I usually remove the fenders, wheels, rear derailleur, drop the saddle/seat post, wrap a plastic grocery bag around the drivechain, and turn the handlebars. At that point the bike(s) will stand on its head in a very small space and I can pack other stuff around it. Takes about an hour to put back together because I'm slow. The last time I carried a bike on a rear rack down an interstate highway I had to re-tune the whole front end and that took longer than breaking it down and reassembling it. If you arrive at your destination with a wiggly headset and broken shifters, you won't be enjoying your bike at all.
Enjoy your trip! Lynn On Monday, June 14, 2021 at 8:44:18 AM UTC-5 lconley wrote: > I would bring the Platypus, but I personally never carry a bicycle outside > of a vehicle any longer. In 1980, when I was moving back to Florida from > Colorado when the roof rack decided to take flight on the interstate with > my precious only bicycle at the time, a P-15 Paramount (Reynolds 531 frame > with chromed lugs, seat stays and forks, mostly Campagnolo equipped - still > have it). The Brooks Professional saddle was scuffed as were the Campagnolo > quick releases and handlebar tape, but it survived. Now I will disassemble > a bike as necessary to fit it in a car or just put it in the back of the > Element. I did use a rack in the back of a pickup for a few years, but I > prefer not to have to clean the bike after the trip. > > Have you considered an enclosed U-Haul trailer? There are pickup truck > style bike racks that might fit inside, or something can be built from > wood. I used to help with the Cross-Florida ride, we built racks that used > fork mounts and wheel holders on wood crossmembers that we mounted in > U-Haul trucks for the return trip. With four bikes in a small enclosed > trailer, you could probably just use bungies and moving pads due to the > time crunch. You could use the locks and chains/cables on the trailer and > trailer wheels when you stop overnight. Weather-proof and the bikes are > hidden from prying eyes. > > Laing > Delray Beach FL > > On Sunday, June 13, 2021 at 2:08:31 AM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > >> Every summer I leave for five weeks or so. I drive across the country to >> our home states and spend that time with our families. Our kids get out of >> the desert and get to have lake life and grandma time and run wild. I have >> a Saris Freedom 4 bike rack, and I can/might take my Clem, my Platypus and >> the boys’ Clems. We get a lot of riding done up North, and with temps 110 >> in Vegas in the summer, I relish that riding time. Hassle though it is, >> I’ll bring our Rivendells. Four of them. 🙄 >> >> But which ones? >> >> I can remember last year as we journeyed out of Yellowstone, we thought >> it would be great to take the Beartooth Highway out of the park. One moment >> we were enjoying views from the top of the world and the next, we were in a >> June snowstorm that barely allowed visibility 20 feet in front of us. I >> worried for my dyno hub, and also that we’d be rear-ended. When we got to >> Billings, those poor bikes suffered through the most torrential downpour I >> can ever remember driving through. My son’s Brooks B17 Select still bears >> the scars (yes, it had a Randi Jo saddle cover). And then there’s the theft >> risk (we u lock them to the rack overnight on our drive), and maybe it’s >> higher in the Bicycle Shortage of 2020 and 2021. Oh, and the risk of being >> knocked over by exuberant little nieces and nephews as we jam our bikes >> into family garages… >> >> The struggle is this. I don’t want to leave my most favorite bike ever >> behind for 5 weeks. The Clem is just not the same, and though I plan to >> bring it, I would really, REALLY miss my Platy if I ONLY took the Clem. But >> if tragedy should befall me, the raspberry Platy can’t exactly be replaced. >> There’s only one. >> >> Should I just take my chances because high risk, high reward? Suck every >> last drop of joy out of it and stop worrying, because after all, it is a >> bike, and it’s meant to be ridden? Or should I protect it, keep it safe >> like Gollum and his Precious? Just ride the Clem and pine for the Platy? I >> have hand-wrung about this for weeks. I decide, IT WILL BE FINE JUST BRING >> IT and then back to JUST THINK OF HOW YOU WILL REGRET IT IF YOUR PLATY GETS >> HURT OR STOLEN. We leave Friday and the pressure is mounting. >> >> Who has an irreplaceable bike and can relate and would offer an opinion? >> Thanks! >> Leah >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4c97c232-ab62-49d3-a630-3b4c89a98291n%40googlegroups.com.
