Bike packing.

Perhaps you think you like the idea of touring but are concerned about some simple practicalities such as getting from your home to where you will be touring. A packing job needs to be done. The information below is intended to explain how you can do it yourself. You may be in a distant land nearing the end of a trip and aware you are about to go through the packing experience. In an internet cafe you can read through this section as a refresher. The information is focused on packing for airplane travel. It is specific to World Randonneur bikes.

The carton issue.

Airlines generally require you to have your bike in a carton. Where they do not insist on a carton they expect the bike to be reduced in size and to be wrapped in protective cover of some type. Tourers often look for "bike cartons" ahead of their arrival at a departure city by posting on forums or contacting shops there. But, in some countries, these bike cartons as we know them, hardly exist. In some countries, bike shops receive bikes in bits and pieces and build from scratch. At the other extreme are airports like Zurich where bike cartons are on sale from a vendor in the departure hall. In Australia the two major airlines have cartons for sale (about $15) in the major city airports. You have to be flying on that airline or they will not sell you the carton.

The great advantage of being able to get a carton at an airport is that you then have the option of riding (or getting a train)  there and packing at the airport. There are many airports where this works very well. You stay independent, it is overall easier and it is cheaper. It allows you to come into the airport from the countryside rather than via the city. Tourers often have no interest in being in the city and prefer to approach from the country.

If the airport location is such that you do not want to cycle to it and hence want to pack in the city, then the carton options are likely to still be manageable. 

One option to consider is a trip where you fly in and out of the same airport so your tour is a big loop (possibly with a train or bus leg in it). The advantage here is that you can use the same hotel on the arrival night as you use the night before departure. You arrange storage of the carton/s at the hotel and reuse them. Look after the carton so it is reusable. Flatten it and ensure it will be kept safe and dry. 

Don't be put off if you think you will be stuck without a carton for your return trip. Over the years, many creative solutions have been tried and they have always worked.

If you are on a short trip you might find you can leave your carton at the airport where you are beginning your ride. In Australia the nice people at Baggage Services will often oblige if you have your carton flat with the flaps folded in and tied with a bit of tape. If they don't oblige there is a great option that you may not have thought of but which has been proven to work.

Packing the bike to be the item in the carton.  

Whether it is in a carton or in some kind of wrapping, you need to produce this item. We describe it like this so you have the clear picture that you do not have a lot of different bits and pieces that you are putting into a carton. You essentially have one item. 

The detail below is specifically for World Randonneur bikes. You may be surprised at how little is needed.

Tools and packing gear.

• 15mm open ended spanner (if you can get one that is 15-14 then the 14 can be used on a Sugino crank puller. Note we do not suggest a shifting wrench.
• 4-5-6 three way allen key (avoid the multi tools and avoid the 3-way tools that reverse as sockets and screw drivers. A simple 3-way is best.
• 10mm open ended spanner (if you can get an 8-10 then the 8 has a few uses (not in packing).
• cable ties (zip ties)  6 per packing and 300mm long.
• a 100mm long piece of 1/2" or 12.7mm  copper pipe as used in plumbing.
• one roll of 50mm wide packaging tape.  
• a small pair of scissors which you need to cut cable ties at the other end of the flight.
• 3.5cm of lightweight headset spacers - available in 10mm and 5mm sizes at bike shops.
• keep all these except the tape in a plastic bag, which in turn is in another plastic bag.

Cleaning the bike first (return journey). 

During the last riding day you may be lucky and spot a place where high pressure water can clean your bike. Otherwise you have to buy some cleaning brushes and cloths and do it yourself. Australian quarantine will inspect your bike and shoes closely when you return.

The packing steps.

1. If the bike is fitted with a front Tubus Duo lowrider rack read and reverse our fitting instructions. Otherwise skip this point.
2. adjust the gears so the rear derailleur (RD) is on the big cog closest to the back wheel. This keeps the RD in and away from potential damage.
3. loosen the waterbottle cage on the downtube about 2 turns so it can move sideways a bit. 
4. remove the pedals using the 15mm spanner. The left side pedal has a left-hand thread (it turns opposite to normal threads).  If in Australia and using a Qantas or Virgin carton (which are wide) only remove the left side pedal. The pedals go in the plastic tool bag.
5. Remove the seat post (leaving the seat attached to it) using the 5mm allen key on the right side of the bike. Do not try to turn the left side of the clamp. After the seatpost is out, retighten the post clamp (just a little) so it can not fall off the bike frame.
6. Remove the horn with the 4mm allen key and screw the screw back into the horn mounting bracket. Wrap the horn in a plastic bag and put this in your tool bag.
7. flatten the tyres to about half the pressure you normally have in them. If you don't do this it is most unlikely to matter but airlines persist in saying they want it done. Luggage holds seem to be pressurised.
8. Pull the connector off the front hub terminal and let it hang.
9. Remove the front wheel, remove the quick release skewer from the hub, and insert the skewer through the 100mm bit of pipe.
10. Put the 100mm pipe and skewer back onto the forks as if it is a front wheel. (the hub was 100mm wide and is now just replacing the wheel and protecting the fork ends from puncturing the bottom of the carton and possibly being damaged).
11. Remove the front mudguard using the 4mm allen key to remove the two screws that attach the right stay and the left stay connector plate to the fork ends. Return these screws to the holes they came from - not tight. Remove the top bolt using the 6mm allen key and 10mm spanner. Leave this bolt in the (now removed) mudguard and put the nut on it. Note: you did not losen the screw holding the left side stay to the black connector plate.
12. Take the front mudguard with the stays attached and sit it on the tyre of the front wheel with one stay in between the disc rotor and the spokes.
13. Remove the headlight from its bracket with the 5mm allen key and 10mm spanner. Leave the screw in the headlight housing hole and fit the nut and washer back onto it and lightly tighten. Leave the whole headlight to hang on its cables for the moment.
14. Remove the top cap off the top of headset (very top of the fork steerer) using the 5mm allen key. Notice it was not very tight! Now you can see into the forks and can see the star-nut. Set the top cap and the screw aside for a moment.
15. Loosen both screws that clamp the stem to the forks. One is on the left of the bike, one on the right. Three turns should be enough and the whole stem and handlebar assembly will be free to slide up off the forks. When you do lift the assembly up, do so with one hand whilst pushing the bike down by pushing on the top of the top tube. This is to stop the frame being lifted off the forks.
16. Let go of the handlebar and stem assembly so they are on the right hand side of the frame. They won’t go anywhere. Get 3.5cm of the spacers and slide them on where the stem was. Then put the top cap back on and do up the screw so that it is “lightly firm”. Now the forks can not fall out of the frame.
17. Attach the front wheel with the front mudguard sitting on it to the left side of the frame and with the disc facing out. When doing this, the left side crank should be in between two parallel spokes and in the alignment of the downtube of the frame. See the photo above of the packagable item. With cable ties, tie it to the frame at the forward junction of the toptube and tyre, the junction of the chainstay and the tyre and, on larger sizes, the downtube and the tyre. Not very tight but rigid.
18. Rotate the forks clockwise 180 degrees so they are rear-facing, taking care that the headlight is not being detached from its cables.
19. Insert a cable tie through the headlight and attach it to the space inbetween the fork blades towards the top without affecting the wire connections and without it extending past the front face of the forks (so it won't push against the front end of the carton).
20. Attach the handlebars to the front right side of the bike in such a way (depends on the type of bars and levers and size of bike) that the levers are not exposed, the frame paint won't be damaged, the spokes won't be damaged, the cables won't be kinked and the assembly won't move about.  
21. You are now ready to put this packed item into the carton. When doing so you have the option of attaching the seatpost and saddle to it or leaving them in the carton separately, seat down, at the bottom behind and beside the rear wheel. The water bottles and tools go into one pannier in the carton, again, possibly attached. Remember you can not check in with tools in hand luggage.

Showing the final handlebar position. Note that as you get it into position you can possibly move one of the cables onto the other side of the top of the fork steerer from where it was.

Putting your bike back together is not hard if you were able to pack it. A few notes though...

1. don't turn your forks or bars the wrong way and have the cables twisted.
2. don't overtighten the pedals. They don't need to be extremely tight.
3. when attaching the top bolt of the mudguard, have the nut end at the front. Slide the mudguard bracket up high just as you are tightening the bolt.
4. when fitting the front wheel rotate the electric terminal to about a 1pm position.
5. before starting to tighten the stem ensure the horn bracket is facing to the side of the bike so when you attach the horn it will be where you want it. And ensure the stem is in line with the front tyre/wheel. 
6. when tightening the stem you initially tighten the top cap semi-tight and then slightly losen it. Then tighten the two stem clamp bolts - tighter than the top plate. It is essential you do not forget to tighten these or, when you first apply the front brake the handlebars may turn around, you may lose steering control and you may be injured. You may be injured if you fail to do this. You should be taught personally so you can judge the correct tightness.
7. Of all these steps, it is the retightening of the stem that you might need training on. The rest you can work out if you are not in a rush, have space, have minimal distractions, and if you did the packing yourself. Perhaps you could get that headset tightening training from your bike shop before going on the trip. 
8. The final thing to do once the bike is built and you are loaded and ready is to have a very careful look about for anything you may be about to leave behind.