finite42

ie laptops. I do, but am *****scared of crashing and breaking aforementioned. No?

jrowe

What is the alternative? Would you carry these items on a road bike? I ride through traffic like a freaking maniac anytime I get on a road bike, so I'd be more comfortable with them on a fixie.

potus

I unclip for trackstands when I have my laptop. I already hosed one by spilling mt dew on the keyboard, I don't want to explain another hosed laptop because of a zero m.p.h. crash.

finite42

right. not really a fixed question. more so asking if any one has a cure all(say, titanium casing or superpowers, and the like.). ranking posessions: laptop, scrotum, bike...

cracked lcds cost

sillygirl

Not like I would know .... but a couple zero mph crashes wont do much damage - most people fall forward when crashing so slowly - and not on their back.

My comp is on my back 90% of the time I am riding. The information on the comp is more valuable to me, so I just keep it all backed up reagularly.

Kiecker

Extended warrenties are great

I've had my keyboard replaced 2 or three times and a new screen, and this is before I started riding bicycles LOL.

Jamtastic

i like how 10% of the time you must be on your comp while riding. hehe

andygates

My bike's worth more than my laptop.

mr_tom

I ride with a TiBook. It's got a few dings, but is working fine. Timbuk2 and Crumpler (plus others, I'm sure) do laptop inners that give you a bit of padding.

But the best thing to do is insure it. I can't imagine having a laptop that's not insured, since they get smashed and stolen so often. Just make sure your insurer will cover it when on your bike. That way, you effectively pay someone else to worry about it.

darkmother

Personally, I value the hard drive in my head more than anything electronic I could carry with me. If I thought there was that much chance of crashing every time I went out, maybe I'd take the bus!

neuron

i've ridden with my laptop (tibooks, ibooks, albooks) for the last couple of years. riding without one on my back seems like a foreign concept for me now.

i had an incident where an suv cut in front of me in the freezing snow, and i went down hard. the tibook i had seemed okay after i got up and dusted myself off, but it wouldn't boot to save its life. used that as an excuse to get a machine with a light up keyboard (ha).

i'd been running with a soft padded sleeve inside my courier bag. after that incident i picked up one of those pelican cases with the foam to put inside the bag on really crappy days. i think it is more a placebo than anything else, though. mostly i ride with the padded sleeve.

jaypee

I'm an Apple IT guy for a university so I'm always riding around campus from job to job with a laptop and various other gear in my bag. Wireless gear, software, tools, etc. I've crashed once and nothing was damaged.. I must be lucky.

bostontrevor

I frequently carry the computer. The alternative is that I take the train or don't take my computer home, neither appeals. I figure I could wreck it in a car accident, slip on the ice coming out of the T station, knock it off my desk, spill about a quart of coffee on the keyboard (oops, did that one)... Life's full of risks. Unless you do a lot of falling, I wouldn't sweat it. Get some padding if your concerned.

ryan_c

Not related to computers, but I thought this was interesting.

When I got hit by a minivan (or maybe I hit it more than it hit me, he made a right turn in front of me) I was carrying a bunch of LP's in my bag. I got knocked pretty bad, landed on my back and hit my head hard enough to probably cause a concussion, but the records were completely unscathed. Only just now did I realize how strange that seems.


I don't ride with a laptop, but I do occasionally carry a PDA in one of the outer pockets of my bag. The nice thing about those is that if you have a hard case, you probably don't have to worry about impact too much.

bikeordie

a good friend of mine does glass work and he used to carry panes of glass in his messenger bag.... one exploded once, glass everywhere. guess you just gotta accept the consequences.

dolface

i just keep mine inside a padded sleeve, and have everything backed up, and i have insurance.

robertsdvd

https://www.pelican.com/

p3ntuprage

i've wantonly done worse with my laptop and cameras than accidentally falling onto them.

i've also learnt that padded sleeves and linings are useless if you forget to clip/zip shut your bag, and that accidental damage insurance is a wonderful thing.

go to a camera shop and get a load of that replacement cubed foam for hard camera cases, and get someone to sew you a bag to fit around it, and put that in your messenger bag. put your laptops or cameras or scotum or whatever in that.

fsnl
sparky

neuron

wow. i wonder how good their flashlights are -- i thought they only did cases. if they are anywhere near as nice as said cases, i might have found a good bike light/weapon.

their plastics are crazy tough.

salome

the last time i was hit my bag was empty except for three bottles of beer. they were fine. granted a little shaken up and semi-flat but still good.

i think it would take a lot to actually damage a computer, unless a car hit you from behind/sideswiped you and you ended up on the hood with the computer between the two of you. but really, i agree with everyone else. a little padding if it will make you feel better but anything too big/bulky/heavy will end up weighing a ton and you'll probably end up complaining more about that then the possiblility of crashing.

delay

Some laptops, like the IBM t40 I have, have some "crash protection". Basically, from what I understand there is some motion sensor that locks and protects the HD in the case of a fall.

That said, I tend to do stupid things like wrap sweatshirts around it and whatnot. I honestly feel that spilling beer on it is a far more likely demise than a fall from my bike.

HexagonSun

i have a titanium pb but i just won't ride with it because it doesn't feel sturdy enough. the old tibooks just have way too much flex for me to feel comfortable with its toughness. the aibooks on the other hand feel just as sturdy as the ibooks now. wish i could afford a new one.

bostontrevor

That's if they're in operation at the time of the fall. It should go without saying that that's a terrible idea inside your bag. Otherwise when suspended or shutdown, the drives are powered down and parked already.

delay

good to know

labratmatt

I ride my fixie with my iBook regularly. I had it in my book bag last fall and went down fairly hard. The iBook's display was shifted, but seemed to operate for the most part. It also developed some weird condition where it would lock up every now and then for no good reason. Luckily, I bought laptop insurance last year and I was able to get it repaired without any problems. 0$ deductable. I was happy as I am a poor student and couldn't replace without saving for a few months.

If anyone is interested in the name of the company that I used for laptop insurance, let me know and I'll send the name to you. They were very quick and polite and gave 0 hassle. Had my repaired iBook back within 10 days. I highly recommend them.