Bike Tour and DSLR?

VaughnA · 06-16-2009, 12:25 PM

I'm considering taking my K10D on a 5 day bike tour next week (Bike Virginia). It's about 70-80 miles a day. I'd like to be able to get better shots than I got last year with my little pocket P&S. I have a lowe Inverse 100 lumbar which will hold the body and 2 lenses but I'll probably only take the 18-55 to save weight. I've ridden 60 milers with the pack and didn't really notice it. But once I start the ride I'm stuck with the camera and lugging it everywhere I go. I could possibly put it into my bags to be shuttled to the next stop if I'm not wanting to take it but I'm worried about it getting damaged in transit. Does anybody have any experience with long rides and a lumbar pack?

tybeck · 06-16-2009, 04:26 PM

I have no experience, but having a K10D myself I think the weight would get to you after a carrying it a day and riding 70 miles. Maybe get something like a Panasonic LX3 or Canon G10 that's smaller and lighter. Even with a DA 40mm/2.8 Limited the K10D will be a brick.

nanok · 06-16-2009, 04:45 PM

depends a lot on what you're used to. i for instance have a big problem wiht combining bike and photo, i tend to take a lot of gear with me, and, most importantly, my tripod. carrying all that on my back while riding gets old very soon, so i tend to use the car for photo, and i usually never shoot when riding, even if i do take my gear along, it's driving me crazy to be honest.

one solution might be to get a pack for the bike, instead of carrying on your body, if it's a road bike, it shouldn't hurt the camera to stay on the bike (i assume you are not planning to do 70-80 miles/day offroad); otoh, for me, a k10d with the kit lens would be weightless, given what i am used to, if only i could limit myself to that little (i know, i have a big GearCarryingAddiction problem, basically all i have goes with me, i am lucky i borrowed my 135/3.5 sonnar to a friend, otherwise i would be carrying two 135mm lenses, i am sure, amongst other things; yeah, that bad..)

btw: somebody, please.. help?

stevebrot · 06-16-2009, 04:58 PM

I don't have the nerve to carry any of my slrs on my bike. I have had to head for the ditch just too frequently. There are also the traditional enemies of the bicyclist, the twin issues of bulk and weight. As a result, I carry one of two cameras: the Olympus XA for film or the Canon G2 for digital. Whichever one I take finds its place in the rack trunk (bag), the handlebar bag, or a larger underseat pouch.

Steve

VaughnA · 06-17-2009, 08:31 AM

I'm thinking I might stick with the point and shoot. I'm going to be riding my fixed gear since I had to pull parts from my geared bike to fix my wifes in time for the ride after a shifter broke. The thought of 120 rpm with a lumbar pack just doesn't sound fun.

tpeace · 06-17-2009, 08:51 AM

Vaughn, I did a week long tour a few years ago and took the *ist along. It's smaller profile allowed it (with an 18-55mm lens) to barely fit into my rear seat repair pouch. The only issue I had was retrieving and stowing it required I completely dismount. But having it tucked out of the slip-stream was very nice.

I see from your profile that you have the K10. Finding a pouch for it would of course be a bigger challenge.

Good luck with the fixed gearing. Hope they aren't taking you over too many hills!

Regards,
-tom

VaughnA · 06-17-2009, 12:31 PM

Originally posted by tpeace

Good luck with the fixed gearing. Hope they aren't taking you over too many hills!

Regards,
-tom

Bike Virginia around Charlottesville, a few hills, I live in the area and ride everything either singlespeed or fixed so I'm used to it. I did a hillier bike virginia last year singlespeed, I'm going fixed for a new challenge. I think I'll take the P&S because I'm leaving tomorrow and don't want to have to debug a new system on the road. Maybe a rack & bag next year.

er1kksen · 06-17-2009, 02:00 PM

I did a similar tour last summer, 5 days, about the same daily mileage, in the Finger Lakes region of NY state, and I brought along my old Olympus E-330 (similar size to K10D) and sigma 30mm f1.4, a somewhat hefty chunk of glass. We were going fully loaded and it was pretty seriously hilly (WNY seems to be one of those delightful places where they ignored the lay of the land when making roads and just ran them all straight uphill), and I kept the camera in the trunk bag most of the time. I also had a fair amount of gear on my back, and I was surprised to find that it really didn't get that uncomfortable and ~25 total pounds of gear wasn't that cumbersome in the end. Then again, I do believe in shifting as a way to most efficiently utilize a two-wheeled self-transportation system.

The only thing I regret about that setup is that the camera accessibility was pretty limited, so I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to.

If the lumbar pack has worked alright for you on some 60 mile rides, I'd venture to say that it'll be just fine for the whole trip for you. I don't know about you, but I always end up kicking myself whenever I bring a p+s somewhere instead of a DSLR (except back when I had an XA, that was a sweet little camera but film), so just bring your single favorite lens and go for it.

VaughnA · 06-18-2009, 06:59 AM

Er1kksen,

I'm assuming you are talking about Bon Ton Roulet? I've got a friend here in Lynchburg that does it every year and he's really got is thinking about it for next year. It sounds like a fun ride, he mentioned one day last year that was basically pizza, beer and rain for his group. Sounds like fun.

I'm still on the fence. I'd like to take my 50 but that is my only prime and just isn't wide enough so if I take the SLR it will be the 18-55 kit lens. My P&S is really a POS (Fuji credit card camera) which is the suxxor. I guess I'll decide at the last moment tomorrow when we pack the car. I do think that I have room for a pelican case so that I can pack it with baggage and ship it to the next stop if needed. I didn't think about it until now but the century day is a layover so I could just leave it in camp. Maybe the SLR will go..

er1kksen · 06-18-2009, 10:19 AM

No, actually, I've never even heard of that tour.

I haven't really gotten much into the cycling community yet, having been pretty busy with finishing up highschool.

What I went on was just a tour with my dad (who used to do touring about 20 years ago) since he and I usually do some kind of father-and-son trip every summer. There was some pizza involved at one point, however, it was at the end of a very long day when we discovered that the closest place with food to the B&B we were staying at (one of the benefits of cycling with dad

) was a good 12 miles downhill... we managed to get the owner of the B&B to have her son pick us up a pizza on his way home from a soccer practice he was at, so we sat around feeling ravenously hungry while we waited for the pizza to arrive. It was a long 2 hours wait, but it was immensely satisfying to finally sink my teeth into that pizza...

_who_ · 06-18-2009, 11:49 AM

My wife and I cycle. I've tried taking my bridge camera on several occassions but find it to be a bit too bulky.

My wife has one of those credit card sized P & S cameras and we take that with us.

VaughnA · 06-18-2009, 07:22 PM

We're packed and leaving in the morning. I'm taking the K10D. I don't have room for the pelican box so I have to carry it between towns. But there are two layover days that I don't have to take the camera with me if I don't feel like it. Photo's to come in about a week.

_who_ · 06-18-2009, 07:56 PM

Originally posted by VaughnA

We're packed and leaving in the morning. I'm taking the K10D. I don't have room for the pelican box so I have to carry it between towns. But there are two layover days that I don't have to take the camera with me if I don't feel like it. Photo's to come in about a week.

Have fun. What do you ride?

Looking forward to the pics

VaughnA · 06-18-2009, 08:13 PM

Originally posted by _who_

Have fun. What do you ride?

Looking forward to the pics

I'll be on my Lemond Fillmore Fixie, I'm going to try to do it all fixed (44/16) but I can bail to just singlespeed (44/17) if I get toasted. The wife is on a nice little Basso Coral I built up for her,including wheels and now my Dura-Ace drivetrain.

The ride is in some of Virginias most beautiful country. I'm hoping that I can do better than normal in my landscape skills.

_who_ · 06-18-2009, 08:19 PM

Originally posted by VaughnA

I'll be on my Lemond Fillmore Fixie, I'm going to try to do it all fixed (44/16) but I can bail to just singlespeed (44/17) if I get toasted. The wife is on a nice little Basso Coral I built up for her,including wheels and now my Dura-Ace drivetrain.

The ride is in some of Virginias most beautiful country. I'm hoping that I can do better than normal in my landscape skills.

You're a better man than I. Doing a tour on a fixie. I'm old and weak and need a compact double 50/34 - 11/25

06-16-2009, 12:25 PM	#1
VaughnA Banned Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,363	Bike Tour and DSLR? I'm considering taking my K10D on a 5 day bike tour next week (Bike Virginia). It's about 70-80 miles a day. I'd like to be able to get better shots than I got last year with my little pocket P&S. I have a lowe Inverse 100 lumbar which will hold the body and 2 lenses but I'll probably only take the 18-55 to save weight. I've ridden 60 milers with the pack and didn't really notice it. But once I start the ride I'm stuck with the camera and lugging it everywhere I go. I could possibly put it into my bags to be shuttled to the next stop if I'm not wanting to take it but I'm worried about it getting damaged in transit. Does anybody have any experience with long rides and a lumbar pack?

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06-16-2009, 04:26 PM	#2
tybeck Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 452	I have no experience, but having a K10D myself I think the weight would get to you after a carrying it a day and riding 70 miles. Maybe get something like a Panasonic LX3 or Canon G10 that's smaller and lighter. Even with a DA 40mm/2.8 Limited the K10D will be a brick.

06-16-2009, 04:45 PM	#3
nanok Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 969	depends a lot on what you're used to. i for instance have a big problem wiht combining bike and photo, i tend to take a lot of gear with me, and, most importantly, my tripod. carrying all that on my back while riding gets old very soon, so i tend to use the car for photo, and i usually never shoot when riding, even if i do take my gear along, it's driving me crazy to be honest. one solution might be to get a pack for the bike, instead of carrying on your body, if it's a road bike, it shouldn't hurt the camera to stay on the bike (i assume you are not planning to do 70-80 miles/day offroad); otoh, for me, a k10d with the kit lens would be weightless, given what i am used to, if only i could limit myself to that little (i know, i have a big GearCarryingAddiction problem, basically all i have goes with me, i am lucky i borrowed my 135/3.5 sonnar to a friend, otherwise i would be carrying two 135mm lenses, i am sure, amongst other things; yeah, that bad..) btw: somebody, please.. help?

06-16-2009, 04:58 PM	#4
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	I don't have the nerve to carry any of my slrs on my bike. I have had to head for the ditch just too frequently. There are also the traditional enemies of the bicyclist, the twin issues of bulk and weight. As a result, I carry one of two cameras: the Olympus XA for film or the Canon G2 for digital. Whichever one I take finds its place in the rack trunk (bag), the handlebar bag, or a larger underseat pouch. Steve

06-17-2009, 08:31 AM	#5
VaughnA Banned Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,363 Original Poster	I'm thinking I might stick with the point and shoot. I'm going to be riding my fixed gear since I had to pull parts from my geared bike to fix my wifes in time for the ride after a shifter broke. The thought of 120 rpm with a lumbar pack just doesn't sound fun.

06-17-2009, 08:51 AM	#6
tpeace Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 431	Vaughn, I did a week long tour a few years ago and took the *ist along. It's smaller profile allowed it (with an 18-55mm lens) to barely fit into my rear seat repair pouch. The only issue I had was retrieving and stowing it required I completely dismount. But having it tucked out of the slip-stream was very nice. I see from your profile that you have the K10. Finding a pouch for it would of course be a bigger challenge. Good luck with the fixed gearing. Hope they aren't taking you over too many hills! Regards, -tom

06-17-2009, 12:31 PM	#7
VaughnA Banned Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,363 Original Poster	Originally posted by tpeace Good luck with the fixed gearing. Hope they aren't taking you over too many hills! Regards, -tom Bike Virginia around Charlottesville, a few hills, I live in the area and ride everything either singlespeed or fixed so I'm used to it. I did a hillier bike virginia last year singlespeed, I'm going fixed for a new challenge. I think I'll take the P&S because I'm leaving tomorrow and don't want to have to debug a new system on the road. Maybe a rack & bag next year.

06-17-2009, 02:00 PM	#8
er1kksen Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Forestville, NY Photos: Albums Posts: 1,801	I did a similar tour last summer, 5 days, about the same daily mileage, in the Finger Lakes region of NY state, and I brought along my old Olympus E-330 (similar size to K10D) and sigma 30mm f1.4, a somewhat hefty chunk of glass. We were going fully loaded and it was pretty seriously hilly (WNY seems to be one of those delightful places where they ignored the lay of the land when making roads and just ran them all straight uphill), and I kept the camera in the trunk bag most of the time. I also had a fair amount of gear on my back, and I was surprised to find that it really didn't get that uncomfortable and ~25 total pounds of gear wasn't that cumbersome in the end. Then again, I do believe in shifting as a way to most efficiently utilize a two-wheeled self-transportation system. The only thing I regret about that setup is that the camera accessibility was pretty limited, so I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to. If the lumbar pack has worked alright for you on some 60 mile rides, I'd venture to say that it'll be just fine for the whole trip for you. I don't know about you, but I always end up kicking myself whenever I bring a p+s somewhere instead of a DSLR (except back when I had an XA, that was a sweet little camera but film), so just bring your single favorite lens and go for it.

06-18-2009, 06:59 AM	#9
VaughnA Banned Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,363 Original Poster	Er1kksen, I'm assuming you are talking about Bon Ton Roulet? I've got a friend here in Lynchburg that does it every year and he's really got is thinking about it for next year. It sounds like a fun ride, he mentioned one day last year that was basically pizza, beer and rain for his group. Sounds like fun. I'm still on the fence. I'd like to take my 50 but that is my only prime and just isn't wide enough so if I take the SLR it will be the 18-55 kit lens. My P&S is really a POS (Fuji credit card camera) which is the suxxor. I guess I'll decide at the last moment tomorrow when we pack the car. I do think that I have room for a pelican case so that I can pack it with baggage and ship it to the next stop if needed. I didn't think about it until now but the century day is a layover so I could just leave it in camp. Maybe the SLR will go..

06-18-2009, 10:19 AM	#10
er1kksen Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Forestville, NY Photos: Albums Posts: 1,801	No, actually, I've never even heard of that tour. I haven't really gotten much into the cycling community yet, having been pretty busy with finishing up highschool. What I went on was just a tour with my dad (who used to do touring about 20 years ago) since he and I usually do some kind of father-and-son trip every summer. There was some pizza involved at one point, however, it was at the end of a very long day when we discovered that the closest place with food to the B&B we were staying at (one of the benefits of cycling with dad ) was a good 12 miles downhill... we managed to get the owner of the B&B to have her son pick us up a pizza on his way home from a soccer practice he was at, so we sat around feeling ravenously hungry while we waited for the pizza to arrive. It was a long 2 hours wait, but it was immensely satisfying to finally sink my teeth into that pizza...

06-18-2009, 11:49 AM	#11
_who_ Banned Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Pogoland Posts: 43	My wife and I cycle. I've tried taking my bridge camera on several occassions but find it to be a bit too bulky. My wife has one of those credit card sized P & S cameras and we take that with us.

06-18-2009, 07:22 PM	#12
VaughnA Banned Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,363 Original Poster	We're packed and leaving in the morning. I'm taking the K10D. I don't have room for the pelican box so I have to carry it between towns. But there are two layover days that I don't have to take the camera with me if I don't feel like it. Photo's to come in about a week.

06-18-2009, 07:56 PM	#13
_who_ Banned Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Pogoland Posts: 43	Originally posted by VaughnA We're packed and leaving in the morning. I'm taking the K10D. I don't have room for the pelican box so I have to carry it between towns. But there are two layover days that I don't have to take the camera with me if I don't feel like it. Photo's to come in about a week. Have fun. What do you ride? Looking forward to the pics

06-18-2009, 08:13 PM	#14
VaughnA Banned Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,363 Original Poster	Originally posted by _who_ Have fun. What do you ride? Looking forward to the pics I'll be on my Lemond Fillmore Fixie, I'm going to try to do it all fixed (44/16) but I can bail to just singlespeed (44/17) if I get toasted. The wife is on a nice little Basso Coral I built up for her,including wheels and now my Dura-Ace drivetrain. The ride is in some of Virginias most beautiful country. I'm hoping that I can do better than normal in my landscape skills.

06-18-2009, 08:19 PM	#15
_who_ Banned Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Pogoland Posts: 43	Originally posted by VaughnA I'll be on my Lemond Fillmore Fixie, I'm going to try to do it all fixed (44/16) but I can bail to just singlespeed (44/17) if I get toasted. The wife is on a nice little Basso Coral I built up for her,including wheels and now my Dura-Ace drivetrain. The ride is in some of Virginias most beautiful country. I'm hoping that I can do better than normal in my landscape skills. You're a better man than I. Doing a tour on a fixie. I'm old and weak and need a compact double 50/34 - 11/25