Kip, I've tried all the options. I have an S&S coupled Atlantis, a touring-retrofitted Dahon Flo (the full size steel Ritchie designed mountain bike that comes apart) and a Bike Friday. My wife and I spent five weeks last Feb-March in Northern Thailand - on our Bike Fridays. We just returned from two months slow cycling in China, mostly around Beijing and Hebei province, - on the Bike Fridays. My Bike Friday, a Pocket Llama model, is matched exactly to the proportions and equipage of my Atlantis (Bike Fridays are custom built) including Albatross bars and Silver bar end shifters, same gear inches, brooks seat etc. With my bad luck the TSA repeatedly dose some damage to my bikes during inspection, usually by lifting the bike out of the case, then dropping it back in without regard to fit or shifting of lid braces and so forth (large photos are taped to the inside of the lid illustrating the proper way to replace things). Beyond the reach of the TSA, Bike Friday's are incredibly tough and versatile. My wife has an off-the-shelf Pocket Expedition similarly equipped and likes it as well as her LHT. These bikes really do travel. And when you get there you can really ride them. While I can theoretically assemble and disassemble my S&S coupled Atlantis in as little as an hour, it takes much longer when the bike will be used for fully loaded touring with fat tires, steel fenders, racks, lights, GPS mounts etc.. The Dahon has not yet traveled internationally so I don't know how well it will fare. Dahon assembly time is about the same as the Atlantis but it is easier to fit into the slightly over- sized semi-soft Dahon travel case. Bottom line: I love the Atlantis for North American touring, the Dahon for mountain trails and the Bike Friday at the checkout counter. All are excellent bikes if you can get them to where you are going without undue damage or drudgery. The best bike to have on a tour is the one you have with you. Rich Mitchell, Corvallis Oregon.
On Sep 15, 7:32 pm, Kip Otteson <kip.otte...@gmail.com> wrote: > I noticed yesterday that my kickstand was sitting at a very awkward > angle. I moved it a little and I could see that my kickstand plate > was ripping off of my frame. I have a Pletscher double kickstand on > the Bombadil and I think that when it was parked at school someone sat > on it and bent it all up. Bummer deal. I took off the kickstand and > now am really old-new school with a bike I have to lean up against > things, like in the old days. I was worried that the chainstays would > be hammered as well but they look fine. I'll have to wait till I'm > back in the states to get it fixed properly. > > BTW - I thought that if I was going to get the frame fixed I'd be > looking at sending it to Bilenky Bike Works and getting S and S > couplers fitted for a more travel friendly machine. Anybody out there > experienced converting a frame to a travel bike? > > Kip Otteson > Chiang Mai, Thailand -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
