First Look: Rock Lobster's Gorgeous Travel Bike Frames
A travel bike is, for many of us, the most important bike we can buy. Better than any super bike, better than the bikes that win the Grand Tours, better than any five-figure dream bike, better than any bike from a brand with an unimpeachable legacy.
It’s the best bike because there is no ride without a bike. The roads and trails that surround those business trips, bucket-list cycling vacations, and family getaways cannot be explored without a bike. You cannot ride without a bike.
And flying with a bike, packing a standard frame into a box, paying exorbitant bike-baggage fees, sucks. Unless you own a travel bike. It fits in a regulation-size and weight checked bag, fits easily in a rental car; and with practice you can build it and break it down in 20-minutes or less. A satisfying routine that is best accompanied by a coffee, or a beer.
RELATED: Bike Travel Essentials
There are two leading travel bike coupling systems: Ritchey’s BreakAway, and the S&S Machine Bicycle Torque Coupling (BTC). The Ritchey system is minimalist and light, but tube-size options are limited. The S&S is more robust, with numerous options so builders have more tube choices, but it’s a heavy and expensive system.
For the first time I’ve seen, these two Rock Lobster frames–built by Paul Sadoff, one of the best and most accessible custom builders in the world–rather brilliantly take a best-of-both approach, pairing the Ritchey BreakAway seat-tube coupling, with a S&S BTC on the down tube.
Beyond the clever coupling combo, these steel frames are loaded: rack mounts, tapered head tube, Whiskey Parts No.9 carbon road fork, disc-brakes, thru axles, gorgeous paint, and matching Chris King bits. The rear dropout system is Paragon Machine Works’ Polydrop, which is belt-drive compatible and offers numerous inserts for different eyelet, axle, brake and drivetrain combinations.
The starting price for a similar frame, with couplers and Polydrops, would be $2,200, a price that does not include the custom paint, fork and Chris King bits shown here. And if you're looking for ideas on where you can take your next cycling adventure (with our without a travel frame), check out The Cyclist's Bucket List, written by Bicycling contributor Ian Dille.
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