How many bikes do I need?

Kevin Saunders outlines our philosophy on adapting the equipment the pros use for performance recreational cyclists.

Date published: Jun 15, 2006

Zinn/KGS Travel Bike Packing Sequence

Everything you wanted to know about packing a bike in its travel case but were afraid to ask!

Date published: Feb 1, 2007

First Look - Zinn Magnesium Aubergine

The first pictures we took of our new Zinn magnesium frame. Look closely at the exquisite workmanship!

Date published: Jun 18, 2006

Zinn/KGS Travel Bike - First Completely Engineered Travel Bike

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We have been collaborating with Lennard Zinn to make the ultimate travel bike. Kevin Saunders has been an industrial designer for over 15 years. Lennard Zinn has an incredible travel bike frame. Our goal was to combine our resources and fully engineer the travel bike so it works flawlessly in the real world. This is the follow-up article to our original piece, Zinn Travel Bikes, What a Concept!

Travel bikes are incredible. The small case makes it much easier to get around in airports, public transportation, etc., and to actually carry up stairs if need be than a big bike case. I find it amazing myself when I travel with mine how much easier it is getting around airports.Travel bike frames are available from many manufacturers. The S&S coupler is the gold standard for a device that allows one to break the frame into multiple pieces so it fits inside a suitcase. They have been popular with bike enthusiasts for years, but have not made it big in the mainstream as one still needed an hour or more to fully disassemble and pack the bike, and to unpack and reassemble. We decided to address each weakness in the system and create a travel bike as a complete package that allowed disassembly or reassembly, packing or unpacking, in less than 15 minutes. We did it! Here's how.

1. 

   KGS Stem

   The KGS Stem (patent pending) is the first coupled stem in the world. The flaw in newer stems designed for threadless steerers and with multi-bolt faceplates is, they are not designed to be removed and re-installed repeatedly. The carbon handlebars can get damaged, it is difficult for many non-bike mechanics to adjust the headset preload, and the bolts strip and break! We designed a stem that has a coupler in it, so one can remove the handlebars in under a minute.
2. We used a cable stop for the shifter cables, and have an inline cable adjuster, or a removable one, to allow the handlebar to completely separate from the front triangle.
3. Cables are traditionally not flexible, and difficult to deal with. We used Nokon cable housings to make a cool, lightweight, high-performance system which also was very flexible. The best of both worlds!
4. We also used a quick release seatpost clamp, and added our unique seatpost stop to allow one to locate the saddle height perfectly, even in a low-light hotel room!
5. The compact Campagnolo cranks we specified allowed one to use compact technology to have a wide range of gearing, which is important on a travel bike since one goes to unknown locations where the hills can be quite steep! We added a Sugino Autex self-extractor to allow the right crankarm and pedal to be removed with a 6 mm hex wrench.
   

   Quick release seatpost clamp, plus seatpost stop.

At the end of the day, the bike can be disassembled in 6 minutes. It can be padded and packed in 5 minutes. The bike can be unpacked and assembled in 14 minutes. This is incredible! One can truly have a high-performance bicycle which matches the "home bike" and will travel with no extra charges or other problems. Here is a list of the problems with bike travel and our solution with the KGS/Zinn travel bike:

1. Oversize charges - The 26 x 26 x 10 travel case is legal for all airlines to travel as regular baggage. Many regular "bike cases" cause the airlines to charge significant fees to allow one to ship the bike.
2. Taxis - A bike box will require a minivan or other large taxi to get your bike to the hotel. Our travel case will fit in the trunk of any taxi.
3. Ease of use - When one is on a trip, time matters! We do the work to engineer your travel bike so you have a painless, easy transition from bike to baggage to bike, every time.

See our Packing Sequence here. Contact us for more information!

 

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Kevin Saunders

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