Travel / "B" Bike

[steventran]

I'm thinking about building a bike specifically for travel (climbing), training, commuting, mixed terrain, and bad weather (descending). I have no experience with anything other than a straight up road bike with rim brakes, but I wanted to get some views from the forum about what brakes to use on an S&S coupled frame.

I have no experience with disc brakes, but I'm considering them because I'll be using the bike for overseas bike holidays with lots of climbing. Holidays are expensive, so I'll be climbing and descending rain or snow or shine. One other reason I'm considering them is because I'd like to be able to change to larger tires and use the bike for some gravel or dirt riding. For a travel bike, I assume hydraulic discs are out of the question. I've read that mechanical disc brakes are not as good in terms of power or modulation. I'm considering a hybrid solution: TRP HY/RD.

The drawback of disc brakes is weight. The TRPs are about 200g per caliper, not including rotor. Rim brakes would be less than half the weight and probably less of a hassle to set up/fix when traveling. When descending in the rain when you're probably already going slowly, how big is the difference in practical performance between rim brakes and disc brakes once the pads are able to grab?

If I go with disc brakes, should I opt for quick releases or thru axles? Will I have issues if I need to fix something on the road or in foreign countries or remote locations with one type of axle over the other?

[superdx]

I had the same train of thought as you. Some issues for disc brakes:

1: Depending on the type of axle (QR in particular) aligning the discs to the pads may be a requirement every time you unpack your bike. Not a particular challenging task but adds time to the bike setup. Had this problem with my CX bike, takes about 5 mins to fix each one. Not a big time sink but something to consider.

2: Rotors may get warped during transport. You may need to invest in some covers or hard shell cases. Warped rotors are a pain in the ass to fix or replace.

3: Thru-axles should eliminate issue #1. I don't have this on my CX bike so I can only speculate. QR is a pain.

And other considerations:

4: I would advise against a carbon frame. A cracked carbon frame is pretty much unridable. Go with aluminium or titanium. Even if its dented you can still ride it without risking it blowing out from under you. You lugged it all the way to another country already, would be a horrible waste to have an unrideable frame.

5: Rim brakes are fairly painless to service or repair while you have limited tools in a hotel room (or on the road). Spare brake pads weigh next to nothing and a set of hex tools are all you need to re-align it if it gets bent out of shape during transport. You can carry all of this in a saddle bag too.

6: A good set of brake pads even on carbon rims can stop fairly well in the wet. If you're really concerned about wet braking, go with aluminium clinchers and a good set of brake pads. Also get some good tires with good puncture resistance. I've run Michelin Pro4 Endurance tires with 0 punctures in every trip I've done. They also have good grip in wet.

7: Climbing with a disc brake setup is a real penalty on weight. There aren't really any good lightweight + disc brake wheelsets out there yet. Rim brakes still have a weight advantage.

I settled on an aluminium frame with rim brakes and I've done maybe 8 trips now with the bike. Not once did I wish I had discs with me. I already stress out enough that the bike is gonna suffer damage during transport!

[rmerka]

I pondered this recently too but ultimately decided to forgo the S&S couplers. Compared to just bringing a "normal" sized bike bag on the trip the dissemble/re-assemble seemed ridiculous for the smaller bag. Also as many times as I've been charged for the oversize bag I've also had a kind agent who let me slide, so given that it would be a long time before I recovered the up front cost to add the S&S. I'd go rim as well.

[steventran]

Thanks for the responses.

I had deleted part of my original post where I said I was going with a titanium frame, likely from Mosaic.

The issue with warped rotors is new to me. What causes them to warp during transit? Is it just impact or can it also be the elevation in an airplane? With an S&S coupled frame, I'd likely go with a hard shell case. Thanks for the insight regarding QRs vs. thru-axles.

I've traveled with a bike before and it was clunky with a big case. Part of my desire for an S&S coupled frame is to make lugging the bike around a little easier. I'd also be more inclined to travel with my bike on non-holiday trips. Fees have been hit or miss, split evenly, but each hit was $200+.

[Calnago]

Some good points being made here. I'd forget disc brakes altogether for the reasons mentioned above. Also, if things get banged up a bit in travel and you end up with a slightly bent rotor or something or other, that could be an issue. Rim brakes are simple, easily serviceable anywhere, and travel well.
Don't know how big your bike is, but I ride a fairly large frame and sometimes this has been an issue for packing. I eventually got a box from Crateworks and it's really a good basic design that will accommodate a lot of stuff. And it's easy for airport staff to check inside to see what's up. I remember one trip to the French Alps where one guy on the trip had to wait 3 days for his bike. He had meticulously packed it in this smallish hard shell case which required every piece to be placed just so. He also wrapped every tube with foam etc. to protect it. Well, when he finally got his bike he was livid to find the airport staff had torn all the protection off (to check out everything) then had a heck of a time stuffing it all back in the case properly. So consider the box/case you will use to travel with as well and how everything fits. With today's air travel, assume it will be inspected thoroughly. Make it as easy as possible.
I have used simple cardboard bike boxes that you get for free from bike shops with no issue as well. In the past when I've done self contained tours starting from one airport and leaving from another this is the way to go. Once I put a fully loaded self contained touring bike together at Heathrow while one of the staff watched me. At the end I gave him the big duffel bag that I had all my panniers in and said "here, it's yours". He said he'd save it for me but I knew I'd never see him again. It's kind of adventurous traveling by bike and plane. Have fun wherever your travels take you.

[steventran]

Sounds like disc brakes are out.

I'm 5'7" tall. My bike would be small, but your point about meticulous packing is well taken. More reason to keep the bike as simple and robust as possible. I had a simple, large softcase that allowed for easy packing and the inspectors still didn't bother to remount/clamp the fork after inspection.

I came across the Falco Taita in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=134909. It looks interesting. Does anybody have experience with it or Falco? I'd want to change some things about the frame (BB, cable stops, etc.).

What do people think about traveling with wireless shifting? I know SRAM eTap is available yet, but what might be some concerns about traveling with it?

[AndreLM]

And what about a Cross Ritchey Breakaway? Put V-brakes instead of canti's and you have descent power, maybe with a bit less modulation than good road calipers. It could be used for gravel, and the geometry seems not to far from a typical road bike.

You could even chose between steel or titanium.

[steventran]

The price for a ti cross Break-Away is very good considering case and accessories are included, but v-brakes or canti's don't appeal to me. I wish they made the same model for standard road calipers. The ti-carbon road version is not my cup of tea, aesthetically. Unfortunately, their case is larger than an S&S case and would increase the chances of fees.

[lannes]

I pondered this recently too but ultimately decided to forgo the S&S couplers. Compared to just bringing a "normal" sized bike bag on the trip the dissemble/re-assemble seemed ridiculous for the smaller bag. Also as many times as I've been charged for the oversize bag I've also had a kind agent who let me slide, so given that it would be a long time before I recovered the up front cost to add the S&S. I'd go rim as well.

+1, just take your normal bike and invest in a good bike bag like the Biknd Helium (can take two wheelsets) , have done 20 trips with this combo, no damage at all, 5 minutes to reassmble the bike on arrival (just have to put in the seatpost and pop the stem, pedals back on)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ_EfgaGvdk

[BRM]

When you want a real portable bike that can be used in all kind of conditions you maybe need to look to an other format. Something similar as the Surly World Troller.
http://surlybikes.com/bikes

Smaller wheels makes a smaller package which you can take with you much more easily. Plane, boat, train, bus, car, taxi etc. In a smaller case just as normal lugagge. Without extra costs or hassles that full bike cases will give you.

When you know the right geometry you also can order such a frameset with couplers from XACD.
http://www.xacd.com.cn/index1.htm


However:
When you decide that you prefer a normal road race bike you best stick with an ordinary Shimano mechanical group. Just because when on holiday you need new parts/repairs, local shops can help you everywhere. That will be more difficult with fancy /electrical groups.

[LenJ]

I wrestled with the same dilemma and took a different path.

Many people buy great S&S travel bikes and then after a few years find they don't use them very much. As a result, if you are patient, you can usually find a lightly used fully built up bike with case and packing materials for slightly more than the cost of a retrofit, case & packing. But it takes patience. It took me about 18 months, but I ended up with a great bike with all the fixin's.

Tip 2: Everything you do with a travel bike should be aimed at ease of maintenance, ease of access to replacement parts and durability. That means (usually) Shimano, mechanical, non-carbon and means that you store the tools you need to build up and break down the bike in the suitcase so you never forget them & small part spares.

Building up and breaking down & packing takes no more than 30 minutes if you either do it frequently or practice before the trip. It really is easy.

len

PS... and after traveling frequently with a full size bike....life is too short to drag that big mother through an airport. (not to mention the cost) YMMV

[Valbrona]

Riding on some great road in some great part of the world on your B Bike will be a real bummer. Don't even go there.

[superdx]

Warping the rotors was the wrong term to use. Impacts can dent the rotor or slightly bend them. I think I managed to dent one of the rotors in the trunk of my car once and that was just a 20 min ride. Needed pliers to straighten them out and I had to replace them when I got home. I can only imagine what would happen with airport baggage handlers who don't give a shit.

Aligning the rotors to the brakes is not a unique problem to travelling. Wheel changes in the pro peloton have identified this as a big problem. Swapping a replacement wheel is already the quickest way to get the rider back into the race, but if the brake pads aren't aligned they will rub. At best its just some annoying noise. At worst it's slowing the bike down!

I haven't travelled with my Di2 bike before, but battery drain during high altitudes is a real, very random incident that happens to any device. My Garmin 510, iPad, CR2032 batteries sometimes arrive totally dead. Maybe something bumped into the device and switched it on. It does happen though, and you should bring spare batteries. If you travel with an electronic shifting bike, make sure you bring charging equipment. Not a huge weight penalty. Next year when I swap out my Di2 to my travel bike, I'll have a bit more experience. I'd put some extra padding around the shifters and electronic derailleurs so ensure they survive the trip.

[steventran]

Could I avoid the damaged rotor issue by removing them for air travel? It might be a little inconvenient, but are there other issues with this idea?

Still leaning away from disc brakes due to the weight, but curious. The idea of an adventure bike has a strong pull on me at the moment.

[superdx]

That would probably be the safest way to go about it. Though then you'd need to bring a torque wrench to reinstall them. And hope you don't lose any bolts during transport haha.