Carrying Something Very Old And Delicate

A letter from a reader:


I have a bit of a unique problem and was wondering what your take on the solution would be. I have a very old (and delicate) Persian instrument called a santur.

Reader's picture.

I'm wondering how I could secure the suitcase that this instrument is placed in on to a bicycle. There are basically a few locations I really like to play my santur, and they're all a ridable distance away. They're are some good bike paths to the areas I'd like to go, but also some short spats of steep inclines and rugged dirt paths.

I've recently sold my old bicycle, so I was wondering what the best option would be in terms of getting a new bicycle, given these are my needs.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

 Thank you!

I wrote back and asked about the dimensions of the instrument.  I have not heard back yet.  Assuming that the instrument and case do not fit inside a waterproof pannier (which would be my #1 recommendation), what would you suggest?

UPDATE!!!

More information from our reader, who is grateful for your comments.  This time the reader includes dimensions, along with a diagram:

I'm very flattered you've included my question on your blog!

The instrument is basically a trapezium shaped and the dimensions are: 80cm on the bottom, 33 cm on the top and 35cm on both sides with a total height of 9cm. The suitcase I use for the instrument is 31cm x 98cm x 11cm.

I've read some of the comments on your blog and can already see some potential solutions.

The Burley Travoy seems like a possible resolution, so long as I can secure the suitcase on to it, however, I'm not to certain how my santur will hold up given the slant (the weight of the instrument will be focused on one of the edges, which could potentially damage it - though this shouldn't be too much of a problem given the instrument only weighs about 3 kilograms).

I'd prefer to keep the item flat, so maybe a simple rear rack would do the trick - though I'm not sure if there are rear racks out there that can sport a 98cm suitcase.

I'm not sure if its the best idea in terms of functionality, but I wonder if there are any front rack options where I can place the suitcase perpendicular to the bicycle to keep an eye on it while I'm traveling.

Someone suggested buying a Bullit Cargo bicycle, but this is probably a little too specialized for my needs, as I'll taking the bicycle out for a lot of trips where I won't be needing to carry something on it.

I've attached an image with the exact dimensions for my santur the better visualize the size of the instruments.

Once again, thank you for your response and I look forward to hearing from you again!

 
Any additional ideas?

Surly Troll

The Troll as a complete bike. Credit: Surly Blog.

We already mentioned the Surly Troll in our recent discussion of "do-everything" bikes. The Troll frameset is due to arrive in November 2010, and according to Surly's blog, the MSRP will be $495. Surly has not said whether it will be offered as a complete bike in the future.

With its wide tire clearance, the Troll is designed to be an extremely versatile bike. When it was first announced on Surly's blog, they described it as "a commuter, tractor, off-roader, tourer, dethmachine."

As for the "tractor" part, it seems plain that the Troll was designed to go with Surly's new trailer. The Troll has horizontal dropouts along with a thick axle plate for installing Surly trailer-mounting nuts.

The frame has full line guides for derailleur and brake housing, fender eyelets, and disc and rim brake mounts. Both the frame and fork are equipped with mounts for front and rear racks, and the design allows the use of racks, fenders and disc brakes all at the same time.

Basically, the Troll can be whatever you need it to be, short of a carbon-lite racing bike.

Here are the specs:

Tubing: Surly 4130 CroMoly steel. TIG-welded. Main triangle double-butted

Seatpost diameter: 27.2mm

Seatpost clamp: 30.0mm Surly stainless, included

Headset/stem: 1-1/8" threadless

Bottom bracket: 73mm shell width, threaded standard English (1.37" x 24t)

Braze-ons/extras: Full-length housing line guides for derailleurs and brakes; 2 sets of water bottle cage mounts, removable post cantilever pivots; upper seatstay threaded barrels,mid-and low-blade fully threaded through-blade fork eyelets; threaded holes for racks, fenders and trailer mounting nuts; Rohloff OEM2 axle plate mounting slot

Brake compatibility: Disc and rim brake compatible. Note: rear disc brake is limited to 165mm maximum rotor diameter and requires the use of Surly caliper adapter

Tire clearance: 26 x 2.5" with rear wheel fully forward. Clearance for 2.7" tire with wheel farther back

Chainring clearance: 28/38/50t

Hub compatibility: 100mm O.L.D. front, 135mm O.L.D. rear

Fork: TIG-welded 4130 CroMoly, 100mm suspension corrected, tapered straight blade. Low- and mid-blade fully threaded through-blade rack eyelets; fender mount eyelets at dropout; 1-18" x 260mm threadless steer tube, 51mm disc mount, removable cantilever pivots, line/housing guides

Color: Agent Orange

Troll frameset. Credit: Surly

Update #1: check out Bikes to Like at Chasing Mailboxes on Pedro's Troll. 

Update #2: For 2012, Surly now offers the 29'er version of the Troll, which it calls the Ogre: 

Surly Trailer

New for 2011 - the Surly trailer.  Photo credit: Surly.

Surly plans to release the above-pictured trailer sometime during spring 2011.  According to the Surly blog, the MSRP will be $750 short, $775 long.  According to Surly, the trailer meets two requirements often lacking in bike trailers: (1) it can haul a heavy load and (2) it will work with any bike.

The trailer is constructed from TIG-welded CroMoly steel tubing.  The platform is 32 x 24". The wheels are 16" in diameter, and comes with 16 x 1.95" tires, although there is clearance for 16 x 2.5" tires. According to Surly, it can carry a load of up to 300 pounds (136 kg).

As for bike compatibility, Surly says the trailer hitch is designed to align the centerline of the trailer with the centerline of any bike. "It will work with bikes that have wheels as small as 20" and as large as 29" while keeping the bed level with the ground. This is especially important when you are hauling long items that hang off the back of the trailer (lumber, tubing, ladders, etc.)."

There are so many uses for a trailer like this:

- It's another option for the car-free. Rather than investing in a cargo bike, you can simply hook up the trailer to your bike of choice when you need to haul groceries or whatever. (On its blog, Surly notes the trailer + a new $1100 bike would cost as much as a Big Dummy (their cargo bike).

- It's another option for bike camping. Rather than investing in a touring bike, you can simply hook up the trailer and haul your camping stuff. (But don't make dad haul everything!)

- It's another option for day trips to the beach or picnic areas.

It's nice to have options.