Lap Tops and Bikes

[Tom Sheets]

Has anyone routinely used their bike to transport a laptop computer? I just purchased a laptop and was wondering if carrying it in the hard bags on my R1100S would damage it. Obviously crashing while it was on the bike is not at the top of my list of concerns (if I crash I will be much more concerned about me and the BMW). Basically I am wondering if carrying a laptop on a bike during daily commuting has caused anyone any problems with their computers. Thanks.

[shannonnunley]

JohnnyDanger guy would be the best source on this since he's constantly doing long rides while being "wired" in. I'd recommend you wrap it in bubble wrap like i do in my briefcase... laptops can only take so many impacts before sensitive hardware takes one too many beatings.

[twobmws2003]

Hi Tom,

I am a professional photographer and carry a laptop with me wherever I go because I use digital cameras. All I do is wrap the computer in a domke camera wrap wihch you can get at a professional camera store. At EMS Eastern Mountain Sports they sell little cases, flexible foamy protectors for laptops with a zipper that fit a laptop perfectly and are very slim and very good. Never had any problems. I carried the computer in my BMW system cases and also in the Adveture type saddle bags, both in NYC in daily traffic and on a 6000 mile trip to the Grand Canyon and back. I put some padding - foam from a camping bed roll - on the bottom of the case and made sure there was not much room for the thing to move around. So far so good.

[wswartzwel]

I carry mine daily to work. I carry it in a soft case on my back like a backpack, no vibration that way. If I crash its toast, but it is insured.

[s-thing]

I ride to work and back 9 months out of the year and I jam my laptop into a soft sided briefcase then wedge it into the side bag. For a couple of years I had a "normal" sized laptop that didn't fit well so it was wedged in at an angle...no problems...Now I have smaller PC that sits cleanly on the bottom of the case...(for some reason that makes me feel more comfortable) ...still no problems. Unless you count the time my thermos opened..... Modern PC's can handle a fair bit of rattling - INTERMITTENT shock loads of few G's are usually acceptable.

Oh and back the thing up once and awhile!!!

[tominator]

My Toshiba Protégé 3500 Tablet PC did 30,000km last year....No probs. One word of advice though...make sure you hibernate the pc and don't allow it to stay in stand by mode. Also I have mine in a small neoprene case (To absorb the shock) laying flat.

Worked so far! Oh, I also transport a LCD Projector the other half of the time.

BTW...don’t do the Backpack thing. One you will end up with a PC lodged in your back (Like I did) and if a crash happens. The hard cases will offer better protection than your back! (I speak from experience $4500.00 toasted laptop only the hard drive was salvageable, because after buying my S I couldn’t afford the panniers right away)


Cheers
Tomas

[markjenn]

I typically take a tour each year with a Compaq laptop. I keep it in a thin padded case (mine is made by CaseLogic and it fits the computer perfectly), put that in a dry bag (along with power supplies and the like), and net it down on the rear seat.

For commuting to school, I have put it in a briefcase and put in a saddlebag. I do think you want to be careful you're not cramming it in there in such a way that it is being warped or bent.

These things are very rugged - common sense and you should have no problems.

- Mark

[johnnydanger]

I had a 12" powerbook with me on my U.S. trip and logged almost 14,000 miles with it along for the ride, and I just did a 3,700 trip of New Zealand with it.

In my city cases with stuff packed behind it it's fairly secure and doesn't bounce around very much if at all inside the cases as it's in a dense foam powerbook sleeve and is secure side to side.

The NZ trip I had it in a BIG Givi top box where it bounced around a fair bit to my dismay as the Givi top box racks aren't really solid at all. It survived fine though.

As long as you've got it in a good foam sleeve of some sort (I use a Booq bag which may only be for powerbooks, but dunno) and not completely loose in a box I think you'll be fine. My 12" Powerbook is still trooping along and not much worse for wear after 18,000 miles on my bike.

[adrianw]

Hi,

Buy a Panasonic Toughbook, it's dust and water resistant, and the hardrives are mounted in gel packs.

Mine has done over 100,000 miles on bikes and is still going.

Adrian.

[shovelstrokeed]

I have nearly 40K miles on my Powerbook Ti and put about 100K on the Toshiba that preceeded it. With modern hard drives, the weak link, it just isn't a problem anymore.

PS Don't just put the computer to sleep. Shut it down and make sure the shutdown process is complete before slinging it in the side case. I don't use any special precautions either, just my
Brenthauven case.

Ed

[motoyoyo]

Check this rear pack out by Marsee. Made for laptops.

http://www.marseeproducts.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.100.exe/online-store/scstore/p-RM-3111.html?L+scstore+fhbj2064ff33a933+1084235226

[bradzdotcom]

and if those guys don't convince you:

the recent CES show in las vegas had a laptop on display that was guv'ment rated for battle conditions.
i don't remember who made it (just that it was yellow), but the guys in the booth kept picking one up and hurling it into the concrete floor...not flatly, but slamming the edges, sides, etc right into the ground. when it stopped bouncing, they pick it back up and show you the screen.

damn thing never missed a tick.

(this link MIGHT be their website, but i don't see that laptop they demo-ed: http://www.dolch.com/html/homepage.html)

....brad

[Rapid Dog]

Check out the latest Cycle World.
There is a kool CF -look backpack designed for just that in either one of the ads or one of the columns.
Very trick.

[Mike Gehl]

The only thing my 17" Powerbook fits into is a backpack ;-)

Seriously, check this out for a great solution for digital photography storage, at least until we have an iPod <-> camera interface:
http://www.andymack.com/mylog/pivot/entry.php?uid=standard-868

Very cool!

Mike

[itchybro]

I'm not sure if they're still doing it but, the first rev of the all white iBooks (not the toilet seat lid models) had magnesium frames and the drives were rubber mounted. They were made with kids throwing them into back packs in mind.

I've seen pics of a Ti Book that was run over by a Volvo (owner left it on the roof and backed over). The screen was toast but it booted just fine and was usable with an external monitor. My personal Ti book has survived being lanched across a mixing console by a 300lb V.O. booth door.

I'm still wanting one of the 12 inch powerbooks as they would make a much better travel unit than my current 15 inch unit.

[pwillikers]

Not only do I carry my IBM ThinkPad T40 in my BMW system case to work every day, but, I often carry it in my tank bag as well, powered up and receiving input from a windshield mounted USB camera. In the latter mode, I wrap it in mucho foam rubber to isolate the disk drive heads from perturbation. Never had a problem.

[jdlowery]

I carry my Toshiba Tecra frequently in my side cases. I use a Targus notebook bag that is padded on all sides, top and bottom. The only problem I had was that the laptop with carrying case would not fit into the cases with city lids. I had to use the standard lids.

I also carry my iPod with me everyday without any adverse effects. The iPod is in an aluminium case with internal padding (iPod Armor).

[island_dude]

I was carrying my Dell 4100 when I crashed my bike. It was in a backpack case tucked into my system case. The laptop did fine, the bike was totaled. I guess you could call this an existence proof.