Commuting with a Laptop

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fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
I 'may' be getting back into some cycle commuting back into the dirty smoke of Manchester. As you know I was a regular commuter, fixed gear, panniers etc until I got a bit broken one day. Packed the commutes in as Manchester's drivers are terrible.

Now given covid, I'm going to be hybrid working going forward, not seen the office since March 2020. I'l likely be driving most times I'm in, as I'll be car sharing with my wife as she's going to be back three days a week, and I get parking due to bits of my spine missing (only benefit of getting run over).

Now, it's likely I'll have to be a bit more flexible about the days I'm in to fit around meetings. On those days I plan to commute, but down the canal on my 90's MTB - it's already used as my regular training bike on such paths, and has full guards - saves the FS getting filthy, and the road bikes are used other times.

Now, what I haven't done is commuted with a laptop. I would need to fit the rack if I planned to use the panniers - might be a better idea TBH, or revert to a rucksack for laptop, but then I'd have the weight of locks and clothes. How well would a laptop stand up to rough off road commute ? One canal is rough (Peak Canal), the other mainly paved/tarmac with 'speed bumps' (Ashton). Or do I go Panniers for locks and clothes, and a small rucksack for the laptop ?

At most this would be a day a week.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Can you get a laptop with a Solid State Drive only? If there's no moving parts, I expect a laptop in a padded sleeve would be fine in panniers. You might want to put a thin foam or neoprene sheet between screen and keyboard just in case the design isn't perfect and they can hit when the laptop is squashed, plus not take the speed bumps at full speed.

Of course, use work's laptop not yours ;)
 

vickster

Legendary Member
I wouldn’t want to carry a laptop on my back. Good padded or hard case pouch and into panniers. Lots on Amazon.
Surround with clothes for better cushioning if needed.
 
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fossyant

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
I wouldn’t want to carry a laptop on my back. Good padded pouch and into panniers

Might be the option - it's not particularly heavy (Lenovo T470) but if rucksack it would bee clothes etc, so possibly a bad idea. I did a commute to an 'away day' in the Peaks at a hotel on my MTB just before lockdown, but laptop and clothes in my rucksack - flipping heck - way too heavy.

I'll go dig out the panniers (god knows where) and the rack is on a shelf. Amazon can deliver me a padded case over the weekend. That failing, the laptop lives in a small 'laptop rucksack' that I use at home and around the 'campus', which would fit in the Ortlieb 'front rollers'.

Got to get myself 'organised' again. Been 5 1/2 years !
 

TwoStews

Active Member
Location
Sheffield
My 'scenic route' commute involves 6k of off-road riding which takes me through a nature reserve over a path made roughly of cinder/rubble. It's by no means extreme off-roading but it's much tougher terrain than a canal path and enough to really rattle the bike, the rider and the pannier (I'm tackling it on 35c tyres).

I've done this route with this current laptop (also a SSD) in my pannier for at least two years. I must have done it 500ish times and the laptop hasn't suffered for it.

I don't use a laptop case, it just gets stuffed in there, normally protected from moving around too much by all the other gubbins I carry. The only advice I would give is to make sure the pannier is secured as tightly to the rack as the fittings allow and you're good to go!
 
I used a satchel with strap across my shoulders and tight. Did that for 5 years. Partly because of security so it goes where I go with or without the bike. The one below. Waterproof. Not keen on panniers. Bought it at Camden stall. Straps and anchors were good. Can't say much if I fall off the bike.
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vickster

Legendary Member
Might be the option - it's not particularly heavy (Lenovo T470) but if rucksack it would bee clothes etc, so possibly a bad idea. I did a commute to an 'away day' in the Peaks at a hotel on my MTB just before lockdown, but laptop and clothes in my rucksack - flipping heck - way too heavy.

I'll go dig out the panniers (god knows where) and the rack is on a shelf. Amazon can deliver me a padded case over the weekend. That failing, the laptop lives in a small 'laptop rucksack' that I use at home and around the 'campus', which would fit in the Ortlieb 'front rollers'.

Got to get myself 'organised' again. Been 5 1/2 years !
How far is it?
It’s only commuting one day a week not an expedition to the North Pole :laugh:
 
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fossyant

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
How far is it?
It’s only commuting one day a week not an expedition to the North Pole :laugh:

14 miles 'off road' each way. Laptop, clothes and locks basically. I used to do it every day on road, but no laptop - the weight isn't the issue, nor distance, mainly keeping the laptop safe.
 

biking_fox

Guru
Location
Manchester
The Ashton Canal isn't that well paved! Some tricky/narrow/very low bridges too. I use it as a scenic ride home some days. If you've not been on it for a while they've fiddled about with some building works at the Manchester end, may be worth a weekend recce ride before finding yourself late for a meeting.

Can you leave the heaviest lock at work ? Laptop and clothes should be fine in a rucksack.
 

Profpointy

Legendary Member
I commuted for years with my laptop in a pannier. OK it was on roads not tracks but I just stuck it in the pannier loose. They are pretty robust as proven by my dropping my PC in the carpark once and whilst trying and failing to catch it it ended up spinning up and crashing to the floor some distance away. Even after bending the case it still worked for a few years until its normal replacement . Like others have said, I'd not want to carry it (or anything else) on my back, but some of my more sporty colleagues did use rucksacks
 

annedonnelly

Girl from the North Country
I think that laptops are a lot more robust than they used to be. I reckon it'll be perfectly fine in a padded case in a pannier.

Not off road, but I used to carry mine in a home-made case (couple of bits of fleece) in the front bag on the Brompton.
 
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