Photography and bikes

cfimages said:

2)The main question. Hopefully there's a few other photogs reading this. What's the best way to protect camera gear while riding? I usually travel with 2 camera bodies - a DSLR and a film SLR, plus about 4-5 lenses and tripod. Any tips?

Cheers and TIA

Craig

Not to be glib, but the only thing I can think of is don't fall down. I am a photographer as well and have carried equipment on my bike, but I try to really keep it down to a minimum. I have broken one camera (fortunately it was just a cheap little digital that I bought for my husband) by falling off while it was in my pocket. I didn't actually land on the camera, but the jarring that it got when I hit the ground was enough to knock the LCD screen on the back out of order.
I have a road bike (no racks of any sort) so I bought a little backpack to carry my camera in - on the bike the most I will take is a DSLR body and my long lens as I am usually biking down to photograph a (bike)race. When I carry this stuff I am a much more conservative rider. To carry as much as you list you'll at least need a rack and some panniers, or even better rig some way to attatch two hard cases (like pelican cases) to the rack - maybe even to be safer a trailer like a BOB or a YAK trailer with a waterproof bag on it? A trailer would slow you down and add to your weight, but it would take the bumps better and would be more unlikely to tip over than your bike alone.
Good luck on the trip

Eden said:

Not to be glib, but the only thing I can think of is don't fall down. I am a photographer as well and have carried equipment on my bike, but I try to really keep it down to a minimum. I have broken one camera (fortunately it was just a cheap little digital that I bought for my husband) by falling off while it was in my pocket. I didn't actually land on the camera, but the jarring that it got when I hit the ground was enough to knock the LCD screen on the back out of order.
I have a road bike (no racks of any sort) so I bought a little backpack to carry my camera in - on the bike the most I will take is a DSLR body and my long lens as I am usually biking down to photograph a (bike)race. When I carry this stuff I am a much more conservative rider. To carry as much as you list you'll at least need a rack and some panniers, or even better rig some way to attatch two hard cases (like pelican cases) to the rack - maybe even to be safer a trailer like a BOB or a YAK trailer with a waterproof bag on it? A trailer would slow you down and add to your weight, but it would take the bumps better and would be more unlikely to tip over than your bike alone.
Good luck on the trip

Eden,

Thanks for that. Not falling is probably a good idea. Most of the trip will be on roads with only light traffic, and here in Taiwan, motorists are used to having bikes and slow moving scooters on the road. I may knock it down to 3 lenses - 4-5 is probably overkill. Panniers are something I'll look into closer to the time - I know I'll need them. I'd wondered about the trailer, but I don't know whether they are available here - at least I've never seen any in the LBS.

cfimages said:

Eden,

Thanks for that. Not falling is probably a good idea. Most of the trip will be on roads with only light traffic, and here in Taiwan, motorists are used to having bikes and slow moving scooters on the road. I may knock it down to 3 lenses - 4-5 is probably overkill. Panniers are something I'll look into closer to the time - I know I'll need them. I'd wondered about the trailer, but I don't know whether they are available here - at least I've never seen any in the LBS.

I reckon a small trailer with a full cage would be your best bet. That way if you roll it the top bars will keep your $$$$ camera gear safe. Worked with my sister's kiddie trailer - rolled it and she was fine, if a little upside-down 🙂.

It'll mean your camera stuff is less accessible though. I'd recommend taking a compact digital (IXUS? Mju? Maybe something really cheap and nasty?) to carry in your pocket as an easily accessible camera for those spontaneous shots.

cfimages said:

Hi guys, my first post.

I'm a photographer (unfortunately not yet making enough $ to do it full time) who is getting back into riding. Based in Taiwan.

I recently bought a Giant Yukon (not sure about US prices, but here in Taiwan it was less than half the cost of the same bike in Australia, where I'm from).

My riding history - BMX as a kid/teen, road bike in my late teens/early twenties, MTB late twenties (road/paths only). Now, in my early 30s, I've gotten back into things, aiming to do a longish ride, on bad roads, in 6 months time. Longish meaning over 500km, but going from sea level to 2800m in winter.

So, 2 questions.

1)Any training/equipment trips for doing big clims on a MTB? I think the biggest climb will be about 60km long. Probably better for a road bike, but there are other roads/paths on the trip where I'll need a MTB.

2)The main question. Hopefully there's a few other photogs reading this. What's the best way to protect camera gear while riding? I usually travel with 2 camera bodies - a DSLR and a film SLR, plus about 4-5 lenses and tripod. Any tips?

Cheers and TIA

Craig

I've cycled extensively around the United States with my cameras. Because of my cameras, I never go off road unless I'm hiking. My set up on my bicycle has always been to have my camera bag set across my front panniers which I carry high. I keep the bag packed well with foam and have never had any troubles with equipment breakage.