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Any biking photographers out there? What do people use to carry a DSLR when out mountain biking
Honestly? I don't tend to carry my DSLR when riding.
On the rare occasions I do I'll carry a body and 18-50mm lens in a Lowe Pro Zoom 45 AW, sit it in a carrying section and attach it to the compression straps on my Wingnut. Not the easiest to get to, but secure.
The other option - if I'm on a more sedate ride - is to hang on from shoulder attachments so it's easy to access.
All that said, I've got a Canon S90 that attaches to a shoulder or waist strap. It's a decent compact and far easier to cart around than a DSLR.
There was a good youtube video with one of the US mags' photographers explaining his kit choice. He used a bumbag style bag worn below a conventional camelpack so it could be swung round to get at the camera quickly.
He aslso use a 10-20mm lense so he could get the rider in shot without having to get too far off the trail.
It was quite impressive how quickly he could ride a photognic feature (a small drop in the video) do a running dismount, get the camera out, turn and shoot, and be back on the bike.
Just a dslr or dslr plus gear?
If its just the dslr the Lowe Pro attached to shoulder straps of camelbak as described above works well.
If you want dslr plus gear I'd look at either f-stop or dakine photo specific bags (take a deep breath before looking at the prices though)
I take a Panasonic GF1 in a lens case attached to the chest strap of my rucksack. As above it's got to be accessible quickly or you'll miss the shot/not bother getting the camera out.
I don't normally carry my DSLR when out on the bike, I usually just have a just in case Canon Powershot G10.
I have a Lowepro Photosport 200 AW that I bought prior to getting back into Mountain Biking. I have used it a couple of times on my Mountain Bike, when I went to spectate at TdF & ToB. Just about the right size to fit a Canon EOS 5DMk3 with 24-105mm lens fitted a flash unit. Then I usually take 1 Zoom lens 70-200mm in the main compartment wrapped in a fleece or something similar.
I can fit my bike stuff I normally carry in my camelbak and it takes a hydration bladder.
I personally wouldn't want to ride with anything much bigger when riding on the bike and off road.