What is the best way to commute with a laptop computer?

IMHO, in a laptop sleeve suspended from the top of a pannier, so they don't take direct road shock. I don't know all the panniers that offer this feature, but the Arkel Bug and some of the Jandd models do.

+1 .... that is the best way unless you want to carry ir on your back.

Laptop pocket in a backpack. That's what I use when walking, that's what I use when riding.

I cannot fathom pedaling the computer ... no cranks, no drivetrain

laptop sleeve in backpack

Ctrl+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R+R. Wow, I'm there already.

Mine's in my schoolbag, which is then placed in my milk crate! See my sig for a pic of the milk crate!

I use this from REI.

You can buy a separate laptop sleeve that hooks in and suspends it so that it isn't hitting the bottom of the bag. I usually throw my extra t-shirt and socks in underneath it for padding. It is also just an all-around nice bag for biking. It has a rain cover stashed in a pocket, is very comfortable, and the right # of pockets. Just a bit small.

I used to use just a "regular" backpack. I'd have a similar placement strategy... some socks/t's/underwear beneath it, my back against it, and pants/shirt between it and the outside of the backpack. I figure I'd have to land in a really weird way to hit it bad on the ground. I suppose a car would not be good for it (or me).

I throw mine in the child trailer - okay, the computer is in the nice protective computer bag and that is in the trailer. Only thing is that trailer creates a lot of drag - but that gives me more of a workout.

I put my whole laptop in it's padded case in my Ortlieb Back Roller panniers. It's one of the larger laptops, but does fit just fine with a "little" bit of room to spare.

Timbuk2 commuter bag, it has a padded section specifically for a laptop. That said, it'll only work for smaller laptops if you get the medium sized bag like I did.

An early birthday gift netted me a rack and Arkel UB so I may have to rethink how I transport the laptop.

I use medium Ortlied Office bag and a padded sleeve. It got a really good waterproof test on my way home from Newton, MA today (very heavy rain!) It attaches very securely to my rack and is a cinch to attach. It's a little pricey, but well worth it.

If I brought mine home on a regular basis I would do one of two things: a) get a smaller laptop or b) mount some panniers and put it in there. It is manageable on my back on the occasions that I do bring it home, but would not want to do it everyday (my current laptop is about 6-7 lbs).

Depends on the laptop. My first one was a behemoth of a laptop, but after it tanked I bought something about half the weight and 2/3 of the size (but 3 times the machine, funny how that works). I just throw it in my backpack now. I don't like using my backpack and would rather use my panniers, but I wouldn't feel safe with it in the panniers, bouncing around. I know that the suspended cases are supposed to help, and supposedly they work, but I wouldn't trust them.

Oh, and make sure however you shut it down or suspend it that the hard drive has stopped spinning. I can't tell you how many machines I saw when I worked in support that had damaged hard drives that the user admitted to having transported with it still running. Now if you've got one of those fancy schmancy SSD drives its a different story but its still a good idea to shut it down to transport.

We had a guy at work go through 3 laptops because he never made sure they were powered down before riding his motorcycle home

Just make sure you also have some type of disk encryption on the laptop as well. TrueCrypt is licensed at no charge, and can keep a laptop theft just a loss of hardware, rather than a theft of data which can be used as blackmail or ID theft later on.

But how does this handle lateral shock? (side-to-side swing--like when turning or out-of-the-saddle pedaling or worse)? I've been carrying my computer in its heavily-padded sleeve inside its puffy computer bag inside my pannier, and I always feel nervous, and watch every bump, and treat curbs like I'm carrying nitrogliceryn. :-) (BTW, it's not only legal here to ride on sidewalks, but in some places, it's considered a bike path/lane)

So, I'm really curious how these things handle this kind of shock.

My long-term solution? I just won an auction for an MSI Wind--tiny 2lb computer that weighs practically nothing, and is virtually shock-proof. That'll become my computing 'puter. :-)

-Jon

I carry my laptop in my backpack. I do not take it home everyday though.

https://www.mountainhardwear.com/Prod...&viewAll=False

I leave my laptop in the office whenever I can because it's a boat anchor. When I have to transport it, I use REI's Novara Commuter Pannier with an REI laptop sleeve. I haven't had any problems with this setup. I used to carry it loose in an old Bike Warehouse pannier, but one day the pannier bounced off the rack and the laptop took the full force of the fall, but it only cracked the trim around the vent.

I've been carrying a laptop almost daily in the Arkel Commuter pannier for 16 months now, and have had no problems. It was expensive, but I'd buy it again.

Laptop inside laptop backpack, backpack inside GI duffel bag, duffel bag inside rear basket on top of rack, tied down.

Very well, in my experience.

Also, if you're worried about panniers popping off the rack, check out the Arkel securing system. I like it a lot--my Arkel Bug has cams that swivel out of the way when I pull the pannier up and then lock it on the rack when I put it down.

Try an EeePC or similar solid state netbook.

+1 for the Arkel commuter pannier. It really is worth every penny!