Packing a 4x5 on a bicycle

[Vaughn]

One thing nice about placing the camera in a stuff sack (waterproof), is that if any knobs or screws actually worked themselves off, they'll be contained. I have memories of taking the camera out, and a knob would be loose in the bag.

The problem of vibration can be significantly reduced with padding, and until someone hooks up a vibration meter of some kind, I am going to assume that it is all about the same, on the bike or in a pack on my back. And if I crash, having equipment on the bike is safer than on my back -- for me and the equipment. Some of the toughest vibrations will come from the inside ones car. The last ten or so miles of wash-board road into Eureka Valley in my van probably caused as much vibration to me and equipment than the 2000 miles on a bicycle in New Zealand! LOL! I keep the camera gear on the foam mattress, which helps.

In NZ, there was fifteen km of the same kind of wash-board road down on the back side of Haast Pass...zooming down the pass on the loaded bicycle was intense. I had to keep a very loose grip on the handlebars or else my teeth would have shaken out. But the camera equipment was fine. As an after-thought that evening, perhaps letting a little air out of my tires for that downhill run might have helped.

[Dirk Rösler]

Just look at the Ortlieb site, options plenty https://www.ortlieb.com/en/radtaschenzubehoer/

4x5 should really be no problem at all. I am carrying 5x7 in a shoulder bag. 8x10 it gets more challenging.

Actually, tripod might be the hardest to accommodate on a bike.

[macolive]

One thing nice about placing the camera in a stuff sack (waterproof), is that if any knobs or screws actually worked themselves off, they'll be contained. I have memories of taking the camera out, and a knob would be loose in the bag.

The problem of vibration can be significantly reduced with padding, and until someone hooks up a vibration meter of some kind, I am going to assume that it is all about the same, on the bike or in a pack on my back. And if I crash, having equipment on the bike is safer than on my back -- for me and the equipment. Some of the toughest vibrations will come from the inside ones car. The last ten or so miles of wash-board road into Eureka Valley in my van probably caused as much vibration to me and equipment than the 2000 miles on a bicycle in New Zealand! LOL! I keep the camera gear on the foam mattress, which helps.

In NZ, there was fifteen km of the same kind of wash-board road down on the back side of Haast Pass...zooming down the pass on the loaded bicycle was intense. I had to keep a very loose grip on the handlebars or else my teeth would have shaken out. But the camera equipment was fine. As an after-thought that evening, perhaps letting a little air out of my tires for that downhill run might have helped.

Thanks Vaughn! You have the coolest stories!

[macolive]

Just look at the Ortlieb site, options plenty https://www.ortlieb.com/en/radtaschenzubehoer/

4x5 should really be no problem at all. I am carrying 5x7 in a shoulder bag. 8x10 it gets more challenging.

Actually, tripod might be the hardest to accommodate on a bike.

Maybe this would be a solution...
An Arkel Pannier with a bag for tent poles which could possibly fit a tripod.

[Dirk Rösler]

I use this, Croozer Cargo trailer... very convenient

[hporter]

You said you had to watch out for loose screws every now and then...Did they come loose?

Yes, on some cameras they did. What I did to isolate vibration, cheaply, was to buy second hand soft sided insulated lunch cooler sacks at thrift stores. You can get them the correct size for stashing 4x5 holders in, or even the whole camera. I received one from a project that I worked on that fit my speed graphic perfectly. I always carried my lenses in lens wraps, and then put them into a lunch cooler bag. With all the individual components in different cooler bags, is also protects the items from damaging one another. In the last photo in my previous post, you can see the top of a large sized lunch cooler loaded with film holders.

Arkel makes good equipment. I used their bicycle brief case until it literally looked so bad I was ashamed to carry it into the office. I like the tent pole bag idea posted previously. That was the biggest problem for me, stowing and maneuvering around with the tripod on the bike. My little Bogen tripod wasn't too much trouble, but when I tried carrying a larger tripod for the 8x10, the problems of balance and attaching the tripod to the bike become more complicated.

I also looked at the waterproof Ortlieb panniers, and thought they would be a good choice too. But in my experience if you have your equipment in lunch coolers which have a water proof lining, the water would have to get through the pannier, and then through the cooler bag. And Arkel sells rain covers for their panniers too if that were a concern. I never had any trouble, but I also avoided being out on my bike in potentially bad weather. Storms are nothing to play around in, especially being many miles away from the car or the house.

[hporter]

I use this, Croozer Cargo trailer... very convenient

That is another very good idea, if you stay on reasonably wide surfaces. It was surprising to me, how easy it is to pull a trailer with a bicycle. I bought one made for hauling dogs when my sweet girl became too lame to go on walks with me. She loved being able to go with me, and I found on paved streets, it was no trouble pulling 60 lbs of dog in the trailer.



I also wanted to add this photo, which shows how compact the trailers can be, and also to show the rack that I used to carry the panniers on. The little JanDD bag shown on the rack was actually big enough to carry my speed graphic and a meter in. With the lens closed up safely in the camera, it was a convenient way to do a quick trip of hand holdable 4x5 shooting.

[Vaughn]

I have mentioned this before, but vibration-wise, the biggest problem I had was with exposed film sitting in a 4x5 box on the bike. A combination of high humidity and vibration caused high-humidity static discharges between the sheets of film in the box. Several negs ruined, some spot-able....instead of steaks of light, it was little dots. I should have padded inside the box to keep the film still.

[Greg]

Just look at the Ortlieb site, options plenty https://www.ortlieb.com/en/radtaschenzubehoer/

4x5 should really be no problem at all. I am carrying 5x7 in a shoulder bag. 8x10 it gets more challenging.

Actually, tripod might be the hardest to accommodate on a bike.

I attached a large PVC pipe vertically to the side of the back wheel. Bottom had a glued end cap. inside padding glued on the bottom and glued around the inside top. Then a bungee cord attached to the side of the tube and used to hold down the tripod. Worked out fine, forgot it was even there the first time I used it... you have to remember it sticks up above the rear fender, I didn't.

[macolive]

I use this, Croozer Cargo trailer... very convenient

I did think about this also (the ibex trailer) but maybe when i have an 8x10.