Iceland - Nomad Mk II - June/July 2016

[Danneaux]

S&S sells center supports, I am also planning to look into those too, that may be more robust.

<nods> A cheap alternative may possibly be found in the local hardware or DIY store (Lowe's, Home Depot in the US) in the form of rebar protectors. These are lightweight plastic discs intended to cover the cut ends of concrete reinforcing bars. They are available in different diameters and some will for over sections of PVC pipe.

I have used these for shipping bikes successfully (they look a bit like snap-on axle protectors some new bikes are shipped with from the factory in their original crates) and at one time, local maker Bike Friday used these in their travel suitcases née trailers. They do a great job in preventing box sides from collapsing even if the bike box falls over and is loaded under other heavy items.

What a terrific writeup, mickeg, especially on the practical intricacies of packing with S&S couplers.

Best,

Dan.

[mickeg]

I forgot to mention above, I put a sheet of cardboard in the case before the bike, and another piece on top of the bike.  That was to add some structure to the case besides the plastic side pieces.  I plan to replace that with coroplast.

There were two wear holes in the bottom of the case, one for each trip.  I think airline personnel drag the case on rough concrete instead of lifting and carrying it.  I have some black cordura, so it will take no time at all to glue some patches on with Seam Grip.

I will have to look for the rebar protectors.  But I must say that I thought rebar is one of those things that needs no protecting.  <Insert chuckle here.>  That might be the best possible option.

I made no attempt to use the backpack shoulder straps and very possibly never will.  I can't comment on the straps.  Since I have the case, another large checked bag, a carry on, a personal item (my handlebar bag).  When possible I tried to find a cart that was available to load it all on.  And I also wore my bike helmet instead of packing it.  See photo. 

A side note:  Photos of your luggage help a lot when trying to explain to airline personnel what your lost bag looks like, that is why I always take a photo of the luggage before I hand it over to them.  The first time I had to describe a case that my employer owned that I had not used before that day and had only seen once convinced me that a photo would help a lot.  Thus I always take photos of my luggage.

I had planned to use a bag other than that green bag for my second checked bag, but the Tubus Logo did not fit in the bag that I planned to use so I ended up using that green bag.  That was stored inside the backpack case when I stored it at the hostel.

There is another option to the backpack case.  S&S makes a nylon bag (they call it a box cover) that is intended to go over a 26 X 26 X 10 cardboard box.  At one time I considered getting that nylon cover, I also considered sewing up one myself since I have a torn tarp that could be a donor for the nylon.  But, eventually I decided to get the backpack case instead and skip the cardboard box idea, as I was a bit concerned that the cardboard boxes might not be as strong as I really would like.
http://www.sandsmachine.com/ac_box.htm

I assume this source for cardboard boxes is limited to customers in USA, possibly Canada.
http://www.staples.com/26-L-x-26-W-x-10-H-Staples-Corrugated-Shipping-Boxes/product_404572

Co-Motion has a good discussion of cases here.
http://co-motion.com/faq/faq_entry/which-travel-case-should-i-buy

[JimK]

Thanks for that great description of packing the Nomad into the S&S backpack! I have used that backpack to carry my Brompton a bit, including carrying on my back with the backpack straps which worked just fine. But I have never tried to cram my Nomad into that bag. My steerer seems to be more like 71 cm... so now I am optimistic that I could do it! 

[onmybike]

Thank you for the very detailed responses. All useful information.

[in4]

Apart from the gearfest that the tour has initiated I was struck by the sense of wilderness, of far horizons that some of the photos create. There is a great sense of security, of familiarity  we experience when riding in a semi rural or urban environment. The vast openeness of a landscape with few if any familiar points of reference such as trees, bridges or undulating fields is so evocative and perhaps liberating. Reminds me of those boys own books I used to read about The Yukon et. al. Thankfully no White Fangs were featured in the photos!

[mickeg]

Thanks for that great description of packing the Nomad into the S&S backpack! I have used that backpack to carry my Brompton a bit, including carrying on my back with the backpack straps which worked just fine. But I have never tried to cram my Nomad into that bag. My steerer seems to be more like 71 cm... so now I am optimistic that I could do it!

I had a very similar thought, but in reverse.  About a decade ago, I bought an Airnimal Joey frame and fork which is a folding bike with 24 inch wheel size.  It was advertised as a bike that would fit in a case that would not incur additional airline fees.  After I built up the bike, I tried to buy the case and found that I could not buy the case anywhere in the USA.  That is when I learned that the case met the British Airways size criteria but did not meet the size criteria for any USA airlines.  Since Airnimal was a UK company and was primarily sold in the UK, they of course used British Airways sizing instead of the USA airline sizing, which I did not realize when I bought it. Thus, I had a very expensive folding bike that I had built up for air travel - but was unable to travel with it.

After I got home from Iceland and before I put the case away in storage, I decided to see if I could fit the Airnimal in the S&S case, and it appears that I can fit it in the case.  So, after a decade I finally might be able to use that bike as a travel bike after all.

Apart from the gearfest that the tour has initiated I was struck by the sense of wilderness, of far horizons that some of the photos create. There is a great sense of security, of familiarity  we experience when riding in a semi rural or urban environment. The vast openeness of a landscape with few if any familiar points of reference such as trees, bridges or undulating fields is so evocative and perhaps liberating. Reminds me of those boys own books I used to read about The Yukon et. al. Thankfully no White Fangs were featured in the photos!

When I was in college, I went backpacking in the USA Rockies each year with some friends.  We usually went to Wyoming, Montana or Colorado, and we always wanted part of the trip to be above timberline where you could see forever.  Much of the interior reminded me of those trips.

Most of my time in Iceland was spent in lower elevations where there is a lot of green vegetation with either pasture lands or other agriculture being the prevalent land use, but I found that most of my photos were in the higher altitudes where it looked much more desolate.  I think that once I was in the interior, the lower elevations just did not look as photogenic to me.  But I attached a few photos from lower elevations here, but there still is the lack of trees so you can see vast distances.

The photo with some bike tourists, I saw them and snapped the photo but I did not know them.  The low clouds below the peaks in that photo are really interesting.

[Znook]

Awesome writeups mickeg, lots of detailed info there. Thanks for sharing!

Robbie

[Pavel]

What a great write-up and a great trip.  We all learn do's and don't from well written posts such as these - so thanks!

One thought I had when looking at your photos was that parts of Iceland must be the closest thing to cycling on the moon- with free oxygen and gravity. Yes, desolate, in an awe inspiring way, that is for certain.

You photos also showed, that should I ever be fortunate to get to travel to this exotic country, that I can save a bit of pack space and leave my Hammock behind.

Do Scandinavian countries have similar scenery and climates?

[mickeg]

...
One thought I had when looking at your photos was that parts of Iceland must be the closest thing to cycling on the moon- with free oxygen and gravity. Yes, desolate, in an awe inspiring way, that is for certain.

You photos also showed, that should I ever be fortunate to get to travel to this exotic country, that I can save a bit of pack space and leave my Hammock behind.

Do Scandinavian countries have similar scenery and climates?

It is my understanding that astronauts went to Iceland to do some training before they went to the moon.  Lower areas, especially areas with a lot of agriculture are much more green, but it was striking how minimal the "biology" was up in the interior.  But I am a geological engineer, so I kind of liked seeing the rocks and soils without all that biological stuff covering up the stuff that I understood better.

Yeah, not many trees to hang a hammock from.  I even had trouble finding where to hang my laundry, which you saw in a photo.

That is the only Scandinavian country I have been in, so I have no clue how it compares.  Good info here on climate,
https://weatherspark.com/averages/27562/Reykjavik-Capital-Region-Iceland
Note that the temperature range is pretty small, but Reykjavik is near the ocean, the temperature range probably varies much more in the interior further from the ocean.  And there are glaciers, so parts of the island will get a bit chilly.