why no laptop bags?

[weisan]

I know this doesn't quite fit your use case but for me back when I was commuting, the brompton frontal bag system works so wonderfully, I have got my laptop, lunch box, repair kit, and a bunch of other stuff all packed into it and the bike still rode great and very stable.

[beanboy99]

One other option. This is actually the closest to what I was envisioning, but they get bad reviews and seem like they are headed out of business.

I'm telling you, there is a market opportunity here, folks.

https://gripunlimitedbags.com/shop/c...ter-case-grey/

[beanboy99]

Originally Posted by benb

I spent a lot of time commuting with a 15" laptop in the past.

They're really crappy things to have to carry around on a bike just due to the size and weight and how it is a big flat piece.

Unless it was really long riding I would probably rather carry it in the messenger bag. Maybe with a real nice upright position on a dedicated commuter bike.

I really found the panniers (rear) even to be pretty obnoxious if I had to carry my laptop. I actually gave my panniers away last year during the pandemic.

The laptop was just such a heavy dense thing in the panniers... getting out of the saddle and such the weight was way out over/behind the rear hub and it just wrecks the way the bike feels.

I think some of it is just that bike gear gets designed for touring and rando stuff and no one wants to carry a big laptop along for that.

If you had a steel bike some kind of very thin laptop bag that attached to the top tube and downtube with some kind of clamp/wrap style mount might be quite excellent as long as it wasn't in danger of getting wet from the water bottle. It would centrally mount the laptop in a way it wouldn't upset handling so much.

A front basket strikes me as a good option too, or maybe a front pannier.. I think a front pannier might be better than rear for some reason, but it might depend on the bike.

Small laptop has never really been an option since my employer was always picking it out, and for my job it's always a matter of "what is the absolute fastest laptop we can get" which tends to preclude the smaller ones.

Agree with lots of this. The panniers were ok for longer straight ahead rides but they kind of moved around too much commuting. Once it just came off going over a bump. Thankfully the laptop inside was unharmed but it freaked me out.

See my previous post on this thread with examples of bags that put the laptop inside the frame. I think there's potential there, even if these examples aren't great products.

[Geeheeb]

I use a Road Runner Jumbo Jammer on the handlebars with my 14" laptop, the other smaller ones might work for you.

I also have used a carradice style bag on the handlebars.

[beanboy99]

Originally Posted by Geeheeb

I use a Road Runner Jumbo Jammer on the handlebars with my 14" laptop, the other smaller ones might work for you.

I also have used a carradice style bag on the handlebars.

Oh yeah these are not cheap but look like a good solution. But do you find a heavier object and large bag on your handlebars affects handling much? Compared to panniers, for example?

[Ozz]

I have a messenger bag (Timbuk2) that I have used for commuting that has a laptop sleeve in it.

If you don't want to carry it on your person, you could probably just get a padded sleeve to put it in, and then into whatever bag you have mounted on your frame. Maybe some adhesive velcro on the sleeve an bag will keep it from sliding around.

[Geeheeb]

Originally Posted by beanboy99

Oh yeah these are not cheap but look like a good solution. But do you find a heavier object and large bag on your handlebars affects handling much? Compared to panniers, for example?

Yeah the weight does make a difference, especially up high at bar height. You can test by filling up a big metal water bottle to the weight of your laptop and whathaveyou and strapping that to your bars with a belt.

I don't mind it but I also use really wide handlebars.

[Toddtwenty2]

Get a ride with rack mounts and give John Fitz a call!

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attac...1&d=1543506005

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attac...1&d=1544496799

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attac...1&d=1544496816

That being said, my head wanders around this all of the time. There is clearly an untapped market for folks that just need to get their laptop to and from work without anything further. My next project would likely be some kind of internal structure that holds a laptop on a randonneur rack support.

These options from Beanboy are my favorite suggestion so far, but I'd want them each to have a strap along the bottom as well to keep the bag from moving side to side.
https://gripunlimitedbags.com/shop/c...ter-case-grey/
https://www.amerigomilano.com/en/urb...-bag-libeccio/

[benb]

I'd be suprised if having a super luxe bespoke rack and fancy leather panniers did anything to help this issue versus the cheap Blackburn stuff I was using. And the cheap stuff doesn't make the bike as much of a theft target.

No matter what it's a big weight that is out over the rear of the bike and because of it's shape puts a lot of the weight up high.

It's not like one heavy item like a U-lock that you can locate at the lowest point of the pannier to keep the load low. I think my U-lock weighs more than my laptop but the laptop upsets the handling far more. I would typically put the U-lock on one side and the laptop on the other to try and balance the weight, but 2 panniers was often overkill for commuting, and twice as much to haul up to the office. But one pannier if holding the laptop + u-lock would really screw with the handling.

The Grip Unlimited commuter case looks pretty darn good.. it looks like it blocks water bottle use.. but for my commute that's really not an issue.

[beanboy99]

[QUOTE=Toddtwenty2;2912939]Get a ride with rack mounts and give John Fitz a call!

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attac...1&d=1543506005

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attac...1&d=1544496799

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attac...1&d=1544496816

That being said, my head wanders around this all of the time. There is clearly an untapped market for folks that just need to get their laptop to and from work without anything further. My next project would likely be some kind of internal structure that holds a laptop on a randonneur rack support.

Those are gorgeous racks. But yes, in my case I'm trying to something minimalist enough to forgo the rack on a bike that wasn't really built for it anyway. I think what you're describing sounds great. Let us know when the kickstarter gets, uh, kickstarted.

[Toddtwenty2]

Originally Posted by benb

I'd be suprised if having a super luxe bespoke rack and fancy leather panniers did anything to help this issue versus the cheap Blackburn stuff I was using.

Clearly, they both do the same thing in bringing your laptop to work. The blackburn is also probably better at mitigating rain and theft.

However, this looks handsome and rides well with a low center of gravity.
I prefer taking my custom bike with a bespoke leather bag to work and bringing it inside over riding a 90's mountain bike with blackburn bag and locking outside with a plastic grocery bag over the seat.

I thought this was a place to overanalyze things that don't matter much in the grand scheme of things and act upon those whims. It is enjoyable to envision and create, and I think the detachable tombstone for a briefcase idea that John and I came up with was a fun and useful one.

Originally Posted by beanboy99

I think what you're describing sounds great. Let us know when the kickstarter gets, uh, kickstarted.

I'll keep you posted. Perhaps our local Kickstarter aficionado BicycleTricycle can get to it first as a Routeworks add-on!

[m_sasso]

On tours I have always carried a 13" laptop. I carry the laptop in a small waterproof Ortleib front roller, 11" X 9" X 5" which has a pocket against the flat inner stiffened and protected mounting panel very close in size of the laptop. For a rack to mount the small pannier, I use a set of minimal Axiom Journey racks that mount to the fork and quick release skewer without braze on mounts. I don't use the "U" clamps on the fork legs but use a Tubus LM-1 Mounting set.

This is obviously not what you are looking for, however if I needed to securely cary a laptop daily, I would still use this same stable, protected small waterproof Ortleib front roller, only as a single sided rear. Plenty of minimal rear racks available that do not require braze on mounts.

[SDJ]

I'd try a frame bag (loads of options with the bike packing boom) and stuff it with bubble wrap or something to keep the laptop from bouncing around

[BobbyJones]

Maybe just drive? Or take the bus.

A lot of good suggestions here, but you may have to roll your own for what you've got in your head.

[Toddykins]

Originally Posted by BobbyJones

Carbon wrapped like you'd find on mid-range TrekaSpecaDale? Yes.

Full carbon? No way.

I still ride with Al seatpost and bars. More for economy than safety though.

Carbon wrapped? Was this even a thing in 1997? Because it certainly isnt now...