michael_b._elmer Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 I need a light, handy and unsuspicious camera bag that I can mount on my classic bicycle and carry with me over my shoulder when I park the bike. The bag should have room for 1-2 M6 cameras, eventually also a CL or a Minilux, all with lenses mounted, 1-3 extra lenses, hoods etc., and accessories including a pol filter, a grey card, a Leica tripod and ballhead, rolls of film, and, eventually, a SF 20 flash. The bag should, of course, at the same time be able to accomodate a cellular phone, a small dictaphone, a wallet, a passport, a pair of binoculars, chewing gum and other sweets, keys etc. If the bag could instead of the listed M-cameras and lenses etc. also carry a similar collection of R-cameras and lenses etc., it would be my ideal companion on any ride on my bike. From time to time a smaller equipment might justify a smaller and more handy bag. Any experiences and suggestions? Does anyone have experience with the Klickfix Allrounder (KT271) or Allrounder Mini (KT272)? Thanking in advance all my bicycling Leica-colleagues for their assistance and proposals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_mearns Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 what do you mean a 'classic' bike. A Colnago? Go with Domke. DeRosa? Has to be a Billingham. Seriously, just go carefully, in a spill your head would explode from trying to save your camera, your paintwork and your ass all at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_b.1 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 have a look at:<br><br> <a href="http://www.crumplerusa.com">www.crumplerusa.com</a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.crumpler.com.au">www.crumpler.com.au</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorn ake Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 I think you need to carry the bag on you rather than on the bike. Otherwise everything just gets jostled way too much. I use a courier bag from Freitag (www.freitag.ch) but I modified it with a thin foam pad from a camping goods store stitched inside to keep the cameras and my back separated. I also have a Domke insert with three compartments that I use in it that further cushions the cameras. It is a huge bag, so all the sweets, coffee (earlier post) sweaters etc. fit in around the edges. Timbuk2.com makes a nice phone holder for the strap. And custom bags in custom colors and waxed canvas. More pockets would be nice. Courierwareusa.com makes a courier/camera bag with all these features already included, plus more pockets, but only in cordura rather than cool plastic vinyl tarpaulin scavenged from European delivery trucks like my Freitag. Eventually I will have to sew my own. The tripod is the only thing to mount on the bike. Get a nice rack at your local bike shop, or a really retro one from Rivendell Cycles on the web. Velcro bike pump straps hold the legs. Or you can just stuff it all into a Lowepro Stealth backpack, but this might not match the aesthetic of your Colnago, De Rosa, Batavus, Olmo, Ciocc, .... ah bicycles. Do you have a leather saddle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_brown4 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 www.chromebags.com These are proper courier (bicycle) bags. What the professional couriers use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_.1 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 I agree with Jon- unless you want your rangefinder outta whack and lenses uncollimated. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas_wybolt Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Michael, I concur with Jorn, and can speak from personal experience, you do not want to carry your camera gear in a bicycle mounted bag. After some non-deterministic amount of bouncing, you will find that your rangefinder, for example, requires alignment. I asked a similar question of the this forum in Oct/01 and purchased the LowePro Photo Runner as a result. You can read all about it here -- http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=002dp8 . -Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_collier2 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 No problems at all as long as your bike is a Moulton... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt_delesandri Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 My reccomendation is that you develop a need for less crap. Whether or not that is possible, you can get a "rhode" gear (brand name in the US) handlebar bag. It mounts on a rigid mount, but is a synthetic (water resistant) bag. Put some foam in it to isolate the vibration, it's a nice one. Had one on my Cinelli. Worked great for camera plus (ham radio) walkie-talkie, and a snack or two... The bag quickly removes from the mount, and you can take it with you...my example was a few years old, but I'm sure there's a recent equivalent....got mine when a friend and photographer ("Bicycle John") worked for a cycling organization that shall remain unnamed. (I think he "appropriated" the bag for me...it's good to have friends!!! WAlt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert knapp md Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Michael: Several further points: 1) Learn to travel light! Remember your physics and think of how much harder it will be carrying all of this UPHILL pedalling the bilke. 2) Never keep your passport in a bag. US passports are prized by thieves who know where to resell them. Use a money/passport belt for this purpose at all times. 3) You may want to consider a backpack such as a Lowepro, Tenba or Billingham as opposed to a shoulder bag which can be destabilizing on a bike trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralph_barker Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 <center> <img border=2 src="http://www.rbarkerphoto.com/misc/Misc-Stuff/bike04.jpg"> </center> <p>Oh, wait. You wanted a bicycle camera <i>bag</i>. ;-) </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_w. Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 I often take my camera when I bike. I use one of my regular camera bags and either double-strap it (one over the shoulder, one around my waist, or put the bag in a standard backpack with other stuff I need. 1. I wouldn´t mount the bag on the bike: a. Vibration b. Un-sprung weight increase c. When you fall, the camera bag goes down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_w. Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Oh BTW, I don't fall very much, a couple of years ago last time, and I bike every dry day down here in Tejas: a whole bunch, maybe 500mi/mo. And when I fall, it's never on my back (or my head); more on my hands (instinct) and/or side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_ting2 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 I use a Lowepro fanny bag and its perfect for 2 bodies & 2 lens. However, I find its essential to travel light by bike. You pay a lot for a lightweight bike, but then loading it up with expensive Leica gear is somewhat like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john15 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Jorn is right; the M6 rangefinder will go out of alignment if the camera is carried in a pannier or even a bag attached to the seat like the Carradice. My cameras of choice for bicycling are now the rangefinderless Rollei 35 [unhappily, long since out of production], recently the Contax T3 [this seems like a tough camera with an excellent lens but much overpriced, IMO] and the Olympus Stylus Epic [laughably underpriced,excellent lens, nicely made, weather resistant, albeit not a speck of titanium in sight or out of sight] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schopke Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Roots makes a great bag: http://www.gentec-intl.com/Default.asp?mode=prd&div_id=&prod_id=N4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j m shaw Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Lowepro Photorunner, a great little bag , great value for money also...Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil_johnstone Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 I use a 'normal' camera bag (CCS/Lowe/Kinesis pouches), so that everything is easy to carry away from the bike, carried in a Carradice saddlebag on the bike. Carradice now make an easy to remove attachment to allow instant removal of the saddlebag, if you want that option instead of removing the contents. With a suspension seatpost, vibration is reduced to the minimum (although with the camera gear inside a padded pouch, I'm not convinced that vibration on a pedal bike is a major issue - I've been over some very rough tracks (Iceland) with no problems). Those who suggest carrying on your body have evidently never cycled long distances! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_kastner Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 <!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Mozilla/4.73 [en] (Win95; U) [Netscape]"> <title>bike</title> </head> <body> See my note in today's posting <br><b>Waist Pack?</b> <br><a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=004vwH">http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=004vwH</a> <br>I always use that bag when I'm out on my bike and have never had any problems with it (or my bike). </body> </html> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrik in sweden Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Ralph, nice shoot! What type of clamp to use for the F5/bike combo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrik in sweden Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Ralph, nice shot! What type of clamp to use for the F5/bike combo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralph_barker Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Patrik - Thanks. The clamp is a Bogen Super Mafer clamp with the 5/8" stud inserted into a Manfrotto #196 accessory normally used to mount portable flash units (or anything light with a 1/4-20 socket) on light stands. I'm not sure that it would work well on the bicycle in practice, but it sufficed for the joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrik in sweden Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Thanks Ralph, although a joke, would be very intresting to do a test of this works, non-lethal... I am looking to find something for my F5 and 20-35/2.8 AF-D zoom, (I know this is Leica Forum sorry)to get some action mountainbike shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricks Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 I use the LowePro Sideline Shooter http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/trekking/sideline.htm Best beltpack around IMO for a small set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_b._elmer Posted April 16, 2003 Author Share Posted April 16, 2003 Many thanks to you all for your kind answers and proposals. I will now study the many bags mentioned in more detail. Special thanks to Ralph for posting the picture of his interesting Nikon bike, which might most certainly prove useful for any photojournalist covering Tour de France (there are still a couple of months to practize shooting with that thing while climbing steep mountain roads). It might perhaps prove easier and safer to climb the mountains using a Leica M7 and not a Nikon mounted on a bicycle in this way, since you don't have to close the other eye while shooting with a M. By the way, Ralph's photo made me start wondering at what time Leica will start using it's valuable brand for marketing bicycles; major German car brands like BMW, Mercedes and Audi have already started marketing luxury bikes, including wonderful MTB's, under their brand name. You should always listen to sound advice from a medical doctor, so I will carefully take note of Dr. Knapp's advice, and consider if I should not reduce, if not my own weight, then at least the weight of the Leica equipment I want to carry with me on my bike. Simple seems to be not only beautiful but also healthy and cheap. The simplest solution, of course, is to strap a M6 titanium with a 50/1.4 or a black paint Millennium M6 with a 35/2.0 asph around the neck or shoulder. I know that some people might argue that I am sick in my head using such equipment for taking pictures instead of keeping it in a bank vault, but I find it more fun to use the gear for the purpose for which it was built than looking at it in the bank. There is, however, considerably greater risk for damaging the equipment, if it is carried in this way, should I fall with the bike, than if it is packed in a protective bag mounted on the handlebar or in a waist bag. Thanks again to you all, I will take a closer look at all the proposed bags and analyze my needs further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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