Laptop cycling bags

FredC

I'm considering buying a laptop bag that is designed for a bike as a Christmas present but have been told that laptops and bikes just aren't a good combination and that no bag is going to stop all vibrations which may damage the laptop. Has anybody any experience of this?

blorg

Personally I would tend to put it in a backpack rather than on the bike, due to vibrations.

rflynnr

blorg wrote: »

Personally I would tend to put it in a backpack rather than on the bike, due to vibrations.

Completely agree. Never proved it but I'm fairly certain using a pannier was responsible for cracking the motherboard on my last laptop but one. Since then I've always used a shoulder bag.

Blowfish

Agreed, did it for 4 years of college and the laptop is still perfectly fine.

Dell's backpacks are actually pretty good, though from a cycling perspective you wouldn't want to use them on particularly long trips as they are non-breathable.

Beasty

Blowfish wrote: »

you wouldn't want to use them on particularly long trips as they are non-breathable.

Can you really suffocate a laptop?

(sorry - have been sat at Manchester Airport for past couple of hours and really bored!)

projectmayhem

I use a good belkin packpack. Nice and rigid enough to make it feel light on your back and also has enough compartments for holding other bits and bobs

blorg

My anecdotal experience: years and years ago I shook the display cable loose on a laptop carrying it in a pannier. It was a cheap laptop, possibly modern ones are more solid.

petethedrummer

I'd get a small lap top(12" or 13") and put it in a backpack.

Junior

Worth a Gander - http://www.pressieport.ie/products/Laptop-Backpack-by-Built-NY.html

Although expensive for something that isn't totally closed off..

Ryaner

I'm using http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Altura_Dryline_56_Rear_Panniers/5360029300/ and have had no problems with my laptop in the year I've been cycling to work. It is a short journey and half the roads have been tarmac'd in the past year.

I carry my laptop in a laptop sleeve inside the bag which does help alot. One of the ZeroShock range. If you want to carry a laptop, I'd highly recommend one of these. Have dropped mine and not done damage while in this.

Also, most modern laptops are so tightly packed, it is extremely hard to shake what little moving parts they have loose. Biggest worry would be having something crush the screen if you fell.

niclos1979

check this out,guys
http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/51/54147151.html
maybe this is what u need

Bunnyhopper

niclos1979 wrote: »

check this out,guys
http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/51/54147151.html
maybe this is what u need

And they're being sold by a guy called niclos...

kayaksurfbum

http://www.sporthouse.ie/product_info.php?products_id=35&osCsid=77f2dc6d2410107cb662bbd44ac34e98

Sporthouse have one.

tomasrojo

Would a netbook survive in panniers better than a laptop? They have fewer moving parts and are much lighters, so I imagine any movement would be less damaging.

I might be getting a netbook down the line, if I get have some spare cash.

blorg

tomasrojo wrote: »

Would a netbook survive in panniers better than a laptop? They have fewer moving parts and are much lighters, so I imagine any movement would be less damaging.

I might be getting a netbook down the line, if I get have some spare cash.

If it has a SSD and no screen. yes.

Otherwise I think the main thing with a netbook is just that it is cheaper and so as long as you are backed up you don't care so much, I don't see why you think it would have any less moving parts. I got one myself to take on holidays, to beach etc and not be so concerned about it.

DualFrontDiscs

Junior wrote: »

Worth a Gander - http://www.pressieport.ie/products/Laptop-Backpack-by-Built-NY.html

I wonder if you can wear it 'backwards', kinda like a flak jacket?

If it was slim enough to wear under my coat, I might consider it

G.

barrabus

the patagonia courier bag has a laptop sleeve built in. I would recommend it. 50 bucks well worth it.

tomasrojo

blorg wrote: »

I don't see why you think it would have any less moving parts. I got one myself to take on holidays, to beach etc and not be so concerned about it.

They generally have no dedicated drives? That was mostly what I was thinking. The CD drive was the first thing to go on the laptop I slowly destroyed by carrying in on the bike.

blorg

tomasrojo wrote: »

They generally have no dedicated drives? That was mostly what I was thinking. The CD drive was the first thing to go on the laptop I slowly destroyed by carrying in on the bike.

Yes, they don't have an optical drive but to be honest that is probably not the biggest worry, hard disk I would be more concerned about. Some come with solid state drives (e.g. flash memory instead of a hard disk) - I imagine these would be more vibration resistant but SSDs tend to be small and expensive compared to HDDs (getting bigger and cheaper all the time though.)

Caroline_ie

blorg wrote: »

Thank god it's only a small screen.

tomasrojo

blorg wrote: »

SSDs tend to be small and expensive compared to HDDs (getting bigger and cheaper all the time though.)

I think that that will be the point at which I will buy a netbook: when the SSDs have got really cheap. And then it's going everywhere with me in a pannier, wrapped up in a jumper.

leftism

I've used a Jansport rucksack for carrying my laptop into college for 4 years now. Its got a padded internal sleeve for laptops. I always stick it in a plastic bag along with the cables and my external hard drive. Never had any problems. Even through some very heavy rain...

Wouldn't trust panniers to carry a laptop as there is simply too much vibrating going on.