20 inch demountable travel bike

[Cliff McLeroy]

Here's some pics of my latest project. This is basically a Mark II of a similar bike I did about 17 years ago. When packing this in a standard large suitcase, the dropouts allow the rear wheel will slide forward about 2", right crank, chain, and derailleur will all stay in place. Also the fork should also be able to stay in the frame. Now I just have to do the fork and stem and then it's off to the powdercoater.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cliffsbikes/52013387905/in/dateposted-public/

Mark I:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cliffsbikes/2509455997/in/dateposted-public/

[Drew]

Nice minivelo Cliff! The dropout arrangement is interesting and unique.

How does the downtube connection work?

Drew Devereux

[Cliff McLeroy]

Thanks Drew. If all goes as planned I should be able to pack this in a typical large suitcase, 20x26" internal, by removing left crank/pedal, seatpost/seat, stem/bar, front wheel, sliding the rear wheel forward 2" to the "packing" position and separating the frame. The dropouts should allow the crank, chain, derailleur and rear wheel to stay put though the CS dimension is pretty short fully extended ~400mm. The biggest hassle I've found when packing/unpacking is dealing with the chain and right crank. I also use a shim between the steerer and stem clamp. This allows the headset to be preloaded without the stem and holds the fork/headset securely preloaded in the frame when packed.  The stem will be similar to this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cliffsbikes/46810134925/in/dateposted-public/ The downtube connection is a simple sleeve/clamp style but I added a tab with a hole in it to the downtube. The bolt for the clamp goes through this hole and serves as a backup in case the clamp is not tight enough to keep the downtube from slipping out, say if you're hopping off a curb or something. Cheers, Cliff