How to transport photo equipment on a bicycle?

[cmo]

Good weather, a good bicycle, too much equipment (of course) and a question that I found was never solved: how do you take a medium to large camera equipment with you on a bicycle? How do you protect it from a good (bad) shaking?

 

[Andy K]

Ride a bike with full suspension and make sure the luggage is on the suspended part of the bike. For delicate equipment use a rucksack.

 

[jfdupuis]

For small ride (<50km), tripod goes suspended on the handle bar and my medium format kit goes into a Domke F-803 on my shoulder. The height of the bag is adjusted so that the weight is in the middle of the back, just over the belt. Longer ride, I put my stuff in suspended panniers. I think that the suspension of the pannier will absorb most of the road vibration. For off-road, I would keep it on my back.

 

[Mark Fisher]

I've hauled my 4x5 in a backpack on smooth trails. I would not even consider it on rough single track, though. Panniers could work but I'd be cautious. My experience with panniers is that they work well for things that don't care if they get shaken (I commute with panniers....I have to be careful about what I choose for lunch!). I think a purpose build case on a rack could work with the right padding as would panniers with the right padding.

 

[Thomas Wilson]

I have alot of experience with this one, and it's not all good. I have a beefy Trek road bike on which a rear rack for removable panniers & bag is mounted.

The bag its self is large enough for 1 Hasselbled w/ 2 lenses, and a couple of backs, meter, etc. This works well enough most of the time.

I decided that some of the time I needed to take a full ensemble, filling a 1650 Pelican case. I cut a piece of ply wood to roughly 18" x 24" and attached it to the pack frame. Four 8/32 screws w/ lock washers & nuts did the trick. Several bungee cords hold the Pelican case (45 lbs) securely.

Shake and vibration have not been an issue. nor did I expect any problems here. The same case has had some nasty falls with no damage to its contents.

Last Spring, the Pelican case tumbled a couple of hundred feet down a very steep incline, bouncing off rocks and trees the whole way down. A week later, the same case, while double stacked with another 1650 on the bike, took a short tumble and ended up in the C&O Canal. I hadn't planned on going swimming that morning, or hitting that tree.

The warnings regarding pannier packs (extra weight on the rear end) degrading the handling of your bike should be taken very seriously. I now limit my extra weight to one Pelican case, and haven't fishtailed into any trees since.

 

[Pinholemaster]

Put your gear in a backpack so your body dampens the vibration. If you attach anything to a bicycle, even full suspension, it will take a pounding over time.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

Maybe you can use a wheeled carrier that is hooked to the back of the bike.

Jeff

 

[Thomas Wilson]

Bike trailer

Jeff, I tried this too, but it was very heavy, and with the added weight of the gear, my spindle legs were just not up to the task.
The ultra-light kid carriers might work well.

 

[cowanw]

I don't know but August Sander travelled the mud roads around Cologne from 1909 to the 1920's. I doubt he had a fancy smancy bike.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

Jeff, I tried this too, but it was very heavy, and with the added weight of the gear, my spindle legs were just not up to the task.
The ultra-light kid carriers might work well.

I used to ride bikes 30 years ago. But now I can bearly walk in a straight line without falling over!

Jeff

 

[frotog]

I'd strongly advise against riding a bicycle with a heavy rucksack strapped to your back as it can quickly result in a nasty case of bike seat neuropathy. Your better off carrying the load in a third wheel or panniers.

 

[cmo]

I'd strongly advise against riding a bicycle with a heavy rucksack strapped to your back as it can quickly result in a nasty case of bike seat neuropathy. Your better off carrying the load in a third wheel or panniers.

I tried a rucksack a few times, but the result was a bad headache due to a tense neck and shoulder muscles.

I do own panniers, but I am afraid they just shake too much even with a lot of padding.

 

[Whiteymorange]

Maybe a new version of this?

 

[Vaughn]

For 5 months in New Zealand, I rode a push-bike well over 2000 mile, including hundreds of unpaved roads and some hiking trails, with a 4x5, 150mm lens in a Copal shutter and a light meter in my front and rear panniers. I remember riding down Haast Pass, full speed over a rough washboard gravel road for miles.

The camera and lens still work today, twenty-two years later (the light meter was stolen about 12 years after the trip).

You might consider not taking your #1 camera system. I put the lens in the front right pannier...thinking that if I crashed, I'd try to land on the left side of the bike. An over-the-handle-bars crash reveled how silly that "plan" was...as if I actually had control at the time (and the handle bars/wheel turned 180 degrees, anyway.)

Vaughn

 

[cmo]

Maybe a new version of this?

Sometimes I wish modern cameras could be folded like that... a professional 35mm SLR with a motor and 3 lenses is much bigger than an old folding camera and has many, many parts, and they all can become defective. But I still believe I need that telezoom and that wide angle etc.

 

[cmo]

An over-the-handle-bars crash reveled how silly that "plan" was...

There are more silly plans. When I was 16 I put my light tripod into a bag to hang it on the handlebar. During my flight I reflected on the incompatibility of tripod legs and spikes...

 

[nicefor88]

Personnally, I use a Lowe pro backback and that works fine. Can be fixed firmly to avoid excessive shaking when mountain biking.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

I ride around the city (for hours at a time, usually), and take day trips on the bike to nearby locations quite often. I simply carry the 4x5 field camera, four lenses, filmholders, filters, meter, etc. in a backpack. The tripod is bungeed to the carrier rack on the back. It is a bit longer than the rack, but mounting and dismounting is no problem. The pack is a cheap backpack/rolling suitcase hybrid of carry-on luggage dimensions. It has wheels and movable front legs plus a pull-out handle that allows me to dismount, take off the pack and roll it around when I decide to walk for a while. I also stands nicely inside the tripod legs when working, allowing easy access to everything and staying well in sight when I'm under the focusing cloth.

The setup works well, and my body cushions the shock from road bumps. That said, after a few hours without a shot (when I get to dismount and take the pack off), I really begin to feel the pressure from the saddle. The extra weight can give me a sore butt the next day. Plus, me and the bike are a little less stable with more weight up high. I have to be careful in corners, when going very slow or very fast, and in situations that require any maneuvering at all. Usually, however, I'm just cruising slowly and not taking any chances.

If I were doing long(er) trips, or spent a lot more time on the bike with the camera, I would invest in shock-mounted panniers and some closed-cell foam packing material. As it is, homemade cardboard boxes for camera and lenses stacked in the backpack seem to do well.

The trick for me, as with backpacking and hiking, was to get the weight of the kit down to a minimum. For this kit, I have a Woodman 4x5 field that weighs in at under three pounds, four smaller lenses (SA 90mm f8, 135mm plasmat, Ektar 203mm f7.7. and Fujinon A 240mm) a set of 52mm and 67mm filters, a Pentax digital spot meter, a few accessories and 6 filmholders. This comes to just under 22 pounds. Not too bad to pack on your back. I'm watching out for symptoms of neuropathy, though...

Hope this helps

Doremus Scudder
www.DoremusScudder.com

 

[camerastoomany]

I wonder if we worry too much. I have very little experience of cycling but recently rode my Moto Guzzi motor cycle nearly 6,000kms. Mostly I rode sealed roads but also many stretches of dirt. I carried two Canon A1 bodies with lenses plus three additional lenses and a Ricoh 500 GX compact in a tank bag.

I placed a 1cm thick layer of foam in the bottom of the tank bag (for the info of non-motor cyclists, a tankbag sits on top of a bike's petrol tank) and made individual envelopes for the cameras and lenses, by folding in half and taping, recycled bubble wrap . I had no problems whatever.

Perhaps there is more vibration/bumping on a bicycle, but I doubt it. Ride 400 kilometres at 100kph and that's 4 hours of constant vibration.

Of course, my Canon A1s, purchased secondhand, probably cost me far less than a LF camera and lens.

 

[Bob F.]

I have had my LF gear in panniers when cycling along the Thames towpath but the vibration made me nervous so I switched to putting the lenses and other relatively sensitive items in a backpack and left only the more durable stuff in the panniers with lots of bubble-wrap in the bottom. I don't know if it made any practical difference to the gear, but I certainly felt a lot better...

 

[sun of sand]

I saw this thread when fresh but didn't have a digital camera
This is how I buggy around town lol
Bought it a while ago and just now got it refinished -it was a
well, I'll just attach the craigslist photo.

I live right on the border of a waterfowl etc refuge area here where I've been biking in the same basic 10 mile loop looking for photos
Take it on marsh/pond trails and into wooded trails and being young on a LW road bike doesn't slow me down much on the road
There are some hills I avoid, though. Loaded down weighs about 50 pounds ..but then so do 2 3 yr olds and since I bought off an attractive hairstylist mommy
I cannot complain

 

[cmo]

I heard from a motorcyclist that many use a Pelican 1430 cases as panniers.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8492467&postcount=18

http://www.taschenfreak.de/TASCHEN/PELI/1430/index.htm

These cases are indestructible, waterproof and available in numerous sizes and colours.

On the other hand the manufacturer does not offer any accessory to mount these cases on bikes, only some hooks for boats are available. Many motorbikers can do DIY repairs and build their own adapters, but I am not a locksmith.

So I will talk with my bicycle dealer, maybe he can help making a "Klickfix" adapter (Klickfix is the standard in Europe for bicycles).

That might make a good solution though it looks a little like a small fridge or vanity case... well, if it works for rockers it will work for me, but I have to buy ape hangers, too...

 

[John Koehrer]

Ortlieb is a mfr. of drybags, many sizes & shapes are available and I use a pair as bags on a motor cycle/scooter. They're totally waterproof & the ones I bought have quick releases. I had to fabricate the mounting but if you have a luggage rack they may just snap on.