Removing rear dérailleur when flying

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bigjim
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by bigjim »

Must be a fairly sturdy plastic milk carton to prevent the mech or hanger from getting bent in an impact?

No idea. Just a tip I picked up somewhere. You can pad the inside of the bottle out with a bit of card or bubblewrap. How hard are they going to hit it. I don't think anything will survive a lump hammer kind of thing, but for the pushing and pulling type of aircraft handling situations, could be fine. Anyway, worked for me up to now.
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Sweep
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by Sweep »

iviehoff wrote:If you simply change into bottom gear, so the derailleur is as close to the wheel as possible, that reduces risk of derailleur damage.

Mm.

I've done this for a while when parking my bike in london.

But i should have studied the dynamics more closely.

For when, clumsy oaf me, managed to knock the bike over on unlocking it, this offered no protection. The rack didn't even provide cover from the ground impact and the mech (or hanger) was bent - see my recently started thread.

Have only flown with a derailleur bike once, in a padded Ground Effect Tardis soft case (recommended) and i unfastened the mech and zip-tied it between the stays. Cross threading of anything is an ever present danger but if you lube carefully and take your time i think it's pretty safe.
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22camels
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by 22camels »

Sweep wrote:Cross threading of anything is an ever present danger but if you lube carefully and take your time i think it's pretty safe.


Are you saying it's a good idea to lube or grease the thread of the rear mech bolt before remounting it?
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Sweep
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by Sweep »

Someone way more technical than me may well be along to contradict me but it has always been my understanding that pretty much any metal on metal thread should be greased or anti-seized - helps to ease things as you thread, to help tighten things up, and to prevent seizing.
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22camels
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by 22camels »

Yes it makes sense. I am just wondering if a drop of chain lube on that bolt would help reduce the cross-threading risk. So far I have never carried grease or anti-seize with me on a bike tour, only chain lube.
MartinBrice
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by MartinBrice »

I usually take off the deraillieur, but would take the advice of Thorn. I've never had a problem with them at all. The deraillieur protector looks a good idea though.
simonhill
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by simonhill »

I'm sure you were all on the edges of your seats. Well my bike arrived safe and sound in Seoul. The derailleur guard had punctured the box, but no damage done, although I did have to bend the guard a fraction, so it obviously did its job. In my hurry I forgot the plastic mik bottle.

Re the plastic milk bottle thing. I have done this before. The idea is you have a largish bit of plastic that fits between the derailleur or axle or whatever to stop it poking through the box. Doesn't need to be strong, just large enough to spread the load. It works.
22camels
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by 22camels »

Nice one Simon. Will try the milk bottle. Enjoy your Korea trip.
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Farawayvisions
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by Farawayvisions »

I used to leave mine on, now I detach it from the hangar. Nothing happened when I was flying, I reckon it's less likely to get damaged.
22camels
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Re: Removing rear dérailleur when flying

Post by 22camels »

Well I took the mech off twice on a recent trip from the UK to Spain and back and it seemed like a very effective solution. I used three zip ties to attach it and the chain to the frame. Had no trouble putting it back on at the other end - cross-threading seems unlikely though I will still exercise caution next time as when you are reassembling a bike at an airport you're usually tired and in a rush and it's easy to bodge something up.
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