[Leica] Photo bikes

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

Few LUG posts or anything I?ve read anywhere I?ve enjoyed and appreciated 
more than this way informative post on bikes by Larry.
I think bikes are a miracle and just as I am a cat and dog lover living in a 
pet free apartment building so am I a bike lover who walks extensively and 
rides buses and trains. But I do with all my walking get a lot of shots on a 
regular basis. Most often after dark.
I rode my blue Schwinn Continental with chrome forks all over the North 
Shore of Chicago long after riding a bike was thought uncool by my high 
school consensus. Apparently, you were supposed to convince your parents to 
buy you a car at that point (15 years old). I told my dad to buy me an 
MGBGT, in green please (a kid pulled up to school with one!). He told me he 
wanted one too. I rode all over western St. Louis in the early 70?s when I 
was there for 5 years.
George Eastman, it seems had a phobia. Bicycles. The bicycle craze hit right 
before his camera craze turn of the century and he thought in due time 
people would trade back all their cameras for bikes and just do that 
instead. So, all Kodak cameras had bike accessories so these too crazes 
could be integrated from the get-go. Brackets to get your camera mounted on 
your handlebars etc. Ill-conceived yes as it turned out there is room in 
this world for both bikes and cameras to exist in tandem peaceably. But I 
think maybe not at the same time.
I?m with Larry on not mounting stuff to your bike but keeping it on your 
person (back) instead. I do think if a Leica M cannot be worn effectively on 
your back and pulled out quickly for a shot while staying dry in between and 
cushioned for a fall it?s not done its job at being a Leica. But taking a 
fall on a bike which is going to something?s happen is going to be expensive 
as the camera is going to suffer.  And if that camera cost thousands of 
dollars then I?m going to suffer.  A hard case I?d think might be the 
answer. A waterproof one at that. 
Airbags need to be invented for bikes. If filled with helium they could take 
you high away from the wreckage and you?d still make it home in time for 
dinner.
I think bikes are a miracle in that they get you from one place to another 
amazingly quick the only gas being your granola bars and you just do it all 
yourself. This is way unappreciated. Some wars were fought I think WWI with 
many troop movements done on bikes. Fast and quiet. A miracle as far as I?m 
concerned. I think WWII even had some of that going on in Europe. 
I wonder if this; Lowepro DryZone Backpack 40L MFR # LP36578 might be a 
solution for camera biking with gear that you?d not want to lose either from 
rain or a roll on your bike?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/971411-REG/lowepro_lp36578_pww_dryzone_backpack_40l_yellow.html
I wonder if when the sun comes out you don?t get a mini tropical rain forest 
inside the bag?  Despite the yellow. And if the bag has quite enough padding 
for a rolling down a hard tarmac on your back.  And if this rolling close 
off the bag is not just way too hard to do and takes too long. Well its only 
$150 bucks. And is bright yellow. 
Which is great because its yellow the problem being its yellow.
Or the OverBoard Pro-Sports Waterproof Backpack which cost $109 in brown not 
yellow a good yet bad thing.
In some ways, I feel that biking is great for getting there and not so much 
for in-between smelling the roses and getting a shot of them. You hate to 
lose your momentum and or get killed. You hate to get your camera messed up. 
Maybe the best way to combine mobility with photography is walking. 
You get there a lot less fast but in photography it?s not getting there its 
being there. And working it.
-- 

Mark William Rabiner
Photographer

On 6/14/17, 3:52 PM, "LUG on behalf of Larry Zeitlin via LUG" 
<lug-bounces+mark=rabinergroup.com at leica-users.org on behalf of lug at 
leica-users.org> wrote:

        While I can?t claim to be a camera expert, I have a lot of 
experience with bicyces. For a number of years I biked ten miles to and from 
work every fair weather day. It's not that I'm an eco-freak but just that I 
was willing to trade a half hour ride each way for the hassle of auto 
traffic and parking. My son and I were members of the Golden Apple bicycle 
club and took long rides through the countryside on Fall weekends. When we 
were younger and more fit, my wife, a less dedicated biker, and I would 
occasionally take our bikes on vacations to National Parks and the Blue 
Ridge Parkway. I still bike around the Adirondack foothills near my home. As 
you can guess, I have definite opinions on suitable bicycles for casual 
riding and associated photography. Here is some hard learned advice to would 
be photo-bikers: 
        First, unless you have a very good suspension system on a bike, any 
container or bag attached to the frame will be subject to jolts and severe 
vibration unless you are on the smoothest of roads. Particularly bad are 
bags attached to a carrier over the rear wheel. Suspension systems are 
designed to ease the ride for the rider, not the bike itself. If you carry a 
camera on your bike trip, keep it in a small day bag or pack worn on your 
back. Clearly weight is important so get the lightest equipment you consider 
adequate.
        Second, bikes are low security vehicles. In many venues you cannot 
leave a bike unattended for more than a few minutes and expect it to be 
there when you return. In several decades of riding, I have had entire bikes 
stolen, wheels removed, and expensive components snatched, even through the 
bike was tethered to a rack or lamp post by a presumably unbreakable lock or 
cable. A bicycle thief wielding a chain cutter can steal a bike in 15 
seconds. Moral - do not leave your new Leica in a bike pack while you 
relieve yourself in a pissoir.
        Third, bikes have no weather protection. If it rains, you will get 
wet. Your camera should be able to handle dampness and the container should 
be waterproof.
        All that being said, I've found that the best film cameras are small 
P&S types. I used to use a trusty Rollei 35, then experimented with a number 
of less costly P&S cameras before settling on a relatively weatherproof 
Olympus Infinity Twin. That's the one with two lenses, a 35 mm and a 70 mm. 
Now that the photo world has gone digital, I carry a venerable Canon 780 
Elph P&S. It takes clear, sharp pictures and is cheap enough so I won't cry 
if it gets stolen or damaged. Of course, if you want to take really great 
photos while biking, carry the best equipment you can afford but be very, 
very watchful and have good insurance.
        Finally, folding bicycles are the Devil's invention. Bikers cherish 
bikes with stiff, light weight frames. Most folding bicycles have neither. 
Multiple joints in the frame encourage a definite wiggle. If not 
immediately, then after a season's modest use. The hinges welded to the 
crossbar and downtube are heavy and the strain they impose on the bicycle's 
frame means that it must be constructed of thick walled tubing. This makes 
the frame heavy for its size. The total weight of a good road or mountain 
bike is 20 to 24 lbs. Most folding bikes weigh in on the far side of 30 lbs, 
often as much as 35 or 36 lbs. In addition, most folding bikes have small 
wheels, 16" to 20". This gives a bone jarring ride on all but the smoothest 
roads. Sure, they fold up into compact packages but the purpose of a bike is 
to ride, not to store. After a few wiggly, bumpy rides on a hard to control 
folder, the average biker will call a cab instead.
        That's not to say that all folding bikes are bad. Some are very 
good.  Moultons, DaHons and Bike Fridays are examples. But they are quite 
expensive. A lot of precision maching goes into making joints that won't 
loosen, attached to lightweight high tech frames to keep the weight down.
        If you keep to paved roads buy a bike without suspension. 
Suspensions add weight and are desirable only for off road riding. Bikes are 
available with rust resistant aluminum frames. Most of the components are 
aluminum as well and, if given a reasonable amount of care and periodic 
lubrication, they will hold up as long as you desire. I have two Raleigh 
bikes over 35 years old. The first made with all aluminum frames The bikes 
have a lifetime frame guarantee. I wish I had one too.
        If you have a little more money or less space, I recommend a 
Montague folding bicycle. This is essentially a standard bike where the 
front half of the frame pivots around the seat tube, the tube that goes from 
the seat to the pedals. I believe that Dahon distributed them for a while. A 
modification of this bike is the one designed by DARPA for Special Forces, 
Paratroopers, and Marines. A civilian version costs about $650, weighs 29 
lbs, and folds into a package 3 ft by 3 ft by 1 ft. Unfolded, you have a 24 
speed mountain bike with 26" wheels. Large bike dealers carry them or they 
can be ordered from Montague at www.militarybikes.com. For those who don't 
need to drop their bikes from airplanes, slightly less rugged versions are 
available at lower prices.
    
    Larry Z
    
    
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