Bike Bags on EasyJet

[ruffstuffbob]

A fellow cyclist whom I talked to to-day advised me to use a small piece of wood with a groove sawed into the middle then wedged in the teeth of the bottom part of the chainwheel and maybe secured with a strap, sounds like a good idea, I'll give it a try next time. Bob.J.

I can't quite picture that arrangement in my mind's eye - do you have any pics? My immediate thought is that the wood attached to the chainwheel presents an even bigger 'strike area' thus making damage more likely?

Yes , you do have a point, no pics cos I haven't tried it but maybe a good idea might be to put some foam or bubble wrap round the wood. The other option which I thought of was to take the chainwheel completely off, wrap it in some clothing and put it in the pannier bag. To do this however would require taking the appropriate tools. Bob.J.

[TonyR]

Yes , you do have a point, no pics cos I haven't tried it but maybe a good idea might be to put some foam or bubble wrap round the wood. The other option which I thought of was to take the chainwheel completely off, wrap it in some clothing and put it in the pannier bag. To do this however would require taking the appropriate tools. Bob.J.

Self extracting crank bolts are what you need.

[ruffstuffbob]

thanks tony, I will check them out,the self extracting crank bolt sounds like a good idea. Do you use them yourself and are they easy to fit. Bob. J.

[Peter Bedingfield]

I have made a couple of EJ trips LGW to Pisa with 'classic' 60s lightweight road bikes, no probs. Buy bike bag (eg Evans) take off pedals, put wheels in wheel bags supplied, fit old hubs into fork ends, unbolt rear mech from dropouts but leave cable and chain in place, use a tie-wrap to bunch up excess chain, use panniers, helmet, wheel bags to strategically pack out the load and protect fragile bits from damage. Talk sweetly to the handling staff.

[Peter Bedingfield]

There's a limit to the number of times you can pull a chain set off the spindle, it wears.

[CJ]

I think a bent outer chainwheel is too rare and not serious enough to bother about. If the airine bends one of mine I'll simply tweak it back into line with my adjustable spanner (like I've done to other folks' chainrings after accidents etc.) or take it off and borrow a hammer if it's bad enough.