How to transport photo equipment on a bicycle?

[Misirlou]

I didn't see it specifically mentioned, but you need to know that bikes generally have suspension not to make them ride a lot softer, but to keep the wheels in better contact with the ground, esp. when that ground is really rough. The first dual suspension mountain bikes were specifically engineered to keep one in control while doing bonzai 60 mph charges down rough mountain trails. I have a suspended mountain bike, but I bought it for high-speed commuting on rugged dirt trails: It ain't exactly cushy.

Sure, there have been other designs that claim to be made just for comfort, but the crowd still driving most of the engineering are extreme sports types. You'll find suspensions on a lot of folding bikes, but that's because those bikes have really small wheels, which would be nearly unridable without some mechanical damping. The softest ride you're going to find (probably a fat-tired beach cruiser) will still be relatively harsh to anything rigidly attached as cargo.

Backpacks work pretty well for protecting equipment (assuming you don't fall off), but they usually are not entirely comfortable to carry for very long. If it will be hot, they tend to trap sweat on your back. I like the looks of that Ortlieb case a lot, but I suspect that could still get unwieldy on really technical trails, depending on how burly you are of course.

[neil74]

I think that you seriously need to re-evaluate what equipment you take.

I have got back into cycling recently and am asking myself the same question.  I am leaning towards traveling lighter and leaving the SLR behind, I already have a DP1 which I do not think quite cuts it as a sole camera but something like the G1 or Oly Pen would be light plus you cpuld get away with a much lighter tripod too.

I am finding the Oly pen very very tempting but the lack of an EVF and no distance scale on the lens or screen is making me think twice, oh that and the price too.

[Jim Pascoe]

Looking back over all of the posts here, it seems that most people are assuming the rider is going off-road.  The original poster said that he wanted to carry 10KG of equipment including a tripod.  That would be a crazy amount of gear to carry on your back while cycling for anything other than a very short distance.

For road riding carrying the gear on the bike has to be the way to go.  Bikes can carry a huge amount of weight if necessary and the rider quickly gets used to the different handling.

For off-roading, obviously the gear will get hammered on anything other than smooth trails, and even here the vibration would be bad news.  In this scenario I would carry a very light camera in a small pack, and if you need a tripod, carry a cheap one strapped to a rack if you can fit one.

Anyone who has tried to cycle with a 10kg pack on their back will know that it is just a very unpleasant way to ruin a bike ride, whereas it is quite feasible to cover very long distances on the road with a correctly laden bike. One of the beauties of cycling with a load compared to hiking, is that the bike will take the weight.  All you have to do is propel it!

Jim

[TimG]

Maybe check out the Ute by Kona, here:
2009 Kona Ute

While the "large ute bag" may not be the correct bag for carrying camera gear, the large rear platform rack system is longer than most.  

Looks like this bike was built for carrying heavy loads.

[Chris Pollock]

Anyone who has tried to cycle with a 10kg pack on their back will know that it is just a very unpleasant way to ruin a bike ride, whereas it is quite feasible to cover very long distances on the road with a correctly laden bike. One of the beauties of cycling with a load compared to hiking, is that the bike will take the weight.  All you have to do is propel it!

I've done a few long road trips in my time, and agree entirely with the above quote. Even the weight of an SLR and lens in a backpack would get very uncomfortable after a day in the saddle. I used to carry a Canon D60, 2 or 3 lenses, and sometime a carbon fibre tripod in ordinary rear pannier bags mounted on the back of a road bike. I also carried a small laptop for storing my photos, spare clothing, and a few other odds and ends.

The weight was easy to deal with - a more serious problem was that I'd want to stop and take some photos when I saw anything interesting, which slowed my progress. I stored the camera and lenses in ordinary soft padded cases, which seemed to protect them just fine. For what it's worth, I had one (fairly minor) crash with my equipment aboard, and nothing was damaged.  Probably nothing would keep your gear safe in a serious crash, but the same thing could be said about the cyclist too.