How to Pack our Q45 Recumbent Touring Bike for Airline Travel

Packing a Cruzbike Q45 in a Tern AirPorter Slim

Historically, we’ve used the Tern AirPorter case to pack our Q45s for airline travel.  Jim and I had an adventure in the Netherlands doing a Bike and Barge.  We rode our bikes from place to place along on the upper Rhine during the day and the barge would meet us each evening where we dined and slept.  On the same vacation, we did some cycling in Germany on our Q45s.  It was one of our favorite Cruzbike affairs. It would have been difficult without the Tern case to fly our bikes to Europe. The Tern AirPorter, however, is oversized and we had to pay extra to get them there.

Tern has discontinued the AirPorter and now sells the Tern AirPorter Slim, a much smaller (21” x 13” x 33”) and lighter case.  I wanted to see if the Q45 would fit into the new case. I knew it would not fit with the larger 650b wheels that now come stock with the Q45, but we also sell optional 24 inch wheels - so I was hoping I could get the Q45 into the case with the smaller wheels.  

The good news is that the Q45 packs down to fit into the case beautifully with the smaller wheels.  It also weighs in at just about 40 pounds, and because the case is smaller it will go as a regular checked bag. This is marvelous for Cruzbikers who want to take their Q45 on experiences that require an airplane.  

The Q45 does require quite a bit of disassembly, but I could do it and I am not a bike mechanic, so I assume anyone motivated to travel with their Cruzbikes can do it too.

How I packed the Cruzbike Q45 in the Tern AirPorter Slim case as a regular checked airline bag:

(With some not very good pictures.) One day we may have Robert create a better video, but for those of you champing at the bit, this should get you started.

1. I removed the chain (using a chainbreak tool), the seat and the handlebars. Whenever I could, I put the hardware and clamps back into the frame so they wouldn’t get lost. This requires a little extra time when reassembling, but it’s worth it because you don’t lose small nuts or bolts.
2. Next I took out the upper seat support tube and the upper shock attachment.
3. I removed the bottom bracket clamps so that the front chainstay was separated from the frame, and then the pivot bolt so the boom and slider were separated from the frame. 
4. Finally I removed both wheels, again replacing the through axles in the frame without the wheels.
5. With the shock loosened from it’s upper attachment, the frame folds. As you can see from the picture below, it was too big to fit in the case without removing the fork.
6. Once it was clear I was going to have remove the fork, at Robert’s suggestion, I removed the front brake from the fork so that the fork could be completely separated from the frame. 
7. Again at Robert’s suggestion, after I removed the fork, I put all the spacers and clamps back on the fork in the order I took them off.
8. Once the fork was removed the frame and all the parts fit easily into the case.
9. Jim built up the 24 inch wheels and we put them in the case with tubes and tires.  They fit just fine, but we’d recommend not airing them up.  

Once the case was closed, we weighed it and found it just at 40 pounds!  We’re looking forward to our next Q45 expedition!

Note, that if you want to take your Q45 with the stock wheels, you could fly them in a separate bag.

Also, it’s important to remove the discs from the wheels as they will get bent in travel. 

Here's the link to the photos again.