Biking with my gear?
Mar 9, 2017 06:04:30 #
Good morning! You know, spring is coming... at least I think it is and I will be getting the bike ready for the long rides here in Wisconsin.
This is my first season with camera gear and I'm wondering how my gear and I can bike together. I have a good hard pack on the back of the bike but I'm concerned that the ridiculous amount of jiggle and bounce will destroy my beloved, shuttered friend. Any advice?
This is my first season with camera gear and I'm wondering how my gear and I can bike together. I have a good hard pack on the back of the bike but I'm concerned that the ridiculous amount of jiggle and bounce will destroy my beloved, shuttered friend. Any advice?
Mar 9, 2017 06:10:54 #
murphle wrote:
Good morning! You know, spring is coming... at least I think it is and I will be getting the bike ready for the long rides here in Wisconsin.
This is my first season with camera gear and I'm wondering how my gear and I can bike together. I have a good hard pack on the back of the bike but I'm concerned that the ridiculous amount of jiggle and bounce will destroy my beloved, shuttered friend. Any advice?
This is my first season with camera gear and I'm wondering how my gear and I can bike together. I have a good hard pack on the back of the bike but I'm concerned that the ridiculous amount of jiggle and bounce will destroy my beloved, shuttered friend. Any advice?
"...the ridiculous amount of jiggle" Even padding and safe packing still have the camera jiggling for hours. I rode a Gold Wing, so jiggling was not part of my day. Whether or not that matters, I don't know, but I wouldn't want to do it. I'd get a Tough camera for bike trips. I have the Olympus TG-860.
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/top-10-best-waterproof-tough-cameras-2017-17302
Mar 9, 2017 06:13:51 #
Just pad it. I can't tell you how many adventures I e hauled my Nikons. I once dropped a Nikon FE-2 30 yards down a very still cliff packed in an ammo can with 1/4 closed cell foam as padding. Only damaged a lens shade. Don't know if my D5200 will take that kind of abuse but it's been many miles on my Kawasaki 650 and then later an 1150 BMW.
Mar 9, 2017 07:30:08 #
Ah..... let me point out that my biking is the pedaling kind. I pedal for hours.... it's a Giant hybrid bicycle. Definitely jiggly on the bike trails.
Mar 9, 2017 07:36:17 #
murphle wrote:
Ah..... let me point out that my biking is the pedaling kind. I pedal for hours.... it's a Giant hybrid bicycle. Definitely jiggly on the bike trails.
I would think a backpack might be a better way to carry - your body acting as the shock absorber and less bouncing than being directly attached to the bike.
Mar 9, 2017 08:37:39 #
Mar 9, 2017 09:55:13 #
I am also a bicyclist. Rode from Atlanta to middle Tenn. And then again from middle Tenn to Indiana. Always have my camera on those trips. If you have a handlebar bag its a good place because its nice to be able to instantly grab the camera. I did camera repair for several years before everything went electronic. Cameras are toigher than you think. The worst problems usually occur when other stuff you are hauling spills on the camera such as gatoraid or melted power bar. Bad to get a broken egg off of a backpa kers camera
Mar 9, 2017 10:49:14 #
Did you fit a DSLR in the handlebar bag? If so, that's something for me to 'go shopping' for! I love shopping for gear or gear-related items.
Mar 9, 2017 11:41:28 #
Mar 9, 2017 12:01:09 #
murphle wrote:
Did you fit a DSLR in the handlebar bag? If so, that's something for me to 'go shopping' for! I love shopping for gear or gear-related items.
Assuming you find one large enough, you could make a custom foam lining to further reduce any shocks, whether for front, back, or back pack.
Many years ago when I used to go spelunking (caving / potholing ) we took our cameras in foam lined steel ammo boxes, dragged through miles of twisty little rocky passages, up and down water falls, all sorts of inhospitable environments to cameras. They all survived without damage.
Mar 9, 2017 13:07:11 #
The ammo can is what i was using when i dropped the camera down the cliff. A camera in a handlebar bag will get very little vibration. Cant even tell you how many miles ive ridden with a camera in that bag. I used to ride about 2000 miles a year. Not a) of them with the camera though. I finally got old and have too many commitments now. Ride about 800 to 1200 now.
Mar 9, 2017 15:07:53 #
Commitments and age..... My other recreation with the camera is kayaking. I think I have that one figured out though - of course, the unexpected can happen; however, I keep my gear in a dry bag and take it out only to take some shots. Thanks for the handlebar bag idea!
Mar 9, 2017 15:18:17 #
Used to do white water canoeing. Part of my job as university photographer was to shoot ROTC events. So i went on a survival course canoe trip with them. I was supposed to have a partner in tbe canoe bjt they were one man short. The leutenant said your experienced and need to move around so we will put you in the canoe by yourself. Well that sounded good at first. I would get to the whitewater,paddle through and then sboot everyone coming through. Ok now i haeed to paddle past everyone to get to the front again. so i worked hard that weekend. Kept my cameras in the ammo can with a flotation device attached. I still ha e that can but now it actually holds ammo.
Mar 10, 2017 05:29:05 #
ltouchstone
Loc: Maryville, Tn.
I travel regularly on my Goldwing with a digital single lens reflex. We rode to all four corners of the USA in 2015 for nearly 13000 miles with no problems. I keep my 5D inside its own bag safely packed in the trunk. With padding underneath I've had nary a problem. I'll keep my phone or a point and shoot handy for the grab shots and posts to Facebook. Have fun!
Mar 10, 2017 05:56:44 #
I am a cyclist (pedals). if I am off road and have a lot of gear (multiple bodies & lenses, flash, & tripod etc.) i use a photo backback & sometimes a trailer. If I am riding on the road with a small amount of gear I will put a body & lens into a simple back pack. Depending on the amount of gear & the surface I ride on I use some combination of these methods. I have been doing this for 10 plus years with no gear damage other than 1 broken skylight filter when i slipped on some rocks when I was hiking after I parked the bike..
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