Help! — How to carry a tenor sax on a bike

[dasgeh]

@Alcova cyclist 111251 wrote:

So a big barrier to Alcova Jr. biking to school is transporting a tenor sax.

A hard-shell tenor Sax case is roughly 8 x 13 x 34″ and weighs 20-25 pounds. It’s a little heavier on one end, so the center of gravity might be something like 14″ from the end instead of 17″

I’ve looked at the standard “grocery bag” type panniers but they mostly all sit so high on the bike and most don’t seem terribly deep, making me a little concerned about security/stability.

There’s also the issue of vibration not being great for the instrument. This would point towards a backpack for the sax (they make these purpose built but they’re soft shell). The two big problems here would be the size/weight for a 15-yo to carry on their back, and the higher likelihood of significant instrument damage in even a small mishap.

Of course all of this sounds a perfect reason to go buy a cargo bike, but I don’t want to find out if I am already at “S-1.”

Thoughts?

Have you investigated ways to get the case on the top rack, parallel to the ground, possibly with padding under it. The center of gravity would be a bit high, but in the center of the wheel it shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s not bigger than a kid.

[dasgeh]

Or something like this: http://www.wicycle.com/index.php/products/cargo-trailers/wike-speedy-bike-trailer

[peterw_diy]

I love our longtail but I don’t see how a cargo bike would help with vibration. I’m still working out how best to carry pints of berries from the farmers market…

[Steve O]

As a saxophonist myself, I wouldn’t worry too much about the vibration from riding a bike. Any decent case will negate those. The “vibration” from falling off the bike? That’s a different story

Do not get a soft case for a kid. Repeat: do not get a soft case for a kid. You are right to worry about it getting dented or damaged. Guaranteed.

There are hard cases. I have a hard case gig bag with shoulder straps. I’ve never worn it like a backpack, though–just cool-ly sling it over the shoulder with one strap. I’ve had it so long I can’t remember the brand, and I’ve even lost the other strap. You should be able to google this, though.

You’ll probably pay $100 or more for it, so you have to decide if it’s worth it, since not all children stick with their musical instruments for the long term.

[baiskeli]

Ask Kenny G.

[Steve O]

@baiskeli 111286 wrote:

Ask Kenny G.

He plays soprano, not tenor. Duh.

[Alcova cyclist]

Steve O — is this the kind of thing you mean? (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002FO5YU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER) This is a hard case wrapped in nylon and backpackable.

This might be the way to go.

[dplasters]

@Steve O 111289 wrote:

He plays soprano, not tenor. Duh.

He is also a hell of a golfer.

[baiskeli]

@Steve O 111289 wrote:

He plays soprano, not tenor. Duh.

Hey, you try finding a photo of a famous tenor sax player on a bike.

[Steve O]

@Alcova cyclist 111301 wrote:

Steve O — is this the kind of thing you mean? (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002FO5YU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER) This is a hard case wrapped in nylon and backpackable.

This might be the way to go.

Yes, that one is almost identical to the one I have.
However, since I sent that note, I’ve had another thought. It might be smarter to go with some sort of trailer, because the trailer will still be useful for all sorts of other stuff while the new sax case is totally single purpose. My two cents.

[Rockford10]

For a year and a half I’ve been getting a young trumpeter to practice just by strapping his trumpet to my rear rack. Two bungees and a short ride and it works fine. He hated walking home, so we recently got him a gig bag (a soft shell, $15 on Amazon) to carry the trumpet across his body while he skateboards home.

While Steve is very, very right about the gig bags, consider the instrument. This particular trumpet is not something I’m terribly concerned with; therefore the gig bag works for us. I nicer trumpet, maybe not so much. I play the French horn. I have a strap on my hard case which could work on a bike (my horn teacher in college rode his motorcycle to work with a hard case strapped over his body). I would not put the horn in a soft case where I might fall.

Final thought, my older kid plays tuba. There is a tuba at home and a tuba at school; problem solved. Maybe a few mentions about how lovely the Baritone Sax sounds if the school can swing this?

[dasgeh]

@baiskeli 111322 wrote:

Hey, you try finding a photo of a famous tenor sax player on a bike.

I’ll do you one better: a famous baritone sax player, on a bike, with said sax

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8107[/ATTACH]

And I ran across this:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8108[/ATTACH]

[Steve O]

@Rockford10 111330 wrote:

For a year and a half I’ve been getting a young trumpeter to practice just by strapping his trumpet to my rear rack. Two bungees and a short ride and it works fine.

Maybe with an alto, but I’m pretty sure there’s no way with a tenor. Unless you have a long tail.

@Rockford10 111330 wrote:

While Steve is very, very right about the gig bags, consider the instrument.

Trumpets are a dime a dozen. You can fix the dents with a hammer. Or just leave ’em; gives it character.

On the other hand, you can seriously mess up a sax by dropping it.

(Hard case is a must for a horn, though! Smart girl, Rocky.)

[peterw_diy]

This looks like it might be the best option for carrying a big object on a normal bike: the Cycle Trucks Caddy Rack ($375-$475).

[Author]

Posts