An Ode to the Laptop Pannier - DIY Project
Parag Patankar
An Ode to the Laptop Pannier - DIY Project by Parag Patankar
Happily riding for 3 years as a Velo commuter
Grew weary of lugging around my computer
Presenting the tale of my humble hack
To get the Darn Laptop off my Back
I have been bike commuting to
work for 3 years now, got tired of carrying my laptop in my Backpack, due to
the weight as well as the sweat. Tried a Bike rack, but the vibration was just
too high, dropped that idea, and went back to backpacking for another few
months. Finally figured out that a DIY vertical suspension Laptop Pannier is
the answer. Been lazy about writing it up, finally on a flight today, with no
internet connection, inspiration struck ;-)
The End Product- Pannier Mounted on the Bike
.JPG?part=0.1 "PICT1945 (Small).JPG")
Design Objectives
1. Small (no heel strike) but Sturdy enough to carry Laptop safely
2. Waterproof, Accidental Drop and Hit Resistant
3. Have suspension to Minimize road shocks
4. Easy to Detach and carry
Key Constraints
1. Should be a reasonable total cost (Budget Rs 1000)
2. Should be completed in a reasonable amount if time (2 Months)
Total Project Time: 6 Weeks. Initial Research/Design – 3 Weeks, Execution 3 weeks
These are elapsed times, actual working time was about 1 day per week, mostly Sundays (sacrificed Sunday long rides).
Total Project Cost: Rs 200
Purchased Components: Hanger Hook 1 (5 rs), Pipe Bracket 1 (5 rs) , Clips (“Dog Chain Clips” as per the Hardware store guy) – 5nos ( Rs 75) , Bungee Cord 1- Rs 40, Nuts,Bolts,Washers (Rs 25)
Reused Components: Toshiba Laptop Bag which was lying in office, Plastic name Plate
Design
I started off with the usual Google search and reading up all I could find on Laptop Panniers, and shock proof suspensions, even non bicycle ones just to understand shock proof carrier dynamics and design. I finalized on a suspension with a triangular bungee cord, secured to the cycle frame at the bottom,and hooks clipped to the bike rack at the top. This would give it enough vertical and horizontal sway to minimize any shocks as I rode thru potholes or did the occasional hop onto the pavement and back. The weight would be mostly carried by the hooks embedded on the top end of the bag. The hooks would hang off the bike rack, and be fastened to the bag using nuts and bolts. The bolts would be threaded through a stiff plate to achieve a more uniform load on the bag instead of point loads which could end up tearing the bag fabric. The laptop itself would be placed in a Neoprene sleeve (from my Targus Backpack) that is waterproof and well padded.
For Extra rain/crash cover, the Existing Targus backpack carries my Tiffin, and is put on top of the rack, partly overhanging the vertical pannier. This would also be the Plan B in case the Pannier fails suddenly and I need to somehow carry the laptop home.
Execution
Then after locking down on the design, I started the hunt for the components—this was the hardest part of the project, I had to tramp around town, visited at least 50 hardware stores to find the right stuff, and made a few design changes on the way. Original idea of using S hooks changed to using the Dog Clips which were easier to mount, and has swiveling heads, giving the suspension even more play to absorb bumps.
Assembly and testing was done over 2 weekends. The highlight was poking holes in the plastic sheet with a nail heated on the gas flame (and a DIY soup on the other burner), son walks in and says “papa are you cooking nails and soup for dinner?. Needless to say the DIY (pumpkin/lauki combo) soup was declared to be as inedible as the nails by dear son, he is at a stage where he is suspicious of any food that did not sing or dance on TV, or was not brought home in a shiny packag
Testing
Load testing was done with about 5 Kg’s of books (laptop itself is 2 Kgs ). Walked (Jolted ) the cycle down 11 flights of stairs to test out the suspension, and it stood up well. Splashed some water and that was fine too.
Actual Usage Report
I have been using it for my daily commute for over 2 months now. It is great, and now I cant even think of lugging a big sweaty backpack around. It has survived a small fall which cracked my iphone touchscreen but did not damage the laptop, but the iphone was negligence on my part, had just finished a call and put the phone in the shirt pocket, and it plopped out when I fell. The Bangalore monsoon has validated the waterproofing also, it has endured 4 episodes where I was completely drenched to the bone, and a few small drizzles, no water seepage inside.
Pic: Proud (and very wet and dripping) inventor with the absolutely dry laptop. Wife definitely thought I am nuttier than usual when I arrived grinning from ear to ear and demanded she take a snap while I stood dripping all over the doorway.
.JPG?part=0.2 "PICT1918 (Small).JPG")
If you managed to read all the way to the end, congratulations, you deserve a bonus. A PDF file with more high resolution images and design details is loaded here.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-TG7beWkMaVZjczMzg3ZjgtZGI0MS00NzFlLWI1ZjItOWFlMmM5MTkwMzZj&hl=en_US
R. Venkatachalam
Kishan Kumar
Sent from my iPhone
An Ode to the Laptop Pannier - DIY Project by Parag Patankar
Happily riding for 3 years as a Velo commuter
Grew weary of lugging around my computer
Presenting the tale of my humble hack
To get the Darn Laptop off my Back
I have been bike commuting to work for 3 years now, got tired of carrying my laptop in my Backpack, due to the weight as well as the sweat. Tried a Bike rack, but the vibration was just too high, dropped that idea, and went back to backpacking for another few months. Finally figured out that a DIY vertical suspension Laptop Pannier is the answer. Been lazy about writing it up, finally on a flight today, with no internet connection, inspiration struck ;-)
The End Product- Pannier Mounted on the Bike
<PICT1945 (Small).JPG>
<PICT1918 (Small).JPG>
If you managed to read all the way to the end, congratulations, you deserve a bonus. A PDF file with more high resolution images and design details is loaded here.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-TG7beWkMaVZjczMzg3ZjgtZGI0MS00NzFlLWI1ZjItOWFlMmM5MTkwMzZj&hl=en_US
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anilk...@gmail.com
Wow.....awesome.....great amount of effort and patience, thank you for sharing!!!!
Anil s kadsur
Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone
biking conversations on the world famous "Bangalore Bikers Club" :)
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George Joseph
Arvind Ganesh
Deepa Mohan
R. Venkatachalam
Sanath Kumar S D
Regards,
Sanath Kumar S D
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Regards,
Sanath
+ 91 988 019 4896
Yateesh Kumar
Sanath,
Good idea. But that can be told only to the extent of securing ur laptop bag. To the carrier/rack.
The road shocks& vibrations can impact your laptop& this will prove detrimental for life of the device over extended time period.
Imho, your laptop is safest only on your back(I mean the backpack you wear on your back).
Some may suggest an option for pannier, but you may also consider the hazard of some motor vehicle hitting it from a side or from behind.
There are very good options in terms of customized laptop back packs & non laptop but multi purpose backpacks which will help you not feel the weight while you are riding. Personally, I would prefer to spend a few hundred more to get a worthy backpack which feels light rather than Sc***ing up on the life of the device.
Btw, I am using Quechua Diosaz 17 raid Hydration backpack which has a lot of space to carry a 15"laptop along with a set of changeclothes, quickdry towel(decathlon)& can manage to store a lunch box comfortably on the outer pouch during commute. The pouch is used to store my helmet, saddle bag& a pair of gloves once I reach office. A very worthy investment so far :)
Just thought this info may help if anyone is considering to buy a new commute backpack.
Happy commuting
Cheers
Yathi
On 26 Mar 2013 16:24, "Sanath Kumar S D" <sdsana...@gmail.com> wrote:
Please refer the attachment. This works for me well.
Regards,
Sanath Kumar S D
On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 3:52 PM, R. Venkatachalam <r.venka...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I saw this...
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Regards,
Sanath
+ 91 988 019 4896
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biking conversations on the world famous "Bangalore Bikers Club" :)
are you a part of the bi...