Community > Tandem Talk

Flying with Tandem

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hendrich:
Kenneth,
Thank you for your detailed reply. I know of the 7 coupler tandem and have been meaning to contact them. If I could trouble you with another question, you posed the question "Advantage?"  Given that the couplers add complexity, cost, and a bit more weight, do you wish your bike had the additional couplers?

Mike

mickeg:
I have never even ridden on a tandem, so I can't make any tandem specific suggestions.  But I have used an S&S solo touring bike and can offer a few tidbits.

I use the S&S backpack case, quite happy with it but since I have not used other cases I can't compare.  The side pieces are attached to each other with velcro, in my case I found that if I left these velcro straps a bit loose it worked better.  I put a large piece of cardboard inside the case on top and bottom, that makes it slightly stiffer when packing it.  It does not come with any center support, I made a center support out of spare lumber.

I patch my backpack case when I get home with pieces of nylon fabric glued on with Seam Grip, that is a seam sealer commonly used on tents.  Airline personnel do a good job of chaffing holes into my backpack case.

In my opinion, parts that are loose are more likely to be damaged.  I use two sided velcro straps to strap all my larger bike parts in the case together, I can actually lift that package out of the case as a unit if I want.  Some people have instead tied their package together with zip ties.

In USA some airlines (Delta in particular) has been known to charge people the bike fee, even if the case meets the luggage dimensions.  If asked, I will say that the case has bicyle parts but not a complete bicycle.  In my case, the Nomad is heavy enough that I can't fit the bike in the case and stay under the weight limit, so I put some parts in other luggage.  In your case, I assume you can't get a tandem in one case so that should not be an issue with you.

There is some controversy about whether or not you need to deflate the tires.  In my case, I deflate them because a 2.25 inch (57mm) wide tire that is fully aired up will take too much space and I can't fit everything in the case, a deflated tire packs easier.

Some people carry a shop type wrench for disassembly and reassembly instead of a small bike multi-tool.  Removing and later re-attaching racks, water bottle cages, etc., can go quicker with a good wrench.

I prefer a bike to have fenders (mud guards) but they are much of a hassle so when I travel using the S&S, they stay home.

A luggage scale is your best friend.  While dimensions of a box or case might cost you more, that might be up to the whim of the airline employee.  But you can't argue with a airline weight scale very easily, I suspect that the weight scale will automatically add the over-weight fee when you put your case on the scale if it is overweight.

I bought the special S&S grease, but now that I own it I can't recommend it at the high cost they charge.

I try to keep the crud out of my S&S threads.  I used to wrap electrical tape around the edge of the S&S "nut" but now I instead use a short length of inner tube rubber cut afrom a fairly fat inner tube.  First photo shows electrical tape, second photo is inner tube rubber.  A couple times I removed the tape and checked the S&S "nuts" for tightness, they were always tight.  The inner tube rubber does not need to be removed if you want to check the tightness.

percussionken:
Hi Mike

Regarding more couplers? No I´m happy with what we have but I can see the advantage with more couplings and the method the other Thorn tandem couple use, when wanting total flexibility in tour planning.
They have the self made bag which has room for the tandem protected with bubble wrap. The bag I guess doesnt weigh much so you can take it with you on the tandem. And then easily, I suppose, at the finish end find bubble wrap for packing.

We have to find somewhere to leave the bags at the start of the tour and then pick them up before flying home, though I would not say that it has been any problem for us. As I said before, the same hotel at start and before flying home has been happy to keep the bags.
With this said maybe I could find a better way of solving this to not restrict us to find a place for our bags. But I feel confident with my packing method to take the beating from the treatment when flying. So I will keep on going for this method though I´m always a bit nervous when unpacking at the tour start. But that has more, I think, to do with my personality then the packing method.

Have this restricted us in what tours we wanted to do? Not at all and we have not been forced to do loop tours. Because there always been a possibility to take a train or rent a car if needed to get back to the hotel before flying home.
The only thing I wouldn´t miss in this process is the 2 1/2 hours to pack it and then to unpack it, but I guess there is nowhere to get around that. 

hendrich:
Kenneth,
Good to know that you have found the one set of couplers sufficient. If we flew often, perhaps more couplers would be better, but one set of coupler seems to be sufficient to bring the weight of the separate bike parts in line with most baggage regulations. And as you comment, one set allows rental car or perhaps train transport. Thank you again for sharing your experience. As an aside, I was hoping that a three piece tandem might reduce the exorbitantly high shipping fees to the states.

Mickeg,
Thank you for the information, your comments are similar to what I have read from others.  No unmanageable problems and we would need to figure out a packaging system that works for our particular bike (a good winter project).  We generally camp while touring and often in wet climates. I could not imagine touring without mud guards...well, perhaps in the American southwest or Australia.

mickeg:

--- Quote from: hendrich on October 14, 2017, 10:46:08 pm ---.... We generally camp while touring and often in wet climates. I could not imagine touring without mud guards...well, perhaps in the American southwest or Australia.

--- End quote ---

I wished I had my fenders, especially on this day.  But, my luggage was full so was unable to bring them.

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