Re: Couplings: Bikefanclub.com

I have a translucent blue Luna Pro, 54 cm, with S&S Couplers. I bought it after lugging a Tricosports Iron Case through a couple of airports, paying through the nose to put it on the plane, and squeezing it into the back seat of a "midsize" rental car. I've flown the Luna to Hellweek in Fredericksburg TX and have taken it to California for the Markleeville Deathride. It's easier to roll the S&S hardcase than to tote my regular suitcase. I loved my Trek 5200 and wanted, and got, the same ride in a travel bike. I'm very happy with it, but there were a few surprises. First, it takes about a hour to pack the bike (Can't imagine packing a beautiful Calfee without padding it, can you?). With my size frame, I have to take off the cassette to avoid having it possibly damage the downtube, or I have to remove the fork from the front triangle. I have packed it slightly differently each time I've travelled, have gotten faster at packing, and I am learning which padding is needed and which is not. (There are lots of ways to pack coupled bikes.) Second, you'll have to pad the frame over the cable couplers, or they'll be buzzing against the frame with every bump. I've used small stick-on pads, which may have been helmet pads originally. Third, I got water in the frame when riding in the rain. Water ran into the downtube and could have gotten into the bottom bracket if I hadn't realized it was there and dumped it. Since then, I've cut 4 inch sections of mountain bike inner tube and slid one over each coupler. These fit tightly around the tubes and seal water out, but they don't look as good as the exposed couplers. (They do look better than the electrical tape I once tried, and they provide a little padding for the cable couplers as well.) I can confirm every other person's experience with S&S Couplers--they are very easy to use, add a trivial amount of weight, and you will absolutely not be aware of them while riding. When I inquired about a Calfee with couplers, my bike shop was told that Calfee had a 54 cm Luna frame already made, and that I could have the couplers fit into it. I think that frame was taken apart, the couplers were then fit into the top tube and down tube, and the frame was reassembled. So you might be able to have the couplers retrofit into a frame which is no longer in the Calfee factory. (This last is pure speculation on my part.) At any rate, it was easy working with Calfee, and I have been very pleased with the bike.

L. D. Lide

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