Eeepc bicycle mount

Shock proof Eeepc cable mount on bicycle. As I am an addicted openstreetmapper, I was curious if I could add navigation and mapping system to my car. I could. But that was too easy and could not give me access to all the small footpaths and trackroads around. I had to attach my navigation tool (eeepc 701 with webcam and custom added RAM 2GB, but only 4GB SSD) to my bicycle. So this is an instructable about how to combine a bicycle and a notebook. I went through a few trial and error setbacks, almost dropped my notebook on the road while riding, but thankfully came to my goal. And I want to share it with you.
All pictures are of finished product, but it is not so complicated, or with other words - Im too lazy to interfere my work to take pictures :)

Step 1: What you need

Parts

• a bicycle
• a notebook, preferably subnotebook, definitely not the 15inch widescreen one
• plywood 5 layers, 6mm thick, two times 16X22cm=, two areas of your notebook
• 17 pieces bolts with 7mm nuts, 10mm long, 4mm thick, conical head
• 9 screws for plywood, same length or few mm extra as plywood thickness. I had 11mm long, 8mm measuring without head
• 4 long screws for wood, some 2cm long
• 1 long nail, some 10cm long and 4mm thick
• 2 bricks of wood, approximately from 2 to 4 cm wide, some 5 to 8cm long and at least 4cm high. But this depends on your bike. My bricks were 3cm wide, 7.3cm long and 4.5cm high
• wire rope 4mm thick ~1m (for 1kg eeepc)
• 4 metal parts 1-2mm thick, 12mm wide and 14cm long - almost as long as your notebook. I got those from an old metal constructor set from my childhood. It has holes every 12mm.
• another same type metal part to hold your construction to your bike
• some aluminum sheet, not more than 10x10cm. I got mine from an old CD-ROM drive.
• little bit of rubber, sponge or other soft but firm material 1mm thin. I didn't need it, as my old CD-ROM had it glued inside already
• 4 rubber rings, fasteners 1mmX2mm thick and approximately 4cm diameter. Any rubber would do.

Tools

• plywood saw
• metal saw
• sandpaper
• power screwdriver, also to be used for drilling holes
• drill bit for wood 4mm
• drill bit for metal 4mm. Quality should depend on your metal hardness.
• metal file, to shorten too long screws and to work on edges
• hammer, necessary even if working with electronics!
• vice, to hold your work
• pliers
• ruler, a bit longer than width of your notebook
• pencil

Total cost is 2-10 euros. I spent 2 euros for wire and screws. Everything else was scrapped.
Time to work on this, one afternoon, probably few hours. Not sure as i spent a week with some trial and error returning to previous steps.

Comments

[frogmeetcog]

Also, as a matter of curiosity, where would you go that you would be exploring city streets, in which you would be travelling up to 20 hours? With typical bicycle touring, that would involve an overnight, and camping on the sidewalk is just not advisable....

[uldics]

You know, there are also countryside in some far far away place. The city is not from one edge of the world to the other :)

[hungsoftware]

uldics

Very nice project. I was wondering if a lot of people in the Open Street Map community make use of your product? Also do you have any power problems for your laptop?. I asked because I have been putting together a setup to allow me to charge a laptop or a laptop battery or maybe even power up
a laptop while biking. I found a perfect bike bottle dynamo that may make that possible. I am testing it out now. Do you see any need for that in the Open Street Map Community?. The setup is not very difficult. Let me know if you
have any interest in this.

[uldics]

I doubt that, cause now almost every phone has a GPS, so everybody just uses a smartphone for same purpose. But powering a laptop sounds interesting. The problems I could see with that is regulating the voltage and generating enough power, while cycling slowly. I am not sure if it would not get the laptop switching chrge/no charge all the time.

[hungsoftware]

OK, I guess that now people use GPS and it is easier to charge on a bike. No
more need for laptop. I have friends that go on very bike trips in the out-of-the
-way places and they need to chrage laptop while biking. I have found a way
to help them. As far as voltage regulating, it's not a problem; you can buy a
voltage regulator (small little circuit unit) or you can use a charge controller.

As far as having enough power, you are kinda right, I was almost given up
looking for a powerfull enough bike wheel dynamo but I found this dynamo
made in China and a Hong Kong product. It is a bottle dynamo called
Nicco MT-032. The manual does say anything about this dynamo but I
measure the voltage and it can go as high as 24V AC (without load) and the
current can be as much as 2A. This is with biking speed around 15km/hour
to 20km/hour. Most dynamo rated at 6v 3W or 12V 6W and they are useless.
But the Nicco is good enough to charge a laptop battery in about the same
rate that you would charge using AC power. I am in the process of testing it
out.

I though that maybe you are using the note book on your bike for some other
reasons and since you mount a note book on your bike I thought you might need to charge it as well.

[frogmeetcog]

Just what my fellow cyclists need: one more fekkin excuse to not look where they are going!

Good intention, I suppose, but if a bunch of typical people do this (i.e. not good multitaskers), they are going to be distracted enough to hit solid objects in short order, damaging their computers, and skulls!

[uldics]

Instructables aren't for "typical people", and that's generalising anyway.

[zachaquack1987]

Nice idea, but completely CRAZY.  I'm afraid I value my notebook too much to attempt that.

[bertus52x11]

Smart cable isolator! Does it work well?
Hope you don't crash though.

[uldics]

Yes, it works pretty good. In rather fast and bumpy rides it swings pretty much, but thats what its purpose is - to lengthen the notebooks movements and slow it down.
If I should rate my constructions effectiveness, then I would say my speed at bumpy places have to be reduced only 10-20%  in relation to riding with clean bike, no notebook attached. My first prototype, without the wire, just with rubber spacers, was like 90-95% necessary speed reduction at rough terrain.

[lemonie]

Useful, I have an interest in mounting a camera on a moped / scooter. L