laptops

"andrew" <andrew [email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike
What is the best way, backpack or pannier

Andrew

Howdy Andrew,

I've tried both but still haven't settled on a preferred option. I ride
about 10km each way so any grumbling I may make is not really justified as
it's only a 20-30min trip depending on how many weeties I have for
breakfast.

Backpack: Good for the laptop, bad for my back, it actually gets quite
painful after a couple of trips.
Pannier: Not so good for the laptop, good for my back. I've had my pannier
fall off twice with my laptop in it. Didn't do any damage but I pad it
pretty well.

Cheers
Gary

In aus.bicycle on Wed, 26 May 2004 12:32:05 +0800

andrew said:

Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike
What is the best way, backpack or pannier

I carry mine in a backpack. I figure that's going to give it the least
shock.

years ago I was riding the pushbike to work and came up next to someone
else on a pushbike.

With a Mac SE - you know, the old big Macintoshes about 2 foot tall - in
a bag, balanced on his crossbar. Apparently he took it to work and home
again every day....

Zebee

andrew said:

Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike
What is the best way, backpack or pannier

I've been carrying laptops to and from work every day for about half a
dozen years, usually in a saddlebag. I just wrap the laptop in a plastic
bag to keep the dust out. No padding needed as the saddlebag is
suspended from above.

Nick

Nick Payne said:

andrew wrote:
I've been carrying laptops to and from work every day for about half a
dozen years, usually in a saddlebag. I just wrap the laptop in a plastic
bag to keep the dust out. No padding needed as the saddlebag is
suspended from above.
Nick

wow! that's impressiv

lookin at gettin a TiPowerbook (eating into future bike expenditure 🙁
but am a bit scared of takin it on the bik

Does anyone take one in a courier-style bag? im thinkun that lower o
the back is friendlier..

-

Nick,

you need to explain what a saddlebag is to most people, very few Aussies
have ever seen one!

Me I'm a Carradice longflap man!

Nick Payne said:

andrew said:

Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike
What is the best way, backpack or pannier

I've been carrying laptops to and from work every day for about half a
dozen years, usually in a saddlebag. I just wrap the laptop in a
plastic bag to keep the dust out. No padding needed as the saddlebag
is suspended from above.

Nick

--
Remove norubbish to reply direct

Jack Russell

andrew' andrew said:

Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike
What is the best way, backpack or pannier

Andrew

I posted my solution on this to rec.bicycles.misc a few weeks ago ...

------------------------------------
I made a nice detachable "box" that's worked out really well - maybe
it'll work for you too :-) It takes my laptop to work, or sports
gear, or with the lid off, it can take a small load of groceries etc.

I got a sturdy plastic box, about 50cm (19"😉 wide and long and 20 cm
(8"😉 deep. The corners are rounded, making it seem reasonably
aerodynamic :-) The lid removes completely and overlaps the sides so
it's waterproof. I bought some aluminium angle, drilled and screwed
it to attach both inside and outside the box, so the base of the box
is "sandwiched" into a rigid supporting frame.

The side rails of the bike rack slide between the aluminium walls
protruding from the bottom of the box, providing excellent sideways
stability. Additional aluminium "hooks" on the bottom of the box
slide under the cross-bars and side-rails of the rack, stopping the
box from coming off vertically. I attached some shock cord (like a
bungy but better - see a boating shop) to the under-side of the box
that you stretch over the front of the rack, to stop the box sliding
off backwards. To secure the shock cord onto the box, I bought
special "u bolts" with attachment for gripping cord/cable.

So, attaching or detaching the box only takes a few seconds - just
position it on the rack, slide it forward so the "hooks" engage
underneath the rack, and stretch the shock cord in place.

When it's mounted, the box is about as wide as my hips, and extends
back off the edge of the rack a little, but not beyond the rear wheel.
The top of the box is below my saddle, leaving room for a saddle bag
with blinkies on. But this general design would work for larger boxes
too.

I stuck some velcro on the bottom of the box to position a block of
foam on the left and right sides. My laptop sits on these, absorbing
road shocks. It's still working after several months of commuting! I
also attached a shock cord strap that loops over the top of the box to
hold down the lid (or the contents if too big for the lid). Stick on
a couple of reflectors and it's done!

The only tools required were a drill, saw, screwdrivers etc.

"eb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>>> "Andrew" == andrew <andrew [email hidden]> writes:

Andrew> Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike What is the
Andrew> best way, backpack or pannier

I use a set f Ortleib panniers. One's big enough to fit the laptop, bag
and all. Food, clothes etc goes in the other.

I don't know if you are in Melbourne, but if so, there's a shop selling off
their Ortleib stuff currently in the CBD. I can't remember the name of the
shop, but it's on Little Bourke, near the corner of Elizabeth Street
(opposite the Crumpler shop). I think they have 20% off everything
currently.

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't use anything else.

I couldn't agree more. They're the mutt's.

Craigster

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> "Andrew" == andrew <andrew [email hidden]> writes:

Andrew> Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike What is the
Andrew> best way, backpack or pannier

Yep, been doing it for nine months now. I ride 50-55 km a day
depending whether I'm working in the city of Burwood.

I use a set f Ortleib panniers. One's big enough to fit the laptop, bag
and all. Food, clothes etc goes in the other.

The Ortleib's are bullet proof IMO. I've been through torrential rain
and everything inside's nice and dry. I went skating down Swanston
Street after getting my wheel caught in a tram track and the pannier
didn't come off. They've never come close to coming off even when on
one occasion I only had one clop locked on to the top of the rack.

I wouldn't use anything else.
--
Regards
Euan

Friedrich Niemann <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

andrew said:

Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike
What is the best way, backpack or pannier

Andrew

Ummm... when I took a laptop home for work (as a chalky, long time ago,
in a galaxy far, far away, etc) I just stuck it in my back-pack. I
guess both me and the school admin folks, umm, LOOKED THE OTHER WAY when
the possibility of me crashing my bike (and possibly writing off the
laptop including all of 7A, 7B, 7C, 7E, 8A, 8E, and 8Fs' reports) came
up... 😉

[snip]

I thought you were a stockbroker for a minute, until I re-read the paragraph!

Ritch

andrew said:

Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike
What is the best way, backpack or pannier

Andrew

Ummm... when I took a laptop home for work (as a chalky, long time ago,
in a galaxy far, far away, etc) I just stuck it in my back-pack. I
guess both me and the school admin folks, umm, LOOKED THE OTHER WAY when
the possibility of me crashing my bike (and possibly writing off the
laptop including all of 7A, 7B, 7C, 7E, 8A, 8E, and 8Fs' reports) came
up... 😉

Seriously, tho.

Thinking about the rough physics of what might happen in a spill, I
think it would probably be best to carry your laptop in a rack-top bag.

If you carried it in a back-pack/courier bag, and if you had a spill,
your laptop would accelerate from ~1.2 metres above the asphalt to 0.1
metres (or something) in a very short time. This would probably make
your laptop very unhappy.

If you carried your laptop in your panniers and you had a spill,
- it might be severely f#ckin' bounced around, ripped to [censored], and
completely f?cked up if you came down on the side the laptop was in,
or
- it might be completly fine, if it was on the other side.

If I was carrying a laptop, I would put it in a padded rack-top bag.
Thereason for this is, if I had a spill, it wouldn't be scraping along
the ground like as if it were panniers, or have the g-forcing
physics-wise unhappiness of a back-pack/courier bag.

My Euro 0.789 (=2 cents) is: carry your laptop in a padded rack-top.

[censored]
p (please feel free to disagree with me in 1000+ freestyle ways) m d
aka fred n

Andrew Reddaway said:

andrew' andrew said:

Does anyone carry a laptop to work on their bike
What is the best way, backpack or pannier

Andrew

I posted my solution on this to rec.bicycles.misc a few weeks ago ...

------------------------------------
I made a nice detachable "box" that's worked out really well - maybe
it'll work for you too :-) It takes my laptop to work, or sports
gear, or with the lid off, it can take a small load of groceries etc.

I got a sturdy plastic box, about 50cm (19"😉 wide and long and 20 cm
(8"😉 deep. The corners are rounded, making it seem reasonably
aerodynamic :-) The lid removes completely and overlaps the sides so
it's waterproof. I bought some aluminium angle, drilled and screwed
it to attach both inside and outside the box, so the base of the box
is "sandwiched" into a rigid supporting frame.

The side rails of the bike rack slide between the aluminium walls
protruding from the bottom of the box, providing excellent sideways
stability. Additional aluminium "hooks" on the bottom of the box
slide under the cross-bars and side-rails of the rack, stopping the
box from coming off vertically. I attached some shock cord (like a
bungy but better - see a boating shop) to the under-side of the box
that you stretch over the front of the rack, to stop the box sliding
off backwards. To secure the shock cord onto the box, I bought
special "u bolts" with attachment for gripping cord/cable.

So, attaching or detaching the box only takes a few seconds - just
position it on the rack, slide it forward so the "hooks" engage
underneath the rack, and stretch the shock cord in place.

When it's mounted, the box is about as wide as my hips, and extends
back off the edge of the rack a little, but not beyond the rear wheel.
The top of the box is below my saddle, leaving room for a saddle bag
with blinkies on. But this general design would work for larger boxes
too.

I stuck some velcro on the bottom of the box to position a block of
foam on the left and right sides. My laptop sits on these, absorbing
road shocks. It's still working after several months of commuting! I
also attached a shock cord strap that loops over the top of the box to
hold down the lid (or the contents if too big for the lid). Stick on
a couple of reflectors and it's done!

The only tools required were a drill, saw, screwdrivers etc.

That sounds like the option for me. I've been usign one pannier but
lately it's been really throwing my balance. Now it may be because I've
been working late but by the time I get to the end of your description I
feel like I'm listening to the teacher on Charlie Brown (wah, wa-wah,
wah wah). Don't happen to have any pictures of this setup do you?

DaveB

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> "Friedrich" == Friedrich Niemann <[email hidden]> writes:

Friedrich> andrew wrote:

Friedrich> If you carried your laptop in your panniers and you had a
Friedrich> spill, - it might be severely f#ckin' bounced around,
Friedrich> ripped to [censored], and completely f?cked up if you came down
Friedrich> on the side the laptop was in, or - it might be completly
Friedrich> fine, if it was on the other side.

I went skating down Swanston when my wheel got stuck in the tram track
on a wet day (I was still new to commuting). Bike went down laptop
side, no damage whatsoever. I put that down to the fact that the laptop
was stuffed inside it's proper carrying bag which was then stuffed in to
the pannier. A lot of shock absorption in those Dell carry bags :-)
--
Regards
Euan

"eb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

[...]

Quoted message said:

I went skating down Swanston when my wheel got stuck in the tram track
on a wet day (I was still new to commuting). Bike went down laptop

Heh. I haven't done that since I was a kid. I was on Toorak Road in
Hartwell and glided across the tram tracks at too shallow an angle.
Fortunately I wasn't going very fast because my front wheel dropped into the
track and simply jammed, throwing me over the handlebars. It was more
embarrassing than anything so I just got back on and rode home before
worrying about any damage I'd done to myself.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

I use one of my own manufacture. You can see it at
http://www.users.on.net/~njpayne/bikestuff/.

Nick

"Jack Russell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nick,

you need to explain what a saddlebag is to most people, very few Aussies
have ever seen one!

Me I'm a Carradice longflap man!

Nick,

Clever stuff, glad to see that you use a real saddle as well.

Jack

Nick Payne said:

I use one of my own manufacture. You can see it at
http://www.users.on.net/~njpayne/bikestuff/.

Nick

"Jack Russell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nick,

you need to explain what a saddlebag is to most people, very few Aussies
have ever seen one!

Me I'm a Carradice longflap man!

--
Remove norubbish to reply direct

Jack Russell

DaveB said:

Quoted message said:

I made a nice detachable "box" ...
SNIP

Quoted message said:

That sounds like the option for me. I've been usign one pannier but
lately it's been really throwing my balance. Now it may be because I've
been working late but by the time I get to the end of your description I
feel like I'm listening to the teacher on Charlie Brown (wah, wa-wah,
wah wah). Don't happen to have any pictures of this setup do you?

LOL! I never read/watched Charlie Brown, but I get the idea...

I can easily take a few pictures. Haven't got a website though, so
how 'bout I email them to you?

Andrew Reddaway said:

DaveB said:

Quoted message said:

I made a nice detachable "box" ...
SNIP

Quoted message said:

That sounds like the option for me. I've been usign one pannier but
lately it's been really throwing my balance. Now it may be because I've
been working late but by the time I get to the end of your description I
feel like I'm listening to the teacher on Charlie Brown (wah, wa-wah,
wah wah). Don't happen to have any pictures of this setup do you?

LOL! I never read/watched Charlie Brown, but I get the idea...

I can easily take a few pictures. Haven't got a website though, so
how 'bout I email them to you?

That'd be good, email me at [email hidden]

DaveB

Drs said:

glided across the tram tracks at too shallow an angle. Fortunately I
wasn't going very fast because my front wheel dropped into the track and
simply jammed, throwing me over the handlebars. It was more embarrassing
than anything so I just got back on and rode home before worrying about
any damage I'd done to myself.

I believe i patented that manouvre back in the summer of '84 to achieve
broken arm number 2!

Only realised arm was broken when I went to pick up bike and hand was
resting against my elbow (apologies to those eating lunch)

--

Nick Payne said:

I use one of my own manufacture. You can see it at
http://www.users.on.net/~njpayne/bikestuff/.

Nick

I had a look at your setup and you mention a frame builder built the
setup. How do you find a frame builder to do little jobs like that?
Anyone know one in Melbourne?

DaveB