[Yak] Loose screw in DD unit/charging for bikes

[Greg Illes]

A word of caution: Loctite green is the weakest blend (don't even THINK about using blue or red), but it will "wick" to all available threads. Therefore, that screw is risky - it has a long, thin end with lots of threads that could culminate in a lot of lockup and make it break when you try to remove it. Then you REALLY have a problem, a tiny little threaded stub broken off deep inside the hub, too small to drill out. One alternative might be a dab of RTV - this will hold a loose-fitting screw, but will always break loose when you apply a steady torque.

G.


----- Original Message ----
From: charles voigtsberger <charles_e_voigtsberger at yahoo.com>
To: Bike Friday <yak at bikefriday.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 8:53:27 AM
Subject: [Yak] Loose screw in DD unit/charging for bikes

John: You might want to consider putting Loctite on the screw to keep it from coming loose. It comes in different degrees of strength. I don't have the various colors committed to memory, so you will have to check Loctite's instructions which come on the back of the package. I would use the weakest compound so that you can remove the screw when you want to.

Most airlines have had charges in their tariffs for bicycles for many years. They just haven't enforced them. With the new emphasis on adding to fares, I am sure it has been pointed out to counter clerks that they have not been collecting all the fares they should have. There is no reason for a counter clerk to suspect that there is a bicycle in the suitcase unless you volunteer the information or, as in the Davis Bike Club case, you are obviously part of a group of bicyclists in which case the counter clerks only seem brain dead, they are not really. If the company's tariffs say they charge for bicycles the clerk may well lose his job if he does not collect for the bike. So lighten up on the clerks, they are trying to keep their jobs. They don't set policy. Write letters to management. Write to your congressional representatives. You can disassemble by identifying your bike as machine parts (it absolutely is). It is not a bicycle until you put it
together, until that time it is just a box full of parts, especially if it is a tandem. Part of the reason for the tariff for bikes is that typically in the past they have been much larger than golf clubs. Bike boxes were large, bulky boxes that took up the space of two or three suitcases and because they were more fragile than a suitcase full of clothes, required "special" handling. Folding bikes are a very small part of the bike market and for a non-biking corporate wank writing tariffs, bikes only come in one variety, ergo, all bikes go for the same price. 

Friday, Dahon and other folding bike companies should be organizing a pressure campaign on congress to pressure the airlines into changing their tariffs to allow bikes in hard case suitcases to go under regular weight and size tariffs. The threat of legislation is oftentimes enough to make industries revise their policies. 

As to how a ticket agent knows that you have a bike, if you are holding a bike helmet or you have some other item that screams "bike", well, duh. Generally the TSA x-ray equipment is separate from the ticket counter and TSA does not run over to tell the ticket agent "Hey, I've got a bike here." Neither does the checked baggage area communicate with the ticket counter. Unless the checked baggage screening is right by the ticket counter, the ticket agent is not going to know absent some other glaring clue. If you are wearing bike clothes as you try to board -- if you are traveling with a group and you are all talking about your upcoming bike tour, if your luggage is plastered with cute bicycle stickers, if your bike is in a soft case and the bike is easily felt through the soft case, well, even a slug can tell. While it may seem like robbery, if the counter clerk is required to charge for bicycles he is only protecting his job by charging you for your bike
and refusing to issue a boarding pass until he has the money in hand. If you protest the charge with your credit card company, well, he has done his job. The mere fact that a clerk on the first leg of the trip didn't charge you is a happy circumstance for you. The next time through that same clerk may charge you especially if it has been specifically pointed out that he/she had better start charging the appropriate tariffs or they can start contemplating a career change. Just like a speeding ticket, it is never a defense in court to tell the judge, "Sure, I was speeding, but so was everyone else."  The judge's response will be, "The fine for 90 in a 70 zone is XXXX dollars plus penalty assessment plus fees and costs. Can you pay right now or do you want to set up a payment schedule?" Just like the ticket agent, "The cost for two bikes if $XXX will that be cash or credit card?" If you are interested, see my next post about Bill McCready's tips on flying
with bicycles.
Chuck Voigtsberger
Ventura CA
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