Any Students?

[eofelis]

I'm a student, at 38! Undergrad in Geology. Thankfully, I don't have to carry rocks back and forth to school.

I have a 15 min walking commute to school. I use a big backpack, a Kelty Redwing 2400ci. I have occasionally rode my bike to school. It's not easy to ride with the big pack. I have used my old Novara panniers and clipped them together with a shoulder strap to carry around.

On the note of trying to carry the least amount of stuff....
I am in a Calculus 1 class. The huge text book covers Calc 1, 2 and 3 class materials. I saw no need to carry info around that I didn't need for the semester so I did some home surgury on the book. I now have the 1/3 of the book that I need to take to class. Next semester when I take Calc 2 I will slice another 1/3 of the book out. They are coming out with a new edition to this book so I probably wouldn't be able to sell it back.

[trickytiger]

[QUOTE=surlypacer]I'm a student, at 38! Undergrad in Geology. Thankfully, I don't have to carry rocks back and forth to school.


Hey Surly, congrats! Great choice! I just finished a master's in Geology (watch out, you're not gonna want to stop). I ended up putting "panniers" on a mule to do my research.....sort of like a bike, but bites.

[Veronica]

My husband tried the basket routine and hated it. He now uses a Gille Berthold handlebar bag that comes off pretty easily and he can carry onto BART. It's pricey, but was the best solution we could find.

I wonder if your husband could get a rack and then attach a back pack to it with compression straps.


I forgot, we also have an Arkel handlbar bag. It also comes off pretty easily. But is kind of heavy for lugging around. If you could fit, you'd want to be inside that bag during an earthquake!

V.

[light_sabe_r]

Okay. BF is a PhD student doing molecular biology. He carries, lunch, lap top, clothes, and usually papers and other useless crap. He hauls it on his back

The biggest thing for him was his lap top... Heavy bulky piece of junk.

He got sick of it and UPGRADED to a very tiny weeny light as a feather but still powerful as type of machine. HUGE weight off his back. (using the STUDENT union computer purchasing program)

[xeney]

Veronica, I think he might wind up doing exactly that, with the backpack and compression straps.

As for a smaller laptop: we both use Dell Inspirons (his is a 700, mine is a 710) and they are teeny weeny. They don't get much teeny-weenier. He doesn't carry his every day but he's a computer science major, not to mention a database programmer/consultant, so he needs it several days a week.

The pannier didn't work out so well today; he couldn't carry the laptop and he said the pannier was awkward off the bike. He has a separate bag for the laptop -- one of the TimBuk2 sleeves that has its own shoulder strap -- so he can carry that separately, but then he's hauling two bags around all day.

This is why people drive cars, isn't it? (Not an option for him, there is no parking on campus.) I can carry my laptop, whatever work I brought home with me, and extra clothes for days when the a/c is crazy at work, all in a medium sized TimBuk2 bag ... but I can leave it all in my office all day.

Anyway. Thanks for the suggestions! I will pass your thoughts along. And thank my lucky stars that I am not in school anymore.

[Bad JuJu]

I'm not a student, but a teacher. And when I did live close enough to work to commute by bike, I liked the Arkel Bug--basically a pannier that turns into a backpack. I still have that thing and have found it very useful for day-trips on the bike. Check it out: Arkel Bug
Mine's older, so it doesn't have the cool helmet carrier on the front, but that looks like a handy feature.

[Geonz]

I'm not a student, but I work at a college and end up carrying lots of student-type stuff. (Welp, about half the time I'm a student, too - courses are free for staff.)
This is not the cheapest option, but it has only grown on me since I did it... and I don't have to think at all, my back doesn't have to sweat, I can carry everybody else's books too... oh, and of course that wheel you need to get fixed (honestly, there are accessories so you could carry just about anytyhing).


www.xtracycle.com - it's an extension put onto my original bike. The whole stuff cost a couple hundred... but by the tiem you get all the extra doodads for other carrying options... and I gotta tell ya, the karma is just so good... and it will do ANYTHING.
It also attracts the press and it's very visible... visible is GOOD...