Exploring new places by e-bike with a camera

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williamming005

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I’ve been thinking about how enjoyable it can be to combine e-bike trips with photography. An e-bike makes it easier to reach viewpoints, quiet roads and places that would be difficult to visit by car, while still allowing enough time to stop and take photographs.

Do any of you take a camera with you on e-bike rides? What do you use to carry and protect your camera, and have you discovered any memorable locations this way?
 
I think cycling and photography are a great mix for each other. You go so much slower on a bike that it gives you more time to take in your surroundings plus it's easier to stop when you want and take some pictures. It's also a good incentive to go somewhere for a cycle if you want to get some good photos.

On my road bike the camera goes on a rack on the back of the bike while on the mountain bike I carry the camera on a backpack.
 
I most often take my Sony RX10 for a bike ride :)
I also take my DJI Mini 5 Pro with me. I carry them in my well padded panniers or a padded backpack.
I tie a tripod to the rear carrier if needed.
You can go pretty much anywhere you like and you can stop whenever you fancy.
A great way to get around ;)

Edit: I’ve just checked the cycle computer, 17900 Kms total distance travelled.
 
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I used to cycle with my Nikon D300 in a Lowepro slingshot on my shoulder - it had a pack-away rain cover though I usually just shoved it in a pannier if necessary. I also used one of their smaller box-shaped bum/shoulder bags if I only wanted one or two smaller lenses. It’s now ideal for my Olympus E-P7 rangefinder-style camera.
 
It’s a great way to explore - I did use the camera as an excuse to get full suspension though, to help take a few more bumps out of me and the camera, even with the camera in a backpack not on the bike
 
I go into the hills in Wales on my emtb, sometimes taking my Sony RX100 and recently a dji neo 2 drone though I have rarely used this. The bike takes my to some incredible places that would involve a very long walk otherwise. The shot is nr the top of the Sugarloaf in Monmouthshire. DSC03218.jpg
 
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JohnMcL7 said:
On my road bike the camera goes on a rack on the back of the bike while on the mountain bike I carry the camera on a backpack.
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I know we all do / have done this (backpack on a bike), but the recommendation when I was learning to ride motorcycles was never to have a bag on your back.
Two reasons - (1) catching the strap on a wing mirror (not sure I would ever get that close, but...) & (2) landing on the bag, if the contents are hard you are going to injure yourself.

Having contused ribs landing on a Nokia 3310 while skiing, I can very much see how you could do yourself a serious injury falling on a camera strapped to your back!

That said. I would also be worried about damaging the camera with it strapped to a rack and being bumped/bounced around on a ride too. So...
 
I’ve never heard of anyone catching the strap from a backpack on a cars wing mirror before?

Most unusual accident for sure.
 
LC2 said:
I know we all do / have done this (backpack on a bike), but the recommendation when I was learning to ride motorcycles was never to have a bag on your back.
Two reasons - (1) catching the strap on a wing mirror (not sure I would ever get that close, but...) & (2) landing on the bag, if the contents are hard you are going to injure yourself.

Having contused ribs landing on a Nokia 3310 while skiing, I can very much see how you could do yourself a serious injury falling on a camera strapped to your back!

That said. I would also be worried about damaging the camera with it strapped to a rack and being bumped/bounced around on a ride too. So...
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It's not really the same issue as it is with a mountain bike. I don't do fast aggressive trails when I have the camera and I'm more using the MTB to go off road so the speed and the impacts are significantly lower than you'd have on a motor bike. Crashes tend to be more to the front rather than the back so knees, hips, elbows, wrists, elbows and shoulder tend to take the impact. There's nowhere else for the camera to go on my bikes because there's no space above the rear wheel (it's a big wheel and the seat drops in position for downhill riding) and they're too big for frame bags plus as you correctly highlight, the camera would be vulnerable to impact damage from the bike hitting features and the ground especially since I don't ride with rear suspension.

Speaking from experience and 15 years of riding with a backpack and more crashes than I'd like to admit, it's just never been an issue apart from damaging the backpacks. At the same time, never ridden a motorbike with a backpack.
 
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plloydie said:
I go into the hills in Wales on my emtb, sometimes taking my Sony RX100 and recently a dji neo 2 drone though I have rarely used this. The bike takes my to some incredible places that would involve a very long walk otherwise. The shot is nr the top of the Sugarloaf in Monmouthshire.
Click to expand...
I do like taking the drones up with me on the bikes to get to good spots, I really like getting the 180 panoramas from the bigger drones. Have you tried the Neo2 to track you on the bike? I've been doing some testing with it and sometimes it's remarkable managing really clean flights which I think work well but then other times it just seems to keep crashing into things, I modify the settings and seem to get better performance on the next run but then they'll be worse the one after. Thankfully it's been holding up well to the crashes (and I have DJI Care for it too) but I find the inconsistency in performance is frustrating.
 
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