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Thread: Bicycling with LF

  1. #1

    Bicycling with LF

    Last week I was frustrated while trying to photograph w/ LF in a city. The sour ce of frustration was my inability to find *any* parking.

    I've heard of many folks who have outlined their techniques for backpacking with LF. Is anyone out there bicycling with LF? Any tips? I could have found lot s of parking a mere 10-15 minute bike ride away from where I wanted to shoot.

  2. #2
    Whatever David A. Goldfarb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2000
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    Honolulu, Hawai'i
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    4,658

    Bicycling with LF

    Hmmm... On a bicycle I could manage my camera, but the tripod would be awkward to say the least. You could look into a cycle trailer if you were serious about it.

  3. #3

    Bicycling with LF

    Why not put the camera gear in a backpack and attach the tripod to the bike frame with bungee cords. I haven't done it but I have seen it done, so the idea is not original. Just don't fall off the bike. It might get expensive.

  4. #4

    Bicycling with LF

    We use a bike trailer for our kids. Atleast my camera gear wouldn't complain about keeping it's helmut on. You could certainly pack a small studio inside a trailer. Even though a trailer would provide plenty of room, it would be nice to do this without a trailer. The bike and trailer combo have a pretty big footprint when navigating around a city. The trailer also adds about 20 lbs to your hauling weight. Some sort of secure pannier setup would be ideal. I've never felt comfortable bicycling while wearing a (heavy) backpack. I don't think strapping the tripod to the rear rack and having the legs extend beyond the bike would be a problem.

  5. #5

    Bicycling with LF

    I'm getting ready to setup a bike as soon as I find the right one @ the right price. Good exercise and easier to get around. I'm looking to get both a front basket and rear basket (straddles the rear wheel) for the bike. I'll have a friend who sews make a padded case to fit the front basket with a lid and a couple velcro attachments. In back the same thing but open for the tripod and other large stuff. a little weight to balance and off I go. Thing of note; a double bike stand like the type on the small motorcycles which will keep the bike standing straight would be better for stability.

  6. #6

    Bicycling with LF

    I have done this on a regular basis... Instead of a tripod, I purchased a flex a rm (Bogen's Articulated Arm) with a Super Clamp. When riding, I have my camera (Linhof Tech III) , lens and film holders in a Domke Bag bungied to my rack on the back of the bike and the super clamp and arm clamped to the seat post also holding the bag. When I'm ready to shoot, I take t he super clamp and clamp it to the cross bar of the bike and put my camera on the camera plate that comes with the arm. My bike essentially becom es my tripod and I have been doing this for years. I ride my bike into the woods (mountain bike) and do the shots that many people don't even ever see. It works great and is so portable and rock steady! The Bogen Arm goes for about $100. US and the Bogen Super Clamp is about $30. Yo u can see the Articulated arm in the Calumet Catalogue. It is not the friction arm but the heavier one with the lever that locks everything do wn in one motion. Alot of my exposures are at about 1-5 sec. if that is any indication how steady it is. If you have questions, email me and I'll tak e some digital shots of the setup. Cheers, Scott

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Oct 1999
    Posts
    154

    Bicycling with LF

    Larry, on occasion i ride a mountain bike, with my 8x10, 2 lenses, filters and tripod. I have even gone on some short single-track trails (i have since switched to a full-suspension bike). Riding with 4x5 in the city is totally realistic. The key is to have a good backpack (ie LowePro Trekker). the tripod can be attached to the bike frame. It's no Tour-de-France but it sure beats walking!

    Good Luck.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Mar 1999
    Posts
    106

    Bicycling with LF

    Larry, this is no sweat. When I was living in Japan in Kamakura (capital under the first Shogunate), the streets were incredibly narrow (built for defensibility and to confuse the enemy), and as I often shot early in the morning at remote temples before work, cycling w/ all my equipment was a necessity. Major streets were sometimes only 15 ft from building to building on the opposite side of the street (no room for curbs or sidewalks). I could carry either a complete medium format system w/ 5 lenses or 4x5 monorail w/ 4 lenses and accessories in my Phototrekker AW with virtually all dividers removed. I used nylon ties w/ fastex buckles and the shoulder carrying strap from the phototrekker AW to jury-rig a shoulder strap for the gitzo 410. Thus, I was able to ride on my road bike to the shot locations (usually 20-25 min by bike), get the shots, and ride back (uphill). The only trick is that the gitzo 410 is so long that you can hit cars/pedestrians (I never did, despite riding w/ gridlock of cars on my right side while dodging school kids on the left). I later switched to a gitzo 340 for the cycling and use the 410 whenever I go by train. I used to road race for a number of years and still ride, so it helps when powering up hills w/ the 4x5 and big gitzo. Just don't think about crashing w/ $20K of equipment on your back, and watch out for train tracks (slippery all the time), and paint and drainage gratings (slippery when wet).

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Apr 2000
    Location
    Burnaby, BC
    Posts
    179

    Bicycling with LF

    As long as it is a reasonable size folder, it will fit in the back-pack. The tripod will hold to your frame slung along the post (I know what we called it as a kid, but can't post that) that runs between your seat and handle bars using shock-cord (thiner than bungy webbed along the whole length). One guy told me he puts the tri-pod on his mountain bike horns. The tri-pod can't be too long though, or your thighs whack it. Also, it seems like you can cover more ground, but you see something and say to yourself, "is this worth un-webbing the tri-pod, putting the head on, un-stuffing the back pack. I'd say for a 10 min bike trip, you'd better throw the camera/tripod over your sholder and march like a soldier for 25 mins -- same time amound and much less hassle. I commute to work with my bike and am totaly commited to cylcing, but most of the time, LF is better for the bus or a hike. I don't think they mix unless you've got a destination in mind too far to walk and too close for the bus -- I choose not to have a car so that is not an option.

    Dean
    Dean Lastoria

  10. #10

    Bicycling with LF

    Thank you for all the wonderful responses. I knew there were some creative techniques which could be employed.

    I was in the bike store the other day, and saw this single wheel cargo carrier called the YAK made by a company called "BOB". It looked pretty wild. Unlike the child trailers, this thing was narrow (appeared to be the width of a backpack) and very light (about 12 lbs). It looked like it would fit a lightwave multiformat case, a tripod, and a second smaller camera case. Has anyone tried one of these?

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