Ok, I don't ride upright bikes anymore but ride a Greenspeed GTR recumbent touring trike.Javelin wrote:Walt should chime in here I think he does something with Bikes... or recumbants ..
http://wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/Gree ... y_gtr.html
Far more comfortable for long touring. Though you better like having lots of attention, everybody sees you and many want to talk.
When I last used upright bikes for touring I sewed a custom handlebar bag to carry the Olympus IS-1 I then used for touring. That had a hammock like suspension that held the camera and relieved the shock pretty well from the give of the fabric in the design. Plus the pocket it was in was extremely accessable for taking photos. The bag did have some thin padding but depended primarily on being suspended to take care of shock. It was also designed to be very very rainproof by putting in layers of mylar film in the overlay flap which was made of coated cordura. It went through huge amounts of rain while keeping it's contents dry. The bag was also a shoulder bag that could quickly be removed from the bike and carried with a shoulder strap. In addition to camera it had wallet, medicines and so on that I needed to keep with me at all times.
In my case I used a Scott aero bar to provide the support for the bag as well as providing alternative hand positions.
I don't currently carry my a700s for touring. I had been using a Minolta Z6, which finally died this year and has been replaced by a Sony DSC-HX1. Bridge cameras like this keep the weight down and cover a lot of photography with their wide ranging lens. They are much easier to protect from shock than a DSLR.
If I decide to carry a DSLR I'll build a custom suspension bag for it.
Note the weak point in Sony DSLRs seems to be the SSS suspension for the sensor. I've had one of my a700s break that and read of plenty others. I'd say protect the camera from shock with more than just foam padding.
Walt