Flying with bike racks...?

[tbessie]

Hi all...

So I'm having a Surly Long Haul Trucker outfitted with S&S couplers (sadly they stopped making the LHT Deluxe, which already had them), and am going to take it with me to the UK for a several-week tour.

I was trying to decide if I should buy racks there instead of bringing them with me.  I get 2 checked bags and a carry-on, and the bike is one of the bags.  That would mean I would need to have almost everything else in the other bag, including racks.

Has anyone found racks fit in a checked bag along with other travel essentials?  If I would have to check 3 bags, the cost would go up.

- Tim

[Pat Lamb]

IIRC the Tubus Tara came to me packed flat, which makes the front rack easy.

If it were me, I'd try to wrap the rear rack around the rear wheel when packing the S&S bike.  If that didn't work, I'd put it in the other bag and just pack things around it.  That is, lay the rack on the bottom of the bag, tuck the helmet between the two legs near the top, add shoes between the bottom legs, fill with clothes or foot, and then pack more stuff on top of the rack.

[indyfabz]

Yeah. I would try to "weave" the racks around the frame. That's what I do when I ship my bike to the start of tours, albeit the bike isn't coupled so the box is larger than what you are probably using.

If you are worried about them being bent, maybe devise some braces akin to the plastic pieces that are often used to span dropouts so the fork and rear triangle don' get crushed.

[tbessie]

Yeah. I would try to "weave" the racks around the frame. That's what I do when I ship my bike to the start of tours, albeit the bike isn't coupled so the box is larger than what you are probably using.

If you are worried about them being bent, maybe devise some braces akin to the plastic pieces that are often used to span dropouts so the fork and rear triangle don' get crushed.

Yeah, this bike needs to fit into an S&S case - 10" x 26" x 26" - no extra space at all. :-(

They *do* have braces they sell for the case, as well as cut-to-measure protective pieces for the frame, and a "TSA Net" that wraps everything up in a nice package so that if the TSA open it, they won't mess up the layout.

- Tim

[John Nelson]

When packed with your clothes, I find that racks take up very little room in your luggage.