Packing LF Gear on bicycle trailers

[Colin Graham]

I just tried wearing my camera backpack on a relatively short offroad cycle tour- it was pretty miserable to say the least. Has anyone had success transporting LF by bike? Some sort of trailer would be ideal- in case the going gets too tricky for a bike I can just take the pack out and hike the rest of the way.

The single-wheel B.O.B. Ibex trailer looks like a possibility. It's big enough for my pack, and with the suspension it might track better on trails- anyone using one of these?
http://www.rei.com/zoom/qq/23a7f0b3-db4a-496e-8b90-d9cd526215cc.jpg/440

I did find an 15-year old thread (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?2835-Bicycling-with-LF/page2) that mentions the hardtail version, but it had only had two very conflicting reports.

[Michael Clark]

Looks good to me, as long as there is a pivot point right behind the rear bicycle tire to allow turning. It is one wheel wide so will not need much space abreast on a bike trial or side walk. Would not no hard it is to park without it falling over on its side.

[Jmarmck]

I used to haul my kids around in a bike trailer. It is great way to tote things. But it is hard to secure in public when you are not around.

[Tin Can]

I see B.O.B. all over. Many people like it. I will get one. A local guy has 2 hooked up single file.

I don't offroad, but use a modified 2 wheel bike trailer. This rather expensive piece (https://www.radicaldesign.com/cyclone-iv-skeleton.html) with off the shelf plastic storage box box on it. I bought mine on sale 2 years ago. Look on Amazon/eBay as there are lots of cheap knockoffs. Maybe all junk. Good wheels, bearings, tubes and tires are essential if hauling valuable cargo.

Works well for me for ULF, grocery shopping and picnics. It would not be good for real off road adventure. I sold my auto 2 years ago. Don't miss it all.

Here is the last winter conversion. 16 137056137057 hold my cheap strong box firmly in place.

[Willie]

Lois Conner took her 7x17 view camera around China on a bicycle. Check it out for more info.

[Fotoguy20d]

137077

If it doesnt fit in this saddle bag, it doesnt belong on a bike ;)

Written as I take my well deserved pizza break.

Dan

[Tin Can]

137077

If it doesnt fit in this saddle bag, it doesnt belong on a bike ;)

Written as I take my well deserved pizza break.

Dan

LOL, my days of riding racing bike style are long gone. I adhere to http://www.rivbike.com/, http://www.velo-orange.com/ and http://www.sheldonbrown.com/ school of bike fun.

I just like to ride and use a bike for utility.

Stay young as long as you can. :)

[Fotoguy20d]

LOL, my days of riding racing bike style are long gone. I adhere to http://www.rivbike.com/, http://www.velo-orange.com/ and http://www.sheldonbrown.com/ school of bike fun.

I just like to ride and use a bike for utility.

Stay young as long as you can. :)

Thats my 1995 Litespeed, bought new that year. My days of racing are long gone too. Speed is way down, so too max heart rate. It takes longer to warm up, much longer to recover. But, getting out on the road is still a joy.

[Tin Can]

2 Schwinns. Chicago made, red one is sealed inside wall. Darkroom vent stage left. The user is 1986 Prelude with Montmartre bars, Velo O seat 'seconds' Rest of bike all original, one of the last Made In USA Schwinns, lugged chromoly, a very nice bike.

Even comfy!

137078137079

[Colin Graham]

Ha, it didn't take long for this thread to drift OT. I'm surprised this isn't a more engaging idea -I think a bike and trailer could be great solution for those middling distances between hiking and driving. I'll give the Ibex a go and see how it works.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Colin, thanks for nudge towards the B.O.B. Ibex trailer.
I'm considering one now.

[tgtaylor]

I've been off and on considering getting a trailer to haul the 8x10 around with, something like this would seem to work well: http://www.sears.com/rage-powersports-red-black-hd-pull-behind-bicycle/p-SPM7057407607?prdNo=6&blockNo=6&blockType=G6

For 4x5 I put the camera (Toyo 45CF), holders, spot meter, cleaning kit, len(s), etc in rear Panniers and the tripod, a series 0 CF Gitzo (GT0450) rides on the rear carrier with no hang-over and secured with a bungee cord.

Thomas

[Tin Can]

Ha, it didn't take long for this thread to drift OT. I'm surprised this isn't a more engaging idea -I think a bike and trailer could be great solution for those middling distances between hiking and driving. I'll give the Ibex a go and see how it works.

Actually I pack 4x5 on that silver Schwinn all the time, without a trailer. All options open.

[Colin Graham]

Actually I pack 4x5 on that silver Schwinn all the time, without a trailer. All options open.

That's great, but going offroad does limit the options somewhat. A dedicated cargo bike would be great for a urban environment. More self-contained, and probably easier to load, offload, and secure than a trailer.

These are really cool-

https://livingvandal.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/photo-2.png

[Tin Can]

Those cost $4K!

[Colin Graham]

If I move back to the city, first thing I'll do is sell my car and buy one...
Ok, a used one.

[fuegocito]

I use something similar to Randy's two wheeled bike trailer, except it's more like a big basket instead of a container box for dragging an 810 system around. I found it to be tremendously practical in Urban environment since one does not need to worry about parking and such.

[Vaughn]

I spent 5 months bicycling in New Zealand with a 4x5...a little over 2000 miles. Not much off-road, but a lot of gravel roads. Front and back panniers. Camera in its pack, and that placed on the top of the rear rack along with the tripod, tent, sleeping bag and tent. Mounting the bike required swinging my legs way up high! All told, about 80 pounds of gear and food.

I put the lens in the front right pannier -- thinking if I crashed, I'd try to fall on the left side. My only big crash had me going over the handle bars and the front wheel turned 180 degrees. So much for that idea! But all-in-all, it was a very stable ride.

If I tried to take a bigger camera (8x10 or bigger), I might go with a trailer, but otherwise I'd stick with the panniers. Sharing narrow roads with cars, I would go with a one-wheel trailer instead of a wider two-wheel model.

[domaz]

I had no trouble riding the closed West Side Road in Mt Rainier National Park (~1500 ft gain)--with full overnight gear and my 4x5 Deardorff setup, using a Topeak trunk bag and a randonneur style front rack. Biking allowed me to get in and out of a forgotten corner of the park fairly easily, saving me a boring 4 mile road walk.

[Colin Graham]

I did consider panniers, but isn't it a bit of a hassle to carry the gear on foot if needed?

The more I research cargo bikes, the more interesting they get- this one (http://surlybikes.com/bikes/big_dummy) has a platform that could be easily modified for a camera pack, plus giant rear panniers. Not exactly an off-road frame, but looks relatively stout.

http://surlybikes.com//uploads/bikes/big-dummy_black_sv_930x390.jpg

[Tin Can]

I find the tripod the biggest problem.

A good one is long, heavy and a little delicate. The long rear rack on the Surly Big dummy is a good idea.

Google image search. https://www.google.com/search?q=cargo+bikes&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=659&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMIqOes4OPnxgIVVxWSCh2IcQyV

[Colin Graham]

Absolutely. Hence the need for a trailer, or a longtail frame.

[steveo]

I've had the RB67 plus bivvy gear on the bike a few times. Camera was on my back not wanting to damage the mirror every thing else spread over the panniers.

I've been looking at how to get my Arca comfortable in said panniers with out having to take my hiking bag. I figure if I put the monorail and tripod in one bag, the standards with a lens wrapped in the dark cloth in the other. My only concern is keeping a spare lens and a handful of film holders safe with all that rattling round though they would probably be okay with the standards. If need be I can pack my bivvy gear around all that though the handling would be starting to get interesting with all that weight on the rear, not a problem on the roads but a bit hairy on the mud.

[fuegocito]

This my set up for anything bigger than 45/57. The Ries is more for show since I tend to use something a lot lighter when heading out on two wheels. Panniers is quite efficient in dealing with 45's compacts. The trailer system works Ok but it tend drag backward as you pedal(specially when one is going uphill). I think carriers that are part of the bike frame will be a lot more energy efficient.

[Vaughn]

Once (and only once), I put as much 8x10 gear I could in the rear panniers, the camera pack (with camera body - 8x10 Zone VI) on my back and the Ries A100 stretched out on my rear rack. It worked, I suppose, but would have been better on pavement rather than single-track trail and then down a steep dirt road for a few miles.

In New Zealand, I had a Gitzo 300 series (with Gitzo #2 ballhead)...about 25 to 28 inches long. It went cross-ways on top of the rear rack -- the tent and sleeping bag and pad also went cross-ways on the rack (the camera pack went on top of everything else). Worked fine. With fully loaded rear panniers, the tripod was only a couple inches longer than the width of the two panniers and rack.

The Big Dummy looks great -- I'd add front panniers just to even the load for easier handling. One thing I found important when carrying heavy loads (in NZ my rolling weight was about 325 pounds) are large air-volume tires. I ran 1.9"x26" tires...smooth center tread with knobs on the sides. They were very nice to have when I was bombing down Haast Pass on the badly washboarded gravel road!

[Colin Graham]

Many thanks for sharing your experience and set-ups, it's really helped me to refine what I want into what might actually be practical.

Yeah, a trailer just seems like it would be awkward for loading and unloading, backing-up, locking-up, etc. I'm leaning towards a dedicated longtail cargo bike - the Surly is hard to beat, except for it's size and cost- 58" wheelbase! I might actually highcenter it on a few trails around here. There are some cheaper options from Yuba, and the new 2016 Kona Ute looks pretty nice- not as big, but not as burly either.

http://www.konaworld.com/images/bikes/main/ute.jpg

[Alan Gales]

If there is a will, there is a way!

http://theverybesttop10.com/overloaded-bicycles/

[adelorenzo]

I never attach camera gear to my bike, IME stuff will get rattled to death pretty quickly. I've never used a trailer but can't see it going any differently unless you are sticking to smooth pavement. When bikepacking the camera gear is always on my back.

[Colin Graham]

A wooden field camera and some barrel lenses? Not much to rattle there. Anyway, like I mentioned in the OP, I tried a ride with the pack on my back, and I really wasn't much of a damper between the bike and pack. But I was really uncomfortable and top-heavy besides. I'd rather rattle a camera to death than my back!

[Vaughn]

adelorenzo, you are correct, but perhaps over-state the problem. Equipment in panniers is somewhat protected from the sharpest jolts -- I kept my lens/shutter in the front pannier with some padding if possible. View cameras fortunately are not fine instraments like roll/digital cameras and can be tighten up if needed, with a screw driver in many cases.

In New Zealand I rode on a lot of gravel roads (most have been paved since then), including the road over Haast Pass -- heavily washboarded, which on the downhill side for me was perhaps 10 kilometers of perhaps 20 to 30 kph. My bicycle had no suspension. There was a 140 k section on the North Island going through Urewera National Park -- I hit deeper gravel on the road's edge on a curve and flipped over the handlebars onto rocks just a 100 meters shy of where the paved section started! I had to regularily tighten nuts, etc on the bicycle, but that is true if one stays on the pavement, just not as much...just had to do it on my road bike I use to commute.

This was in 1986/87. I am still using the same camera and lens I took on that trip (with many backpack trips since then, also).

I prefer not to have LF gear on my back -- top heavy, so not quite as safe. Possibly greater chance of injury in a fall with a pack on ones back (just a guess here -- never happened to me), and a lot more weight on ones bum when riding. But probably more doable on short trips than long ones...I averaged about 60 kilometers a day...a pack on my back would have been painful...and hot (and many times very wet).

But vibration is an issue.

[Colin Graham]

Sure, anyone who has ever ridden a bike off-road realizes that vibration is an issue. But to my knowledge there's no bike, setup, accessory, or eastern discipline for that matter that completely addresses the issue of vibration without causing problems elsewhere. So if we're discussing strategies for transporting LF gear on a bike offroad it's sort of a moot point- or at least one better served by the subject of packing. Anyway, I think the possibility of damaging gear is a reasonable risk, far outweighed by the possibility of enjoying two of my favorite hobbies at the same time. But I get that some would prefer not to do it.

[sun of sand]

Wanted a Bob for a long time but I know deep down I wouldn't use it

I actually did find an old trailer on clist
Bike-a-boose
Well built two wheeled open seat with padded
Well, like a mini couch or wing chair on wheels
Rickshaw style. Attached to seatpost

Had a large basket on the back
Fenders


I took a pelican case in the seat and strapped it down
Tripod tied down across the back upright
Pack with holders drinks coat etc in basket

Worked really well. Took it into marsh trail system and was quite nice. Beat walking for the most part

But living in rural areas without much to photograph that's new I felt like I covered what I could and it has since sat