Commuting with a laptop

Quoted message said:

So, a couple questions. Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too
much? Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a laptop
and fit on a racing bike?

A friend commutes about 20 miles with a laptop in a backpack. It is
the only thing in is backpack and he does it regularly. His is an IBM
Thinkpad which is pretty light. I tried it once with my HP Pavilion
and found it too heavy.

Tom

Quoted message said:

I'm curious to get people's thoughts on how to commute while carrying a
laptop. A bit of info about my particular situation:

- I only need to carry the laptop, no extra clothes or other stuff.
- I will be riding in the rain (Seattle area)
- I will be riding on different bikes, including my race bike (so I
probably don't want to hang too much off of it)
- My commute take over 2 hours in cases where I include a workout on
the way to the office.

http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/catalog/categories.t2?categoryId=45

I use the Medium Messenger bag to commute and find it much more
comfortable than a backpack. You can usually find these bags on sale for
about 70% of retail.

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So, a couple questions. Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too
much? Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a laptop
and fit on a racing bike?

A friend commutes about 20 miles with a laptop in a backpack. It is
the only thing in is backpack and he does it regularly. His is an IBM
Thinkpad which is pretty light. I tried it once with my HP Pavilion
and found it too heavy.

Tom

My first thought is that you were joking... but then I thought you might be
serious, so here is my serious response... People ride with Camelbaks all
day long. When I do epic rides I will sometimes put two 100 oz. bladders in
my Hawg along with other gear need for such a ride. I'm assuming this would
weigh at least as much as laptop alone.

Secondly, as far as protecting you laptop from inclement weather I will
suggest going to backpacking store (or a kayaking store) and getting a
waterproof stuff sack to put your computer in while transporting it in you
backpack. A cheaper route would be to put it in a garbage bag... or carry a
garbage bag with you and put the laptop in it if it looks like rain or
starts to rain. Another suggestion might be to buy a rear fender that mounts
to your seat post to keep the spray off of your pack (I'm assuming either an
office or college environment where a semi clean pay would be preferred and
the fender can be switched from bike to bike).

For a low cost trial grab any backpack wrap the computer and ride for 20
miles on the weekend to see how it works out. If successful I would suggest
a backpack specifically made for transporting laptops (Office Max or Office
Depot, I have seen them in Office Depot where I live) and the waterproof
stuff sack. They are cheap insurance for an item such as a laptop...

-p

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So, a couple questions. Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too
much? Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a laptop
and fit on a racing bike?

A friend commutes about 20 miles with a laptop in a backpack. It is
the only thing in is backpack and he does it regularly. His is an IBM
Thinkpad which is pretty light. I tried it once with my HP Pavilion
and found it too heavy.

I frequently ride 20 miles doing errands, carrying at least that much in a
backpack. It's fine. But a messenger bag is less sweaty, and better for a
"road bike" riding position. If you're carrying just the laptop, I think a
messenger bag would be the way to go, as long as it's fairly compact. I think
the size matters more than the weight. Backpacks are better for larger loads.

Matt O.

Quoted message said:

I'm curious to get people's thoughts on how to commute while carrying a
laptop.

You didn't mention how heavy your laptop is. Unless it's gigantic,
you'll probably be fine with a backpack. Get one with a rain cover, if
possible (Pearl Izumi makes a good one). Or, as someone else
suggested, get a messenger bag.

I prefer to let the bike carry my stuff, though, so I got one of these:
http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/briefcase/overview.asp?fl=1&site=
It works pretty well.

-Vee

So, [email hidden] was wondering:

Quoted message said:

So, a couple questions. Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too
much? Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a laptop
and fit on a racing bike?

Just my $.02; I would shy away from any bike mounted options in favor
of either a backpack or messenger bag. Your body will do a pretty
effective job of isolating the laptop from the vibration and shock
it would receive if affixed to the bike.

That being said, I use a Vaude backpack to carry my laptop, clothes, and
whatnot on my commute. If you can find a Vaude, the air-flex (or
whatever they call it) system that keeps the pack from sitting /on/ your
back alleviates my biggest complaint about most backpacks; "sweaty
back".

The laptop has even survived a couple of spills in the ice and snow
unscathed.

YMMV,
Greg
--
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we belong to the earth. We did not weave the web
of life - we are merely strands in it. Whatever
we do to the web, we do to ourselves."

(Chief Seattle)
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My Blog-
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Quoted message said:

Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too much?

Yes, IMHO. I find my laptop to be very rigid and makes things more
uncomfortable than a regular load. I wonder how good it is for the
laptop to have to conform to the curve of your back for that long.

Quoted message said:

Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a
laptop and fit on a racing bike?

I use a carradice SQR Slim (www.carradice.co.uk/sqr-products.htm). It
fits my 15" laptop and maybe a slim notebook binder. It attaches to the
seatpost with a quick release mount. I bought an extra mount so I have
it on my racer and my mountain bike. It says it is waterproof but I
never test it out in anything more than a very light rain. Be sure you
have enough seatpost to mount it (there are guidelines on the site.)

I feel the SQR Slim is more secure than panniers, which I've had fall
off occasionally. I worry about the bumpiness of the ride (likely more
shock than with a backpack) but so far I have had no problems. (I don't
carry it every day.)

The one I bought had square headed allen bolts that attached the
bracket to the bag. I replaced these with pan-headed allen bolts to
present a more friendly internal surface to the bag's contents but
otherwise I've been pleased with it. I've had it for three or four
years. It cost about $90 and the extra mount about $25. I believe
Harris Cyclery and Peter White carry them.

Quoted message said:

I'm curious to get people's thoughts on how to commute while carrying a
laptop.

The absolute best way is to get high speed internet at home, and a VPN
and/or Citrix. Then you can go for a nice early ride, come back home,
shower, plug in, and you're 'at work.'

But I also use a back-pack type laptop case with the Thinkpad and a
change of clothes, etc, double-strapped to the rack on both a
racing-style and a touring/hybrid style bike. I use a nylon strap
laterally, and a bungie longitudinally, so there's no single point of
failure (I've dumped a single-strapped pack into traffic more than once
- never with a laptop inside, fortunately.)

Quoted message said:

I'm curious to get people's thoughts on how to commute while carrying a
laptop. A bit of info about my particular situation:

I commuted with a laptop for several years. First it was an early
"toilet seat" iBook, then the Ti Powerbook I'm typing on at the moment.

I started out using a messenger bag, but found it quite uncomfortable.

I switched to a Carradice Nelson Longflap, which was a lot better. The
bag dangles instead of resting on the bike, so it doesn't transmit as
much road shock to the computer.

Earlier this year, however, I switched to a much better system. I
bought one of the new 20 inch iMacs for use at home, and leave the
laptop at the shop most of the time (only bring it home when I'm going
to be traveling or for live music recording.)

I carry all of my active Website pages and all of my email (totalling
about 3-4 GB) back and forth in my iPod. The bike feels SO much better
without the weight of the Powerbook, and I'd be carrying the iPod anyway
to listen to music as I ride.

Sheldon "Macs To The Max" Brown
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| It is amazing how much "mature wisdom" resembles being too tired. |
| --Robert A. Heinlein |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Pippen said:

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So, a couple questions. Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too
much? Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a laptop
and fit on a racing bike?

A friend commutes about 20 miles with a laptop in a backpack. It is
the only thing in is backpack and he does it regularly. His is an IBM
Thinkpad which is pretty light. I tried it once with my HP Pavilion
and found it too heavy.

Tom

My first thought is that you were joking... but then I thought you might be
serious, so here is my serious response... People ride with Camelbaks all
day long. When I do epic rides I will sometimes put two 100 oz. bladders in
my Hawg along with other gear need for such a ride. I'm assuming this would
weigh at least as much as laptop alone.

My HP Pavilion with charger weighs considerably more than my full
Camelback.

Patrick Lamb said:

Sheldon Brown said:

Earlier this year, however, I switched to a much better system. I
bought one of the new 20 inch iMacs for use at home, and leave the
laptop at the shop most of the time (only bring it home when I'm going
to be traveling or for live music recording.)

I carry all of my active Website pages and all of my email (totalling
about 3-4 GB) back and forth in my iPod. The bike feels SO much better
without the weight of the Powerbook, and I'd be carrying the iPod anyway
to listen to music as I ride.

For everybody else (besides Mac users), here's another idea. Get an
extra hard drive, and a USB external drive enclosure. Works best with
newer machines (USB 2 vs. 1), but it'll only set you back $125 or so
for 60 Gb. No music while biking, though.

Pat

Email address works as is.

Better yet, try using a VPN and shared storage to store your files. Not
an option if, say, your company will only allow you one computer and
you're not willing to spend money on another.

That said, when I do commute I use a standard laptop sleeve and place
the protected laptop in my messenger bag. I hope Timbuk2 comes out with
a Large size laptop messenger soon, because I'd like to get one of
those. Why messenger bag instead of my laptop backpack? Lower center
of gravity, less sweat on the back, and greater volume for carrying
additional gym clothes.

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

Quoted message said:

Pippen said:

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

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] wrote:
> So, a couple questions. Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too
> much? Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a laptop
> and fit on a racing bike?
>
A friend commutes about 20 miles with a laptop in a backpack. It is
the only thing in is backpack and he does it regularly. His is an IBM
Thinkpad which is pretty light. I tried it once with my HP Pavilion
and found it too heavy.

Tom

My first thought is that you were joking... but then I thought you might
be
serious, so here is my serious response... People ride with Camelbaks all
day long. When I do epic rides I will sometimes put two 100 oz. bladders
in
my Hawg along with other gear need for such a ride. I'm assuming this
would
weigh at least as much as laptop alone.

My HP Pavilion with charger weighs considerably more than my full
Camelback.

<copied from first reply>
When I do epic rides I will sometimes put two 100 oz. bladders in
my Hawg along with other gear need for such a ride. I'm assuming this would
weigh at least as much as laptop alone.

Does it weigh more than 200 oz of water (about 12.5 pounds), shell, leg
warmers, arm warmers, food and tools? I think we are getting into desktop
weights... well maybe a small desktop... According to Dell my laptop weighs
in at 5.5 pounds, I'm assuming that is with battery. Although batteries in
the laptop world might be like pedals in the bike world, never counted in
the advertised weight. I'm not saying that you are wrong, you may have a
small bladder in you CamelBak and a heavy laptop... I should also mention
that these epic rides are mtb rides...

Please don't take anything personal, I have tried to put humor in my reply
but sometimes I'm just not that good at it...

-p

Sheldon Brown said:

Earlier this year, however, I switched to a much better system. I
bought one of the new 20 inch iMacs for use at home, and leave the
laptop at the shop most of the time (only bring it home when I'm going
to be traveling or for live music recording.)

I carry all of my active Website pages and all of my email (totalling
about 3-4 GB) back and forth in my iPod. The bike feels SO much better
without the weight of the Powerbook, and I'd be carrying the iPod anyway
to listen to music as I ride.

For everybody else (besides Mac users), here's another idea. Get an
extra hard drive, and a USB external drive enclosure. Works best with
newer machines (USB 2 vs. 1), but it'll only set you back $125 or so
for 60 Gb. No music while biking, though.

Pat

Email address works as is.

DWelzel said:

I only need to carry the laptop, no extra clothes
I will be riding in the rain (Seattle area)
I will be riding on different bikes, including my race bike
My commute take over 2 hours

A two-hour commute to work on a race bike in the rain with no change of
clothes is a combination so far off my radar that I have no idea what to
tell you. I routinely commuted with a laptop for three years, but not a
two-hour trip, not on a race bike, and not without a change of clothes.
I did a half-hour ride on my urban assault commuter, sometimes in the
rain, always with a change of clothes, and used panniers to hold
everything, including the laptop: big water-repellant panniers, with the
laptop in one plastic bag, clothes in another, tools & spares in
another, etcetera.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)

quote='LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m'DWelzel said:

I only need to carry the laptop, no extra clothes
I will be riding in the rain (Seattle area)
I will be riding on different bikes, including my race bike
My commute take over 2 hours

A two-hour commute to work on a race bike in the rain with no change of
clothes is a combination so far off my radar that I have no idea what to
tell you. I routinely commuted with a laptop for three years, but not a
two-hour trip, not on a race bike, and not without a change of clothes.
I did a half-hour ride on my urban assault commuter, sometimes in the
rain, always with a change of clothes, and used panniers to hold
everything, including the laptop: big water-repellant panniers, with the
laptop in one plastic bag, clothes in another, tools & spares in
another, etcetera.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)[/QUOTE]

I've ridden with the bunch with a laptop (50k's to work), clothes are basically all at work (particularly shoes - they are heavy!).

Get a second power supply or run off the battery at home. Leave it at work unless you really are going to use it that night/weekend.

Get a Crumpler or similar (messenger bag). I started with a CD3 and the laptops own padded bag, I have moved up to Crumpler's very busy man which has stacks of padding (almost too much - it is bulky but not heavy).

Next step will be another computer and a hard drive storage of sorts - iPOD, flash or hard drive storage - not sure which?

On 13 Jun 2005 09:39:42 -0700, "[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

So, a couple questions. Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too
much? Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a laptop
and fit on a racing bike?

Vibraion is the big item; a laptop in a backpack is subject to far
less vibration than one that's attached directly to the bike, even
when unreasonable amounts of padding are employed around it.

My advice: Use a backpack that fits both you and the laptop well
enough that you can use it for two hours at a stretch.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

the question is mind buckling
the quest futile
the end determinate
go forth fool!
and perish

Quoted message said:

I'm curious to get people's thoughts on how to commute while carrying a
laptop. A bit of info about my particular situation:

- I only need to carry the laptop, no extra clothes or other stuff.
- I will be riding in the rain (Seattle area)
- I will be riding on different bikes, including my race bike (so I
probably don't want to hang too much off of it)
- My commute take over 2 hours in cases where I include a workout on
the way to the office.

So, a couple questions. Is riding with a backpack for 2 hours too
much? Are there any bike mounted bag options that will fit a laptop
and fit on a racing bike?

I would get a Tom Bihn "Monolith" laptop sleeve and put it inside a
Vaude backpack. The sleeve is padded and has quite good protection.
The backpack has a tensioned mesh to sit off your back and an
integrated rain cover. There should be room for odds and ends in the
pack too.

http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/300/TB0330

http://www.vaude.de/hps/client/vaude/public/hxfront/index.hbs/outdoor/en

Best of luck!

G
--
Gregory S. Sutter "How do I read this file?"
[email hidden] "You uudecode it."
http://zer0.org/~gsutter/ "I I I decode it?"

PiledHigher said:

I've ridden with the bunch with a laptop (50k's to work)

That is one Hell of a long commute. The longest I ever did routinely was
30km, and that took 70 minutes.

Quoted message said:

clothes are basically all at work (particularly shoes -
they are heavy!).

Shoes are heavy?? What do you wear at work, diver's boots? Another
question: do you launder your clothes at work, or just wear them until
they're strong enough to get up and walk away?

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)