Hey guys,

Been lurking for a while and finally decided to post. I make a ten mile commute everyday to school on my track bike carrying a rolltop pack that weighs between 60-70 lbs on any given day (mostly textbooks). I am looking for a carrying system that will be able to hold the same amount of stuff without putting as much strain on my back. Cost is a factor, and switching to a bike thats easier on the body isn't. I used to commute on a mountain bike i turned into a hybrid but the fixie is just too much fun . My current bag is a Timbuk2 Hemlock.

DAMN, 60-70 pounds on your back!

i'm about as dedicated a backpack commuter as you're gonna find, but even i'll tell you that's straight-up nuts.

it's too bad you still have to lug around actual textbooks. it seems in this day and age that everything should be electronic.

get a strong rack and some panniers already.

+1 to the rack. Even if you don't get panniers, you can always bungie your backpack to the rack.

or ziptie a milk crate to the rack, put your backpack in it. How I used to carry my backpack.

And I don't see installing a rack without brazing some eyelets to your track frame. Consider trading it for a Cross-Check, which you could easily set up in the same way as your track bike.

Track bike geo=heel strike. You claim that the fixie is just so fun to ride, but after you transfer that weight to the bike, you may not have the same opinion...

Look into getting digital copies of your texts and just carry your laptop.

True, just make sure your rack's a sturdy one. Do you really need to take your textbooks with you? When I was an undergrad a million years ago, I think there were only 2 or 3 total out of the roughly 50 classes I took (don't know the real number, just ended up with ~150 credits in 4 years) that I really wanted to have the book with me for notes or whatever. The rest had online notes that I could print out and write on that had the figures or I just took notes in my notebook and looked at them later with or without the textbook. I started my first couple of weeks carrying all the books but then dropped that quickly when I either got overly weighed down or was making trips back to my dorm between every class that first semester. For me a bunch of different 1" 3-ring binders (different color for each class) with print outs, the syllabus, and black notebook paper and a pen that could do ink in 4 different colors (or 3-4 pens in different colors) and a highlighter (only if I had printouts that the lecture was going to be given off) were all I really needed. With like 3-4 classes a day that wasn't too bad of a load most of the time.

Edit, whoops didn't notice that bike wasn't good for racks. Still might work with some p-clamps and a milk crate for your bag.

Is it possible to leave some/most of your books at school and only carry the ones you absolutely need from day to day? I used to do this when I was in college, but I had the distinct advantage of working at the tutoring center and they let me leave my books in one of the lockers. Not sure there were 'public' lockers available to students.

I love my 7" tablet computer. I guess I have 7 or 8 books on it right now, 8 gig of music, and a few tv episodes. It weighs the same as it did empty.

A 70 pound load calls more for a trailer than racks, but yeah, I would have to get that off my back. When I go back packing I probably haul that much though.

ortlieb panniers (waterproof) and rack.

Cheaper version is milk crates.

Burley Travoy trailer is 10 pounds and has a quick connect for easy on and off and a 60lbs capacity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB5bbHmDpjM
You could strap a book case to and just wheel it to classes. It tows smoothly without much change in bike handling. One guy toured 900 miles in New Zealand with one.
It would add substantially to your Fred Factor but will reduce the dumbass factor by the same amount.

Randy

A porteur rack over the front wheel will also be someplace to put that load,
instead of on your back..

the CETMA Racks Seem Hip. enough to old farts

I think the answer is to stop hauling all those text books around. Read them at home, store the information in your head in a complex system of chemical and electrical feedback, and bring that to school with you.

From what I can tell by the pic, it looks like your bike has braze-ons on your upper seat stays for a rack - which would imply that it had some at the dropouts, too.

Get a rack, strap a plastic milk crate to it. Put your backpack in the crate, and use a bungee net over it to keep things from bouncing out.

Geeze man. I know you know this, but that's really, really, really the wrong bike for your needs. Consider selling it and picking something else up.

I think you want to put the mountain bike/hybrid back into service. Get some good fenders, lights, a rack and panniers. Keep the fixie for fun and have a bike that's built for carrying a load. You might even want to consider adapting the mountain bike/hybrid with an Xtracycle rear end for added cargo capacity.

A good rack and something like this https://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categ...ing-bag-1.html

I'd say split the load between your back and the bike. Although I have used racks on occasion I still prefer putting the ~45 lbs load I haul into a good back pack. I really don't like the way a loaded bike handles and the weight is easily manageable on my back in a pack with well padded shoulder and waist straps.

I'm doing that right now pending arrival of futher bike funds. His heavy load might be "tricky" that high up...I stopped buying Mountain Dew for the wife by the case and switched to 12 packs, they ride much better. The only other problem is learning not to swing your leg over the saddle--it hits the crate. Taking the big step over the top tube would probably be easier for college legs than my 57 year old pair!! Other than looking a bit goofy it's fine.

Not to be a totally naysayer, but are you sure its 60-70lbs? That is a lot of weight and seems like more weight then would fit into that bag. Thats like 43% of my body weight.

Books add up fast and they show no mercy to us little guys.

he asked for options on bags, not for you to tell him to get a different biike or stop carrying around his textbooks. Either offer something useful or shutup.

So unless you have something positive to contribute... perhaps you should follow your own advice?

Without knowing exactly what type of geometry that the track bike has, the assumption will be that a rack and pannier set up will probably lead to heel strike. Track bikes weren't designed to carry a load like that- even if the right equipment were found- and putting that much weight will surely have an adverse effect on the ride characteristics.

I dug up some info on his current backpack. No longer made, but what I did find... let's just say that the bag would not be my first choice for such a load. No sternum or waist straps to help stabilize the load while riding. Maybe the OP should consider investing a slightly better backpack.