Yes, I could have definitely loosened the cables at the brakes and derailers, but I was very inexperienced at bike maintenance at that point in time. I could change tires pretty well and remove my chain and cassette to clean and re-lube, but that was about it. Derailers, brakes and cables were black magic to me at that point in time.
I really wasn't sure where I would go once I got to France if it didn't go back together and shift and brake well. I was going for PBP2007 and not sure of what to expect once I got there. In retrospect, there are quite a few bike shops in France and I'm sure I could have found help had I needed it. I did end up removing the rear derailer. I wrapped pipe insulation around it and ran tape on top of that, then taped the protective cocoon to the seat stay. That worked well, the derailer went right back on when I got to France and shifting was as expected. Unfortunately, when I was over there, something broke that I didn't even mess with. The ratchets on my DT Swiss hub failed about 10KM from the first control. I didn't have a spare set with me. I managed to get another Campy compatible rear wheel and tweaked that one too when it came out of the dropouts when I was pulling away from a stop. I wobbled on through the rain and hills until 412.5 KM at Illyfaut, France where I said to myself "this is not fun" and caught a ride to Pontivy and ultimately the train back to Paris. Quitting PBP is one of the major regrets of my life and one that I am preparing to go back and rectify in 2015. Anyway...if you are comfortable uninstalling and reinstalling cables and adjusting derailers and brakes, it should be easy for you. The case I used was a hard shell case, I don't remember the name of it now though, sorry. It's been a few years ;) On Thu, Jan 2, 2014 at 10:59 AM, Kieran J <kjo...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hey Jim, thanks for your thoughts. Could you not have just loosened the > cables at the brakes and the derailleurs? Getting the handlebars off will > definitely be necessary, I think. > > Air Canada appears to charge $50 each way on flights, which is not too > bad. The weight and dimensions limits are also reasonable, so it might be > doable, as long as we fly with them. > Do you happen to know what box you used? Was it a plastic type hard case > jobby? > KJ > > > On Thursday, January 2, 2014 11:50:22 AM UTC-5, Jim Bronson wrote: > >> The handlebars were a problem on the 68cm custom that I own, traveling to >> France and using a hard shell plastic case that I borrowed. There was not >> enough slack in the shifter and brake cables to remove the threaded stem >> from the steerer tube. But the bike seemingly would not fit in the box >> with the handlebars and stem attached to the frame. And the fact that >> threaded quills only have one bolt for loosening and tightening didn't >> help; this is one way that threadless is superior. >> >> I finally finagled the handlebars in there somehow and used extra straps >> to keep the thing shut. Knowing what I know now, I would have just removed >> the barend shifters and disconnected the brake cables. But oh well, youth >> and inexperience, back in 2007 ;) >> >> On the way back to the US, I got a pair of pliers and cut the cables, >> that made it a lot easier to get the thing in the box. Obviously, I had to >> have new cables installed before I could ride it again. Another thing I >> didn't know how to do in 2007... >> >> If I knew I was going to ship my bike often, I would get the quick >> disconnect cables that I have seen on some bikes. I didn't need an S&S to >> make my huge frame and fork fit in a bike box and I don't suspect most >> other people do, either. If you're not going to be traveling with your >> bike much, I think just paying the oversize baggage fee makes more sense. >> It was $110 each way in 2007, little bit of an ouchy but it's much less >> than installing couplers. >> >> I would probably only get S&S couplers if I was building a custom tandem, >> which in my case would be probably near impossible to get on an airplane. >> >> Timely question. I need to start thinking about how to get my bike to >> France in 2015 again (hopefully, anyway). >> >> -Jim >> >> >> On Thu, Jan 2, 2014 at 10:16 AM, Kieran J <kjo...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Hey Y'alls, >>> >>> I'm starting to think about air travel with a bike, with the first >>> possible destination of the Bay Area this upcoming summer (hoping to >>> repatriate the Ram Dawg, at least for a visit). >>> >>> Do any of you have experience with bike boxes or bike bags, on an >>> airline? TSC/ATA cases, fabric bags, cardboard bike boxes even? >>> >>> At first, I entertained the idea of installing S&S couplers on the Ram >>> (it needs new paint anyways) but together, the retrofit would cost large >>> $$. So now I'm thinking about just flying with it, as is. The Ram is a >>> 66cm, so finding a box that would accommodate its sprawl would be one of >>> the chief concerns. >>> >>> Any good experiences? Things to avoid? Anything to report with >>> various airlines' policies and costs, as well? >>> >>> Thanks! >>> >>> Kieran in Toronto >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>> >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > -- Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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