Tripods For Bicycle Use

As promised, this post will be about the best type of tripod for taking along on a bicycle ride. I've found a small tripod to be indispensible for macro shots, telephoto shots, and pictures where I want to include myself. I can't always find someplace that I trust leaving my camera sitting on to take my own picture, so I take a small tripod with me at times. Obviously, a large professional tripod is just too bulky to carry with you on a bike. There are many other more productive things that can be used to fill up the space taken up by a big, bulky full sized tripod. But......there is a solution! There are several small compact tripods that fold up into managable sizes, some you can even stick in a jersey pocket. One of the more popular ones nowdays is the Gorillapod......

This is a small handy tripod that is surprisingly sturdy. The jointed legs are flexible and can wrap around anything, providing a sturdy camera platform almost anywhere. It is sturdy, a small enough in size, and even though it is a little bulky to carry in a pocket, can be managed by a bicyclist.
My favorite, and one I've carried for many years is the Focal Handipod. This little tripod has been a handy companion for 30 years now, and has proven itself to me time and time again. I did, for many years, use it to support a large 35mm camera and zoom lens, so I know it'll take my compact digital camera with ease. I'm not sure if you can still get one of these new, but if you see one in a pawn shop, or a thrift store somewhere..... grab it. E-Bay had a number of them at reasonable prices. Not expensive, even when I got it new, it would be a bargain at a much higher price.

The total length, if you fold the camera support over 90 degrees is 5 1/2 inches and 1 1/4 inches in diameter. You can see what I mean about folding the camera head in the photo below, the head will drop into a slot 90 degrees to allow the camera to be used in a vertical position, but it also makes it a bit more compact to carry.

The legs fold, and are stored inside the body of the unit.....

As you can see, the unit is stong enough to hold a large sized, heavy camera.

 The next picture shows the same camera set up to take a vertical oriented picture.

This is a sturdy little minipod, and has been so very useful over the years. I have also screwed a flash hot-shoe on the end and used it for a remote flash unit. I also have a full sized tripod that collapses down to 11 1/2 inches that I thought would be even handier, but it turned out to be so flimsy that I didn't trust my little compact camera on it. It was ok extended only about halfway, but then you might as well just carry this one. The old saying "caveat emptor" ....let the buyer beware, applies here.   There are several other small compact tripods on the market, but I have no experience with them. The idea here though is that a tripod is not only handy to have, it IS possible to have your tripod and take it with you too....... even on a bicycle. I enjoy taking pictures of myself on my bicycle trips, and this is one way of doing just that, and doing it without worry about damage to the camera, and without handing over your camera to a stranger and wondering if he/she is going to take your picture, or take your camera! Tripods are FUN!