Looking for tips for transporting laptop

[Enargins]

I am looking to transport my laptop on my bike to ride to Starbucks or wherever and work. I'm concerned about the effects bumps in the ride might have on the laptop. The laptop will be in a laptop backpack with padding on the back, and I was planning on strapping it to my rear rack. I was considering that perhaps I should put some sort of foam padding between the rack and the backpack. Or maybe something else would be better.

Anyway, I'm looking for any ideas people might have about the best way to transport the laptop without damaging it. (I'd prefer not to wear the backpack.)

Thanks!

 

[batmick1]

If you have a solid state drive this is a complete non-issue and even with a conventional hard disk there shouldn't be a problem unless you have the thing running and get some massive bumps.
I commute with laptops in my pannier or backpack for more than 10 years now and never had a problem.

 

[Enargins]

No, not a solid state drive. Glad to hear you've been commuting with no problem. That's good to know. I understand how pannier would have no problem, since the laptop would be suspended vertically. But when you transport it via backpack, how do you do it? Wearing the backpack on your back? having it horizontally on your rack? Other?

Thanks!

 

[batmick1]

My backpack has a special compartment for the laptop (in an extra sleeve) but I wear it on the back, so it would be vertical as well. But even if you placed it flat on the rear rack you should be OK. It was my understanding that when the laptop is closed and asleep, the disk goes into sleep, the heads move away a safe distance and it is safe from most bumps. I mean, people have transported laptops in checked luggage and those get tossed around bad.

 

[Enargins]

That's a good point about tossed luggage. (I always bring my laptop in carry on.) Yes, my backpack has that same special compartment for it. But I don't want to wear it, as my back would get sweaty. Probably a nice piece of thick foam between the backpack and the rack would do the trick, even if it's not entirely needed.

 

[christob]

The few times I commute with a laptop, I put my laptop in a neoprene sleeve, then put that vertically into my pannier bag, usually in a way that my work clothes make an extra buffer between the laptop and the bike-mounted rear rack.

 

[FSRBart]

Whether my ebike or Motorcycle; What I consider delicate electronics be it my Ipad or my drones, they go in backpack on my backpack. Human body is a darn good shock absorber....

 

[mrgold35]

I have an old Dell E6510 I upgraded with a 2TB SSD that still works for my needs. I have a laptop section in my Case Logic SLRC-206 backpack camera case and my Osprey Commuter Radial 34 backpack. I like the Osprey because it has hard frame with mesh on the backside to provide a little air to your backside when riding. I had this pack for 2 years and it is a very comfy backpack with a ton of storage for laptop, cloths, lunch, etc...

Osprey Commuter Radial 34 backpack: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AVSEVG0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Mr. Coffee]

This is slight overkill but very effective:

I'd add that I usually use a very slightly modified approach: I put the laptop in a laptop sleeve and then put the sleeve in a waterproof garbage bag and then put the fully loaded garbage bag inside the pannier. I then put things like dry clothes, flip flops, and possibly a sleeping bag around the garbage bag to further pad the laptop from impacts. It has worked for me so far.

 

[ebikemom]

I put my laptop in my work tote bag, which has a padded sleeve, zip that up, and put it into my side basket. I secure this with a bungee cord.

 

[scootscoot]

No, not overkill. I consider it SOP. In my case, I have a padded laptop sleeve (no zipper to scratch, velcro'ed shut), and my laptop goes into the sleeve, and the sleeve goes into a padded, laptop specific backpack. The backpack goes into the pannier (not padded).

My laptop has a ssd, so I'm not sure if it's necessary to power down. It could be a good idea with a standard hard drive however.

 

[mrgold35]

I would lean toward SSD or something similar to Samsung 970 Pro M.2 SSD for laptops if you travel/ride a lot. Those types of drives are way more shock resistant compared to old spinning laptop hard-drives. I even remove my 2TB SSD if I have my laptop in my suitcase and check my bag (HD just slides out on my Dell). Replacement laptops are very cheap on eBay if they have a cheap hard-drive or no software.

I didn't have my laptop in my daypack; but, I did wipeout trail riding afterwork. My daypack acted like an airbag after I flipped over the bike and broke 3 out of 4 bolts on my handlebar stem. I don't think an old spinning hard-drive would have survived compared to SSD if I had my laptop with me.

 

[Enargins]

I have an old Dell E6510 I upgraded with a 2TB SSD that still works for my needs. I have a laptop section in my Case Logic SLRC-206 backpack camera case and my Osprey Commuter Radial 34 backpack. I like the Osprey because it has hard frame with mesh on the backside to provide a little air to your backside when riding. I had this pack for 2 years and it is a very comfy backpack with a ton of storage for laptop, cloths, lunch, etc...

Osprey Commuter Radial 34 backpack: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AVSEVG0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks!

 

[Enargins]

This is slight overkill but very effective:

I'd add that I usually use a very slightly modified approach: I put the laptop in a laptop sleeve and then put the sleeve in a waterproof garbage bag and then put the fully loaded garbage bag inside the pannier. I then put things like dry clothes, flip flops, and possibly a sleeping bag around the garbage bag to further pad the laptop from impacts. It has worked for me so far.

Interesting video! I'm not sure that bananas in the pack are a good idea! And, interesting that he went to all that trouble to secure the laptop, but then when he put the pannier on the rack, he didn't secure the bottom hook! He just laid the pannier on the rack with the top hooks. Sure to fall off that way!

 

[DaveMatthews]

I'm totally in the backpack camp right now. Even though I have a Microsoft Surface Pro which has SSD, I think that our human body is likely the best shock absorber (barring a wipeout of course ).
Subscribed to thread for educational purposes!

 

[Over50]

I've completed plenty of commutes with my laptop either in a backpack in the padded laptop compartment or in a pannier without much padding. In the pannier I usually put the laptop in a sleeve and then in between two bags of clothes (panniers are water resistant). Haven't had any issues or broken anything yet.

 

[Riversurf]

I've transported my laptops many hundreds of miles in an Ortlieb Back Roller saddle bag, often without a laptop case. I've never had a bike-caused problem (that I'm aware of). And because they're waterproof, I don't have to worry about the computer getting wet on the 362 days of rain we get (OK, slight exaggeration). They also have a pocket into which most small-medium laptops would slide. They're a little pricey, but they're extremely well made.

 

[scootscoot]

SSD's have between 5x to 50x the shock absorption capabilities of standard hard drives. They can still be damaged however because of static shock or with exposure to strong magnetic fields. But generally speaking they are significantly more durable:

https://superuser.com/questions/789949/how-sturdy-shock-proof-is-an-ssd

 

[mikeb172]

I use either a pannier with a padded laptop sleeve or a backpack with a laptop compartment. My thought is that on the pannier the laptop probably takes more shock since its directly on the rack. In my backpack it usually takes very little shock since I stop pedaling and get up off the seat a bit for large bumps. That way my legs and arms take the shock and not the laptop.

 

[Nova Haibike]

Color me overly cautious, but I would rather not have anything hard like a battery or laptop on my back if I was in an accident, unless the backpack offered a decent amount of padding between myself and said object. Even then, I'd rather carry it on the bike.