Check out the < copenhagencyclechic dot com > blog for pictures of cyclists transporting musical instruments. The March 11, 2008 ,entry is about copenhagen musical bikes. It makes carrying a viola look simple after you see all the cellos.

How far are you riding anyway, and what are the street conditions and weather like?

Weather: wrap in plastic bag, don't go too far in cold.

The bridge on a stringed instrument is under tremendous pressure and can collapse pretty easily. I'd avoid putting the instrument in a situation where direct road shock was transmitted to it. Rather place the instrument on your back, in a backpack and your body will act as a shock absorber. All this depends on your willingness to put an instrument at risk.

I rode my bike with my Viola all through middle school and most of high school. The biggest thing you have to worry about is vibration dropping the sound post. Pegs can be readjusted and everything can be retuned but once that post drops the game is over. I was using a rack that mounted to my seat post and wasn't connected to the rear suspension at all. I didn't have an expensive seat post so there was a little play in the rack that absorbed a lot of the vibrations. I strapped it in with bungies with the neck pointing backwards. The downside of this setup is the viola isn't the lightest instrument and your seat post will eventually begin to bend and need to be replaced. If your commute isn't too far then the surest way to keep your instrument safe is with a backpack case or just to ride one handed. This ensures that all vibration is absorbed by your body. If your instrument is worth more than 5k then I recommend getting a cheap model for regular rehearsal and keep your nice one for home practice and performances.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the help and advice, guys. Really useful stuff.

I think carrying it on my back is the way to go, but I only have road bikes, which I think will be less good, as they will tend to push the weight higher compared to my centre of gravity. Perhaps I need to buy a more upright bike - spending money on a new bike sounds better to me than spending it on an expensive case!

I'm also going to have a play with putting my existing (hard) hase into a large-ish backpack - I have a backpack with a good harness and plenty of compression straps to pull it tight. That might work.

One issue is that my viola is quite small, so is rather a loose fit in the case. I already wrap in in a silk cloth and then use anotehr duster to hold it in place, but I might need to think about some additional padding to hold it snug.

It's not a mega expensive instrument (19C German 'Dresden School'), but I've had it a long time and am quite attached to it.

The overall distance I need to cover is about 15km each way, so it's not too far. It is all through busy city streets though, so I want to be able to ride securely.

I might give it a whirl next Monday, and let you all know how it goes.

Pictures of chellos on bikes

Anyways, saw the lady I was talking about this morning, the case is made by BAM and she's had a finish applied the name of which I didn't recognize, but is certainly Tyvek or Kevlar, apparently it also has a humidifier. Temperature variations are not a problem as she doesn't take it out in the open.

Pretty much nonsense. Almost everyone in the trade ships bowed strings with the bridge up and under full tension. I've never seen a problem in a properly padded shipment. I've also never had a problem with an instrument arriving from a supplier. These are usually marginally packed at best. From what I've seen, shipping an instrument is roughly equivalent to a series of bicycle accidents, or tossing the box down the stairs. And they do fine.

Generally, look to industry standards. And that's the standard. If the post isn't too tight they'll do fine.

We ship about $400K in instruments every year and have had less than a dozen injured in shipping, none of them violins or violas. The mandolins and guitars give the trouble.

Bridges in the right position simply don't pop out easily. Wrong position, warped, or neglected, yes they will, but not good ones set right.

If your post falls over under vibration, that's a good thing. It was too loose. Seriously. I don't know where these myths come from!

For those not in the know, the bridge on a bowed string instrument isn't glued down. It's simply held by string tension. It handles this by being cut in a strain resisting shape. The best ones are cut with a crown on both faces to prevent warping. Before any "experts" object, need to check for the slight crown on the "back" of top-end pro bridges - it's generally there, just hard to see. Inside the instrument is a piece of dowel between the top and the back. This acts as a fulcrum and also puts some of the force from string downforce into the back. The post isn't glued in, only wedged in place. Fit is very important for sound and to avoid damage.

Neglected instruments often have posts that are loose. This eventually results in distortion through lack of support. If vibration drops the post, then that's great, shows it was too loose. Better to know before there's warping of the top.

They're very strong.

Pop some foam or bubble wrap in a pannier and last the thing in. Nothing bad will happen. Use more foam and I'd ride without a case - fiddles are very very tough.

Maybe you should invest in a carbon fibre viola.

That is insane. I play tuba, and I have a backpack-style gig bag. I'm also 5'4" and there's no way I could physically sit on my bike with a tuba. Impressive.

I guess I wasn't very clear with my post. I never had a sound post drop, I was told by my music teachers that it was a possibility. The only time I ever dropped a bridge was when I had an instrument with a peg problem, a grain of rosin fixed that. Basically stringed instruments are pretty durable, If you have an instrument worth 5k+ I personally wouldn't ride with it due to the fact that I would not be able to replace it in the event of an accident. But if you are comfortable with the risk then there's really no problem. Panniers, like stated above, are a viable means of transport.

I make my Viola pedal his own darn bicycle!

Well, I rode SLOWLY on bike paths on an old Schwinn 5 speed (pretty upright). I first tried it after seeing Chris Hall (now principal tuba in the NY Met) doing it. He was a senior when I was a freshman. I should have imitated his playing more than his bike-tuba carriage.

(He was doing that with a freakin' Hirsbrunner on his back too... )

Dang! That's amazing. There's actually a guy here locally that puts an old tuba in an army bag and bikes it around sometimes (and then sets up to busk w/ it!).

Very cool.

So I tried out strapping my viola to my back and going for a ride.

Unfortunately, it didn't really work too well. The viola sticks up behind my head, and coupled with the more crouched over position on a road bike it bashed the back of my head. This problem was exacerbated when wearing a helmet, especially as mine has a tail which sticks out behind my head somewhat (helmet wearing is mandatory in Australia, and this is the only helmet I could find that fits on my (large) head).

I think it would only work if I didn't have to wear a helmet, and rode a much more upright bike. This would be fine for cruising around the city on the flat, but my route covers some fairly significant hills, so climbing up them might be more of a challenge on a sit-up-and-beg bike.

So, now it seems I have to consider strapping the viola to the bike, rather than to me...


PS I love the look of those carbon-fibre instruments. If only I had a spare $5000...

I did not re-read the thread, but here are a few suggestions that might work:

1. Carry it on your back the same way, but find a way to place the lower part close to your body (hips) and the upper part at some distance from your shoulders. That way, you would have some space for your head. Is it possible to place it a bit obliquely, so the upper part is aligned vis-à-vis one of your shoulders rather than your neck?

2. I don't think that the body of the case would fit in a pannier. But what about making your own? I kind of think about using the back of a second hand pannier and either using more fabric on it or simply strapping the viola onto it. What about attaching a large dry bag (typically sold for canoe trips) to the frame of a pannier ?