I am a guitar teacher in Los Angeles. I commute (by car) from Hermosa Beach to Torrence (about 6 mi) 3 times a week. I would love to start commuting by bike, but I am a little worried about strapping my solid bodied electric guitar on my back. My instrument is worth about 2000 dollars, and I don't have the cash to just replace it. While I don't worry about it that much on the commute to Torrence, when I resume my teaching job this summer at UCLA, the 20 mile commute provides a greater chance of some sort of an accident. Also, at UCLA, I will be transporting an equally expensive but far more fragile acoustic guitar with me.

I guess the real question is if I strap the guitar on my back with a soft (but with 1" of padding) gig bag, if I got in an accident where I fell to either side, do you think the guitar would sustain much damage? If so, are there any precautions you recommend I take?

Thanks,
Chris

Maybe you can modify a utility trailer and then put both guitars in a travel hardcase - the kind you can check in luggage.
An accoustic in a softcase is going to get damaged even from a minor fall.
The guitars could also cause injury to you in a fall.
Maybe you can keep your nice guitars at home and teach on a 2nd decent, but not expensive guitar (everyone needs a reason to buy more guitars)

Al

a surf board carrier might work

My friend at UD Davis had a guitar across his back while riding and the neck hit a tree branch when he was cornering. He had no shirt on so the road rash was pretty bad and sad to say the guitar did not survive. Like noisebeam said a trailer could work. The BOB trailers work real nice but they are a bit expensive.

xtracycle.com!

I use to carry a guitar in a gig bag on my motorcycle. At that speed the wind drag was more of an issue then anything else.

On a bicycle I would be worried about even a minor fall. is there storage at the place you teach? Could you get a cheaper guitar to leave in that storage?

I like the trailer option.

if they were cheaper instruments, i would think you'd be okay. although carrying around a $2k instrument really would make me nervous. the best option would be to pull a trailer i would think. it will be more comfortable, and would allow you see better as well.

Xtracycle.com! Fits a guitar perfectly. My wife picked it up specifically to be able to pedal to gigs with her guitar (in a hardcase), but spends more time loading it up with groceries. Rides great, is super stable and loads of fun.

Well, a beater electric guitar (which I guess I do have) would work fine for the Torrence trips, but for UCLA, it just wouldn't work. I definitely would need an acoustic as I would be going back and forth between multiple classrooms at the same time. Also, I couldn't store it there.

I looked into the BOB trailers and the dimensions worry me a little. They are 25" x 16"-18". My acoustic guitar case is 42" x 18" laid flat or 42" x 6" laid sideways. The 6" will definitely fit, but the length is far to long. I already have a rack on my bike. What do you think of the idea of using both to carry my guitar. The body part of the case will go on the bob trailer and it will go diagonally up to the rack. If I was somehow able to tie it on to both the trailer and the rack safely, do you think it would work?

Thanks for all the responses.

Chris

This looks like a really cool solution, although I would have to buy another bike, which significantly ups the price. Do you have a picture of your wife's bike with a guitar strapped to it?

Thanks,
Chris

I used to ride my bicycle to saxophone lessons. I have a hard back pack case for my saxophone. I would have been a lot more nervous with a gig bag. I bought my case from woodwind and brass. www.wwbw.com
They at least sell a backback cover for a hard guitar case:
http://www.wwbw.com/Summit-Guitar-Pa...-i101960.music
I didn't look at all their products. There might be a hard guitar case in backpack form. The only problem for me was a sweaty back. So a trailer or a "Sports Utility Bike" would have been an advantage in that area.

Supporting it vertically somehow on the trailer might not be a bad idea...
That's a beater classical guitar inside.

Thanks a lot for that picture. Looking at the length, it looks like I could put the headstock right over the fender of the BOB wheel and have it be somewhat safe. Now to decide whether to go BOB or xtracycle....

Chris

Chris- There is another option- I've used a Costco retailed Bell trailer ($139 a couple years ago, like this- http://www.epinions.com/bike-Compone..._Bike_Trailer#) to pull my #40 son (short commute on pavement to school) as well as some fire road mtn. biking- Worked fine for both, and would surely fit a hard shell case.

I also use the Bell trailer on a fishing site commute via gravel road - 6.2 miles uphill with 25 # of fishing gear. piece of cake, and I'm not that fit. Seems that your guitar commute wouldn't be too bad with a cheaper trailer than a Bob, if you're so inclined :)

Here is another site for bicycle trailers.
http://www.bikesatwork.com/

I'm partial to the WIKE trailers, I have two of them that I use to haul my kids. They make a line of cargo trailers that start around $100 (see http://www.wicycle.com/cargo.htm) . I think even the small model would carry a guitar well.

Based on my experience hauling kids I would say the guitar will be pretty well protected against breaking. I have crashed my bike and done all sorts of stupid stuff like riding into curbs without tipping the trailer. What I would be most worried about is vibration, which will cause your guitar to rattle to pieces. Just about everything on a bike uses locktite or locknuts to keep from falling apart, but not on a guitar. I would put the guitar in a road case, or on a piece of foam to isolate it from the trailer.

I think I would experiment with a less valuable instrument before strapping up my #1 axe as well.

Nick

Yeah, Vibration worries me a little bit. I guess I just assumed since it is fine in a car, it would be fine in a bike. I guess that is a false assumption considering the fact that the bike doesn't have any shocks to absorb the road vibration.

Also, I checked out the Bikes at Work trailers, and they would be perfect if it wasn't for the weight and the price. 400 dollars for a 31 pound trailer is a bit much. Especially considering that I might have to get a nicer case. That would be about 800-1000 for the case and trailer....not great. So far the xtracycle sounds like the best choice.

Whatever I decide, it will probably end up saving me a lot in the long run.

This is a bit left-field, but how about a glass fibre guitar case which acts as a trailer. The neck could attatch to your rear luggage rack and you could mount a trailer wheel at the other end.
I'm sure you could find a design student to work on the project.

I regularly use this trailer and it tows real nice:
http://www.burley.com/images/CMS/04FlatbedSML.jpg
http://www.burley.com/products/trail...?p=Flatbed&i=7
The bike can lay completely down to either side and the trailer stays upright.
Oh yeah, this is ~$200 for a 13 lb. trailer. No suspension except the tires, though.

I'll third the xtracycle suggestion. You coule easily carry two guitars in hard cases, and the bike will handle well. I love my xtracycle.

Yes, this seems the best solution to me. I have been emailing back and forth with the people at xtracycle thanks to the suggestions from people on this forum. They are really helpful. I am going to get instrument insurance with my union (need it anyway) and go with the xtracycle. Seems like the best plan.

Thank you all for your help.

Chris