggage protection. I like it b/c

1. it goes into effect automatically when ever I purchase a flight ticket with my Amex Blue card. (you enrol in the program first)
2. costs only $10
3. *does* cover bikes (unlike some travel insurance, read the fine print)
4. pays upto $1000 per luggage
5. also covers the luggage while in hotel and in transit.

Putting the bike together

This is relatively straight forward than taking-apart the bike.

1. remove protective foam
2. put the handle bar
3. join the S&S couplers (tighten them with wrench)
4. tighten the rear-de-raileur
5. affix quick releases to wheels
6. snap the wheels in
7. screw on the pedals
8. connect the cables. if the cables 'seem short' adjust the gear levers untill you have lenghy enough cables.
9. attach other stuff (seat / locks / water bottle cages)

Thats it!!