by Steve Callahan

Sailors have long been familiar with small-wheeled Dahon-style folding bikes that they can pack aboard. Now you can pack any full-size custom bike of your choice into a suitcase measuring 26” x 26” x 10” dimensioned especially for airline travel, and great for storage aboard and weather protection.

S and S Machine’s Torque Couplings allow any professional bike builder or qualified specialty shop to divide most alloy, space-gobbling bike frames into pieces, fit couplings on the tube ends and pack the components into the suitcase. Co-Motion Cycles is one high-quality bike manufacturer using S and S Torque Couplings. Co-Motion kindly sent us one of their thoroughbreds to check out. When opened, the maze of parts in the luggage looked daunting, but it was all padded and uncannily organized. Two different people found that the bike was deceptively simple to put together and that the claim of assembly in a few minutes was not overstated. When joined, the toothed, stainless steel couplings became completely rigid and added but about eight ounces of weight. They are designed to be stronger than the frame in torsion, tension and bending. A full-size, wide- tire bike with advanced features like handle-grip gear control miraculously emerged. Performance was terrific, as one would expect from a normal Co-Motion, because it was a normal Co-Motion. Most importantly, the execution was so flawless that there was little commotion getting the Co-Motion back into the box! For anyone keen on getting around when getting there, this approach opens up a whole new road. Phone S and S Machine at (800) 763-5564 or Co-Motion Cycles at (541) 342-4583.