Packing the Bike

May 8, 2015

Part 1: The box

Because I'm doing a one-way trip and don't want to worry about storage and retrieval of a shipping container, I decided to use a disposable cardboard box to pack the bike, rather than buy one of the expensive official packing cases. I thought that the real challenge in packing the bike would be to construct a box to fit the standard airline allowed 62 linear inches, 26x26x10, that the S&S coupled bike is designed to fit. The box was a challenge, but figuring out how to pack it even more so!

Making the box was fun, sort of like a large scale origami project. I started with two "dish packs" from my move. These boxes are made with 2 layers of corrugation, so they are stronger than some others. Some measurements and mock-ups showed that I could get them to work. I'd actually used these boxes through several moves (maybe 4?), so they aren't in pristine condition, but I hope they'll be strong for the airline.

Box building. A "dishpack" from moving becomes half of a box for an airline.Tools: Yardstick, box-cutter, pizza cutter (for scoring the folds).Since I don't have a car now, there is plenty of space in the garage to work.

Unfortunately, I didn't take into account the thickness of the cardboard, and it is about a half inch too large in each dimension. Sigh....I have two more boxes to give it another go as the trip gets closer, and I'll use this one to practice packing my bike.

Part 2: Packing

I am very glad I tried to pack the bike well in advance of the trip! It was a lot more challenging than I expected. I was not able to get everything into the box in the sequence recommended by Sands Machine Company or by Co-motion. Of course, neither of these sources addresses the Rohloff hub and gates drive. It didn't seem like those should be a big deal, but when I was trying to sort things out, they needed to be taken into account.

I ended up putting the front wheel in first, then the bike frame and fork, and then the rear wheel.

Without the rear wheel, so I can see what's where. Also without the planned frame protectors!

The "frame bundle" that I plan to zip tie into one piece.

I did not manage to get the rear rack into the box. I had specifically wanted a rack with an upward tilt at the end near the seatpost. I find that style more visually appealing, and also think it is safer to prevent things from sliding forward on the rack. But a flat rack like the current version of the Tubus racks would fit more easily! If I still can't get the rack into the box when I do the final packing, I'll put it into my other luggage.

I had been a bit careless with the cables, and when I reassembled the bike, I had a hard time sorting them out. Initially I cross-connected the two shifter cables at the quick connects, so the bike didn't shift at all. Then I had it shifting backwards (so that the low gear was 14 and the high gear 1). That actually worked fine, but was not aesthetically pleasing. When I reversed it, I couldn't get the full gear range! When I put the Rohloff into the lowest gear, and the shifter at 1, then the cables didn't reach! I had to move the shifter to 5 in order to get the quick connects to reach. This doesn't seem possible, and at this moment I am still trying to sort it out. The good thing is that it shifts more easily than it did before. I'm concerned that I may need to find some help, and I don't know of any bike shops in the area with experience with Rohloff hubs and shifters. And lesson learned! When I do a real packing job, I'll tape the cables into place so that they can't get mixed up!

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