Practicality of using LF and especially ULF in the field

[Alan Gales]

Too many hills here for a three speed! Here is what I may need 10 years from now (with a trailer!) -- I'll be in my 70s. https://www.radpowerbikes.com/pages/radrover

But for the next ten years, this is what I think I'd want to haul my 8x10 around on: http://surlybikes.com/bikes/big_dummy

I've never seen either one of those bikes before. Cool!

[Doremus Scudder]

All this talk of bikes invites me to comment.

I carry my 4x5 kit on my bike a lot here in Vienna; it's the easiest way to get around the city and be able to see a lot while at the same time covering a lot of territory.

That said, I wouldn't think of carrying my camera and lenses in panniers or strapped onto the rack. All the rough streets and cobblestones would shake them to pieces. I had a 4x5 field camera come to pieces in a rolling carry-on just from the vibrations of running over the grout lines in the tile floor at the airport in Venice. Fortunately, all the parts were at the bottom of the bag and I managed to re-assemble everything at the hotel. I have my gear in a small backpack and well cushioned when I'm carrying it on the bike. I can't imagine doing that with an 8x10 or larger, though.

Does anyone out there carry 8x10 or larger on a bicycle? If so, how do you deal with the vibration problems?

Best,

Doremus

[Robert Brazile]

Doremus,

I do. The key, from my perspective, is to use a bike with fairly large pneumatic tires (not the hard rollers of a carry on) and good packing between the rack and the pack containing the camera. The camera I take on the road is an old Kodak 2D, and this is the bike I use:


DP2Q0092, P/R and the path traveled by Robert Brazile, on Flickr

I strap the bag holding the camera to the porteur rack in the front where I can keep an eye on it. It's worked well for me so far. I haven't gone far yet, though, nor carried a large selection of lenses. I'll also be happier when I get a good kickstand on the bike, instead of having to find a safe place to prop it up while I offload the camera. But that's not too hard a problem to solve.

Robert

[Willie]

Photographer Lois Conner use a bicycle to get around in China with her 7x17 camera. A small tow-behind 'trailer' might be the answer as it can be configured to absorb a lot of the vibration that would otherwise hit lenses hard.

[John Jarosz]

Here is the Midwest US there are a lot of railroad tracks converted to bicycle trails. Smooth going routes with easy elevation changes. I have a Burley child carrier for my bike that will accept either my 8x10 or 8x20. The floor of the trailer is fabric so it's a smoother ride for the camera rather than a rigid floor. Works well and I don't really know it's there, it doesn't make biking more difficult. These are expensive when new, but after the children outgrow them the trailers end up on places like Craigs list for cheap.

[tgtaylor]

I've been thinking about getting one of these to haul my 8x10 Toyo MII around town:

https://www.rei.com/product/882667/b...o-bike-trailer

I envision packing everything in my LowePro Pro Trekker 600 AW as normal: camera, up to 4 lens, film holders, spot meter, Gitzo series 3 CF tripod, spor meter...etc., and laying it in the trailer. If I see something that I want to photograph, simply park the bike and take out the pack and set-up. Simple!

Also I'd like to cycle the TransAmerica Trail https://www.adventurecycling.org/rou...america-trail/ and this trailer would be a better choice over panniers.

Thomas

[AuditorOne]

If there is a place to fish my 20 year old grandson will pack my Deardorff V8 into a lot of mountains and canyons. I carry the sleeping bags, tarp and fishing gear.

I never thought to ask him if he thought it was practical.

If it is me alone the biggest I carry is a Crown Graphic or my newly acquired Intrepid.

[Vaughn]

I've never seen either one of those bikes before. Cool!

The Surly would do away the need for a trailer. I thought front panniers would be nice, but not only over-kill but the frame geometry already puts a higher percentage of the rider's weight on the front wheel than a standard design. For my 6 months of bike-touring in NZ (camping, backpacking, and 4x5 photography) I had probably 25 pounds of camera gear and 55 pounds of other gear and food. Bike 25 lb, me (25 yrs ago) 220lbs, and gear 80lbs = rolling weight of around 325 pounds.

So by going from 4x5 to 8x10 add another 25 pounds, and I might have 100 pounds on the bike. It better have very low gearing! And going light weight as appropriate to my age, I might be able to get it down to 85 pounds with a weeks worth of food. Me 250lbs, gear 85 lbs, bike 40lbs? Adds up to a lot of weight to move around! That electric motor is starting to sound good!

[John Jarosz]

The Surly weighs 45 pounds

[Vaughn]

The Surly weighs 45 pounds

Yeah -- but is that the weight of the largest size? (Add a couple pounds, probably!) Hopefully that includes the panniers and back rack! If I got one, I might keep my hybrid for trips not needing the cargo space! I might be in Berkeley this weekend...there are some Surly dealers down there, I believe, so I should check them out.