Flying With A S&S Screamer Tandem

Anyway, for anyone who has a S&S-equipped Screamer, or is contemplating buying one, you'll be interested in our experience flying with our Screamer.

First of all, I heartily recommend the TriAll3 Sports travel case (http://www.triall3sports.com). We bought the Velo Safe II model, which is identical to the Velo Safe model, but comes with two fork mounts so we can also pack our two MTB's in the case. The TriAll3 case is constructed of a durable, hard plastic, and has wheels on the bottom, metal protectors on all corners, and clasps that can be locked so no one can break the case open.

The case is BIG! It measures 54" long by 17" wide at the largest dimension (through the middle) and 33" high. We flew Canadian Airlines, and their limit for excess baggage is 115" (sum of length plus width plus height) --our case added up to 104", so we just made it.

When the bike is packed inside, the case is HEAVY! The empty case weighs 30 pounds, and with most of our Screamer packed in it (we put some parts in our other luggage to keep the weight of the case down) plus some other bulky but lightweight items, the case weighed 92 pounds. Canadian Airlines' limit was 100 pounds, so again we just squeaked under the wire. I put heavy items like the chains (it's amazing how much they weigh!), pedals and triple crank in our luggage. I put bulky lightweight items such as helmets, Camelbaks and spare tires in the case.

Disassembly/packing took about 2 hours, and unpacking/reassembly took about 90 minutes. I removed the wheels, seats, handlebar, chains, triple crank, pedals and rear derailleur. We have the high-back Rans seats, and I found that I had to separate the stoker's seatback from the seat base, and had to put the seat back in our suitcase because I couldn't fit it in the case. Otherwise, though, packing was no problem. I used lots of bubble wrap to protect the frame and various parts, and used cardboard to keep things from rubbing into each other. The case includes several Velcro tie-downs to hold things in place.

I removed one of the two fork mounts, and relocated the other fork mount to a position which worked for the Screamer. I used a small metal plate on the outside of the case to prevent the fork mount from tearing free from the plastic case.

I peeled the TriAll3Sports decals off the case, so there would be no way to identify the contents of the case as a bike. Canadian Airlines charges Cdn $65 to carry a bike, but only Cdn $35 for excess luggage (go figure). Needless to say, we paid $35. When anyone asked me what was in the case, I replied "exercise equipment." Although no-one asked, if pressed I was prepared to explain that I needed to exercise to stay in shape during my vacation for an upcoming athletic event.

The only other consideration was getting to/from the airport. The case is too large to fit in the trunk of any car -- at a minimum, a station wagon is required, or better yet, a van. We used a wheelchair-capable minivan taxi with a loading ramp (the case is easy enough to lift, but the ramp was a nice touch). The case can be laid down sideways, too, such as in a wagon. We were actually able to fit it across the back seat of a Toyota Corolla by taking the top off the case, fitting the bottom of the case inside the top, and removing a couple of items -- it fit with literally 1/2" to spare!

Richard Drdul
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Sun, 15 Aug 1999

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