How to bike with a suitcase...

Dear NG,

I recently damaged my laptop. And this is simply because I have a
backpack laptop bag and I carry it wherever I go (not the best
quality but it still has protection for laptop).

I notice that I am one of the few people in which items in a bag will
not last for a long time.. anything.. paper, laptop, books, even the
bag itself.. they're just doomed.. I hardly do anything but I guess I
just travel a lot and my bag bumps anavoidably here and there a lot.

I was thinking of getting myself a hard-cased bag. But I am pretty
sure that they won't last with me too as most hard cased bag are just
plastic hard case and they can also easily get broken if they come
under my care. But correct me if I am wrong, I've never had a hard-
cased bag in my life.

Anyway, to make the story short. I realize, that the best thing for me
is a hard metal suitcase with good protection. But the problem there
is that I can't bike with it. I bike regularly to the train station
from home and then take the train to office. My major concern is my
laptop, I damaged already one and Im gonna buy a new one. But Im want
to make sure that my travelling habits and etc. won't damage my laptop
so easily as it did with this one. I need some helpful advise here. My
thoughts are :

1. Suitcase with laptop protection..
2. Hard-cased backpack that has laptop protection and is durable.

My maximum budget here is around 40 euros. Any suggestion of where I
could buy those or what brands I have to look at would also be
helpful. Thanks

Sincerely,
Jose Capco

Jose Capco --This isn't exactly what you requested, but have you considered
using bubble wrap around your laptop? I used that to wrap a bicycle which I
then put in a nylon bag and gave to the train baggage man. Everything got
through fine. And, the bubble wrap can be stowed fairly easily when you're
not using it.

Pat in TX

On Apr 27, 3:21 pm, "PatTX" wrote:
Jose Capco --This isn't exactly what you requested, but have you considered
using bubble wrap around your laptop? I used that to wrap a bicycle which I
then put in a nylon bag and gave to the train baggage man. Everything got
through fine. And, the bubble wrap can be stowed fairly easily when you're
not using it.

Pat in TX

Well.. no I havent considered bubble wrapping. I mean, it's fine for
occasional travel purpose and when you don't use the thing during your
train rides. But I actually use my laptop extensively during train
rides everyday to work and this can be a hassle. Bubble wrap is also
maybe a few times usable. And if you think long terms, the cost of the
bubble wraps you use after a year or two will equal the cost of a
decent durable bag.

Im looking for a solution that can last longer than that. Im thinking
of a bag that can last me at least 5 or 6 years. Aren't there hard
attache cases or suitcases that are suited for bikers? I might just
try buying a special strap for my bike so I could simply attach the
suitcase behind me while biking if I can't find a suitcase made for
bikers. What do you guys think?

Jose

On Apr 27, 3:46 pm, Jose Capco
wrote:
On Apr 27, 3:21 pm, "PatTX" wrote:

Jose Capco --This isn't exactly what you requested, but have you considered
using bubble wrap around your laptop? I used that to wrap a bicycle which I
then put in a nylon bag and gave to the train baggage man. Everything got
through fine. And, the bubble wrap can be stowed fairly easily when you're
not using it.

Pat in TX

Well.. no I havent considered bubble wrapping. I mean, it's fine for
occasional travel purpose and when you don't use the thing during your
train rides. But I actually use my laptop extensively during train
rides everyday to work and this can be a hassle. Bubble wrap is also
maybe a few times usable. And if you think long terms, the cost of the
bubble wraps you use after a year or two will equal the cost of a
decent durable bag.

Im looking for a solution that can last longer than that. Im thinking
of a bag that can last me at least 5 or 6 years. Aren't there hard
attache cases or suitcases that are suited for bikers? I might just
try buying a special strap for my bike so I could simply attach the
suitcase behind me while biking if I can't find a suitcase made for
bikers. What do you guys think?

Jose

I know what.. since its mostly very uncomfortable travelling with a
suitcase.. Im thinking of taking a really good backpack and then
somehow pad it with bubble wraps .. that way I have the most
protection for my laptop and Im not afraid of bumping my bag here and
there every now and then.

On Apr 27, 4:06 pm, Jose Capco
wrote:
On Apr 27, 3:46 pm, Jose Capco
wrote:



On Apr 27, 3:21 pm, "PatTX" wrote:

Jose Capco --This isn't exactly what you requested, but have you considered
using bubble wrap around your laptop? I used that to wrap a bicycle which I
then put in a nylon bag and gave to the train baggage man. Everything got
through fine. And, the bubble wrap can be stowed fairly easily when you're
not using it.

Pat in TX

Well.. no I havent considered bubble wrapping. I mean, it's fine for
occasional travel purpose and when you don't use the thing during your
train rides. But I actually use my laptop extensively during train
rides everyday to work and this can be a hassle. Bubble wrap is also
maybe a few times usable. And if you think long terms, the cost of the
bubble wraps you use after a year or two will equal the cost of a
decent durable bag.

Im looking for a solution that can last longer than that. Im thinking
of a bag that can last me at least 5 or 6 years. Aren't there hard
attache cases or suitcases that are suited for bikers? I might just
try buying a special strap for my bike so I could simply attach the
suitcase behind me while biking if I can't find a suitcase made for
bikers. What do you guys think?

Jose

I know what.. since its mostly very uncomfortable travelling with a
suitcase.. Im thinking of taking a really good backpack and then
somehow pad it with bubble wraps .. that way I have the most
protection for my laptop and Im not afraid of bumping my bag here and
there every now and then.

Im looking at Belkin F8N057 costs around 31 euros here. But Im not
sure how good it can protect laptops. There is also the Logitech
Kinetic.. Maybe I should take a look at brands not specificializing on
laptop bags, like Samsonite.

Jose Capco wrote:
Dear NG,

I recently damaged my laptop. And this is simply because I have a
backpack laptop bag and I carry it wherever I go (not the best
quality but it still has protection for laptop).

I notice that I am one of the few people in which items in a bag will
not last for a long time.. anything.. paper, laptop, books, even the
bag itself.. they're just doomed.. I hardly do anything but I guess I
just travel a lot and my bag bumps anavoidably here and there a lot.

I was thinking of getting myself a hard-cased bag. But I am pretty
sure that they won't last with me too as most hard cased bag are just
plastic hard case and they can also easily get broken if they come
under my care. But correct me if I am wrong, I've never had a hard-
cased bag in my life.

Anyway, to make the story short. I realize, that the best thing for me
is a hard metal suitcase with good protection. But the problem there
is that I can't bike with it. I bike regularly to the train station
from home and then take the train to office. My major concern is my
laptop, I damaged already one and Im gonna buy a new one. But Im want
to make sure that my travelling habits and etc. won't damage my laptop
so easily as it did with this one. I need some helpful advise here. My
thoughts are :

1. Suitcase with laptop protection..
2. Hard-cased backpack that has laptop protection and is durable.

My maximum budget here is around 40 euros. Any suggestion of where I
could buy those or what brands I have to look at would also be
helpful. Thanks

Before you make a decision, I suggest that you check a camera shop or
two. There are all kinds of camera bags out there, some of which are
like messenger bags, and some of which resemble suitcases, and many of
them have padding. What exactly you'll find locally I can't guess, but
it is definitely worth a try.


Bill

__o | On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur.
_`\(,_ | L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
(_)/ (_) | --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

On Apr 27, 6:06*am, Jose Capco
wrote:
On Apr 27, 3:46 pm, Jose Capco
wrote:





On Apr 27, 3:21 pm, "PatTX" wrote:

Jose Capco --This isn't exactly what you requested, but have you considered
using bubble wrap around your laptop? I used that to wrap a bicycle which I
then put in a nylon bag and gave to the train baggage man. Everything got
through fine. And, the bubble wrap can be stowed fairly easily when you're
not using it.

Pat in TX

Well.. no I havent considered bubble wrapping. I mean, it's fine for
occasional travel purpose and when you don't use the thing during your
train rides. But I actually use my laptop extensively during train
rides everyday to work and this can be a hassle. Bubble wrap is also
maybe a few times usable. And if you think long terms, the cost of the
bubble wraps you use after a year or two will equal the cost of a
decent durable bag.

Im looking for a solution that can last longer than that. Im thinking
of a bag that can last me at least 5 or 6 years. Aren't there hard
attache cases or suitcases that are suited for bikers? I might just
try buying a special strap for my bike so I could simply attach the
suitcase behind me while biking if I can't find a suitcase made for
bikers. What do you guys think?

Jose

I know what.. since its mostly very uncomfortable travelling with a
suitcase.. Im thinking of taking a really good backpack and then
somehow pad it with bubble wraps .. that way I have the most
protection for my laptop and Im not afraid of bumping my bag here and
there every now and then.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I've got two ideas for you, both of which would be easy and not too
expensive.

1: buy a good quality laptop backpack w/ padded compartment for the
laptop. Also use a "laptop sleeve" inside that for double padding.
One example of the sleeve is the Belkin F8N061-KLG, but there are many
others, Search on words like "padded sleeve" or "slip case". $20-$40
US + cost of padded laptop backpack.


2: Buy a minimalist hard cover case and put that case inside a
regular backpack for commuting. See Pelican 1080 or 1090 for
examples. About $70 US + cost of regular unpadded backpack.

On Apr 27, 3:53*am, Jose Capco
wrote:
Dear NG,

I recently damaged my laptop. And this is simply because I have a
backpack laptop bag *and I carry it wherever I go (not the best
quality but it still has protection for laptop).

I notice that I am one of the few people in which items in a bag will
not last for a long time.. anything.. paper, laptop, books, even the
bag itself.. they're just doomed.. I hardly do anything but I guess I
just travel a lot and my bag bumps anavoidably here and there a lot.

I was thinking of getting myself a hard-cased bag. But I am pretty
sure that they won't last with me too as most hard cased bag are just
plastic hard case and they can also easily get broken if they come
under my care. But correct me if I am wrong, I've never had a hard-
cased bag in my life.

Anyway, to make the story short. I realize, that the best thing for me
is a hard metal suitcase with good protection. But the problem there
is that I can't bike with it. I bike regularly to the train station
from home and then take the train to office. My major concern is my
laptop, I damaged already one and Im gonna buy a new one. But Im want
to make sure that my travelling habits and etc. won't damage my laptop
so easily as it did with this one. I need some helpful advise here. My
thoughts are :

1. Suitcase with laptop protection..
2. Hard-cased backpack that has laptop protection and is durable.

My maximum budget here is around 40 euros. Any suggestion of where I
could buy those or what brands I have to look at would also be
helpful. Thanks

Sincerely,
Jose Capco

Look for a hard-sided pannier, or a hard case that you can convert to
a pannier by bolting on some combination of hooks, clips and bungees.

For instance, see http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/briefcase_pannier.html,
or the "City Box" that that article mentions (with caveats).

Chip C
Toronto

Jose Capco wrote:
Dear NG,

I recently damaged my laptop. And this is simply because I have a
backpack laptop bag and I carry it wherever I go (not the best
quality but it still has protection for laptop).
My major concern is my
laptop, I damaged already one and Im gonna buy a new one. But Im want
to make sure that my travelling habits and etc. won't damage my laptop
so easily as it did with this one. I need some helpful advise here. My
thoughts are :

What you need is something like a "minister's vest". You're probably
wondering what the heck is that.
Some of us call a chest pouch that attaches around your neck and a
strap around your waist: a minister's vest. I think such an item would
give you the instant access you need and the protection your lap top
needs.
I don't know if I still have one, (a home made one) or not. They're
simple to make. (Assuming your laptop is not an extended screen and
keyboard type.)

--
A website is a place, where, when you go there, it does everything
possible to distract you, from finding the information you came there
to see.- E.W.

Thanks for all the replies..

I am interested though.. how do you make this minister's west? You
just use a normal laptop bag (one that is not a backpack type) and
then attach a waist strap (or even two shoulder strap) on one side??

What you need is something like a "minister's vest". You're probably
wondering what the heck is that.
Some of us call a chest pouch that attaches around your neck and a
strap around your waist: a minister's vest. I think such an item would
give you the instant access you need and the protection your lap top
needs.
I don't know if I still have one, (a home made one) or not. They're
simple to make. (Assuming your laptop is not an extended screen and
keyboard type.)

--
A website is a place, where, when you go there, it does everything
possible to distract you, from finding the information you came there
to see.- E.W.